Kenya: Judge upholds use of anal probes to define sexuality

Judge Mathew Emukule, of the Mombasa High Court, denied there was any right violated under the Kenyan constitution and global law and dismissed the case where 2 men sought a court ruling to stop forced anal examinations and HIV tests of men accused of being gay, after they had been subjected to the procedures.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has said such treatment might amount to torture under worldwide law.

He said: ‘I find no violation of human dignity, right to privacy and right to freedom of the petitioners’.

Mr Caleb Omar Idris and Mr George Maina Njeri had applied to the court to dismiss evidence the prosecution obtained from them claiming it was acquired illegally.

They had argued that they were subjected to torture, cruelty and inhumane acts by being forced to undergo the tests.

A Kenyan court on Thursday threw out a bid to outlaw anal examinations on people suspected to be gay, a practice that has been criticised by rights activists.

According to the BBC, Mombasa Judge Mathew Emukule ruled that there are grounds under Kenyan law for the testing.

A High Court in Mombasa issued a ruling on Thursday upholding the legality of anal tests on men suspected of being gay.

Eric Gitari, head of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya, called the tests “humiliating”.

“Governments in Kenya and around the world should take immediate steps to ban forced anal exams”, Ghoshal said. “I’m pained by this judgment”, Gitari tells Newsweek. “The judge simply found the most ridiculous reasoning to allow an injustice to go on”. “He said the men will appeal”.

The NGLHRC is also fighting a separate case to attempt to overturn Kenya’s laws criminalizing homosexuality.