Editor's note: Read the court's decision here.

The High Court in Eldoret has handed transgender Kenyans a historic victory, directing the state to enact a Transgender Protection Rights Act, after ruling that prisons do not provide protections for their dignity and privacy.

In the alternative, Justice Reuben Nyakundi ordered the amendment of the Intersex Persons Bill, 2024, to plug the glaring gaps in the law.

The court’s decision came on August 12, 2025, following a petition from SC, a transgender Kenyan who fought for recognition after invasive and nonconsensual medical procedures were carried out during her incarceration.

SC was born male but identified and lived as a female from childhood. She obtained official documents, including ID, birth certificate, and passport with female sex marker, and competed as a female athlete.

However, on June 14, 2019, police arrested SC at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and charged her with “personation” under Penal Code s.382. SC was initially detained in the women’s section of Eldoret police station and remanded at Eldoret women’s prison.

But a prison strip search degraded her even more, and a court ordered “gender determination”. SC was taken to MTRH for tests, underwent genital examination, radiology, hormone testing, and blood sampling without her consent and beyond the court’s order. Her private medical records were also leaked to the media.

SC filed a constitutional petition seeking recognition as transgender Kenyan, protection of her rights, damages, and prison law reforms. She won the case, with the court recognizing her transgender status and agreeing that her rights to dignity and privacy had been violated through the stripping, searches, and medical examinations, and offering her Sh1 million in damages.

We welcome the court’s decision, which further held that state-imposed limitations on SC’s core rights, including freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, equality and non-discrimination, dignity, freedom and security of the person, and privacy were unconstitutional.

The court’s decision to recognize SC as a transgender person further upholds the right of transgender persons to determine their self-identified gender. The state is directed to grant legal recognition of that gender identity within Kenya’s legal framework. This is a decisive step that moves recognition from debate to duty.

The court’s order for the enactment of the Transgender Protection Rights Act, or, in the alternative, the amendments of the Intersex Persons Bill 2024, clearly calls on Parliament to complete the work of achieving equality.

As directed by the court, the Office of the Attorney General should explore an amendment to Part VI of the Prisons Act to address threats and violations faced by transgender persons in custody.

This ruling sets a new standard for the rights of transgender persons in Kenya. Self-identification is recognised, and legal identification is no longer optional. Duty bearers must act with care and respect in custodial settings. Privacy and consent in clinical procedures are not negotiable.

We recognise the years of suffering that transgender Kenyans have endured in police stations, prisons, hospitals, schools, workplaces, homes, and on our streets. Many have been misgendered, humiliated during searches, forced to undress, and subjected to invasive examinations without consent.

Others have been placed in unsafe cells, denied essential items and medication, and outed without their permission. Families have been strained, jobs lost, health harmed, and personal safety has been constantly at risk.

Today, we honour SC and every transgender Kenyan who has insisted that dignity means what it says. We stand ready to support drafting, training, and public participation so that what the court has declared becomes true across the country. Equality, privacy, and safety belong to everyone.

We welcome the Office of the Attorney General to lead the immediate work that follows. We welcome Parliament to take up the legislative opportunity identified by the court so that equality is a principle and a lived reality for every transgender Kenyan.

We further call for the quick provision of appropriate physical and structural facilities in police stations and prisons so that constitutional rights are protected at the point of arrest and detention.

Signed

  • Amka Africa Justice Initiative
  • galck+
  • Initiative For Equality & Non-Discrimination
  • Kenya Human Rights Commission
  • National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
  • Pema Kenya