Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ shocking

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer persons in their quest to officially register as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

In its verdict delivered by a five-judge bench on Friday,  the court castigated the NGO's coordination board for refusing to register four names for an LGBTQ organisation on the ground that same-sex marriage is outlawed in Kenya.

It would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate through denial of registration of an association purely based on the sexual orientation of the applicants, the ruling read.

The court determined that using the word "sex" under Article 27(4) does not connote the act of sex per se but refers to the sexual orientation of any gender, whether heterosexual, lesbian, gay, intersex or otherwise.

The NGO board through its executive director had declined to approve four of the proposed names.

The verdict was a culmination of a protracted case dating back to 2019.LGBTQ activists petitioned the High Court to challenge the NGO board's decision to turn down his application to register his organisation.

In the initial ruling, the High Court judge backed the activists and found that the NGO board's refusal violated the applicants' rights.

The Friday ruling paves way for an LGBTQ organisation to make for a fresh application in its quest to formalise its operation.

This is despite the fact that LGBTQ goes against the moral values of society. With the court ruling, the group may even find it normal to practice their behaviour outright in society, which is not right. The court should, therefore, reconsider this decision in a full bench and terminate its verdict.

Winnie Odhiambo, Kisumu.

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It’s now becoming a norm to have LGTBQ individuals in society as opposed to the traditional male-female gender that dominated the sexual sphere.

We can’t turn a blind eye to the unmistakable presence of the queer group. As a consequence,  it will slowly be embraced by the coming generations.

Yes, these members also have their constitutional rights as LGBT groups and need to be treated with dignity, not to expose them or intrude on their privacy.

Being a member of the group comes with challenges like rejection from friends and families, homophobia and stigmatisation. It also limits your access to healthcare.

Therefore, I’d like to urge the Ministry of Youths and Gender to provide guidance and counselling to our youngsters because they are more prone to this LGBT animosity than adults.

Owuor Chrispho, Maseno university.