Kenya’s High Court Judges in Kenya have postponed a long-awaited landmark ruling that could have seen sex between men or between women decriminalised.
The bid by campaigners for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LGBT)to have colonial era legislation struck out has been closely watched by activists across Kenya.
But Justice Chacha Mwita said on Friday that the high court needed more time to consider the evidence. The judgment will now be given in late May.
The delay prompted anger and disappointment among campaigners gathered to hear the decision in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
Homosexuality is illegal in the East African country and a section of the penal code states that anyone who has “carnal knowledge… against the order of nature” can be imprisoned for 14 years.
According to theestafrican.co.ke, President Uhuru Kenyatta has previously said that gay rights was not a burning issue for the country adding that same-sex relations are not an issue of human rights, but rather of “our own base as a culture”.
Between 2013 and 2017, the government of Kenya arrested 534 people for allegedly being in same sex relationships.
Agencies
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