Ban on gay rights group unlawful – Kenyan court

Kenya’s Supreme Court has ruled that it was wrong for the authorities to ban the gay community from registering a rights organisation.

In a split decision the majority of judges ruled that Kenya’s NGO board should have allowed the registration of an LGBTQ group – called National Gays and Lesbians Human Rights Commission – which it had blocked in 2013.

The judges said the constitution guaranteed the right to association and that the NGO board should not deny the registration of an association purely based on the sexual orientation of the applicants, or because it has the word “gay” or “lesbian” in it.

In its ruling, however, the Supreme Court stressed that gay sex remained illegal in Kenya.