| Section | Offense | Maximum term |
|---|
| 162 | "Carnal knowledge… against the order of nature" | 14 years |
| 163 | Attempt to commit a section 162 offense | 7 years |
| 165 | "Gross indecency" between males, public or private | 5 years |
","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Section 162 also covers acts with animals. Section 165 applies only to men. The Human Dignity Trust says only men are criminalized under these laws.\n\n## The dispute over what the Supreme Court decided\n\nThe core disagreement is about one judgment. On Feb. 24, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the NGO Coordination Board acted unconstitutionally when it refused to register the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC). The Board had cited the Penal Code. The court held that the rights to freedom of association and freedom from discrimination apply to all Kenyans regardless of sexual orientation, the Nation reported. On Sept. 12, 2023, the court rejected a bid by Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma to overturn that ruling.\n\nThe Interior Ministry reads that judgment broadly. \"The Supreme Court declared these sections discriminatory and hence unconstitutional,\" it said in its memorandum to the committee, as quoted by the Nation. It said the judgment \"has not been reviewed or set aside\" and is \"binding upon the government.\" \"The Ministry of Interior and National Administration cannot therefore enforce the sections declared unconstitutional,\" the memorandum said.\n\nThe committee reads it narrowly. It said the sections \"were not rendered unconstitutional but rather, they could not be used to limit freedom of association.\" It added that the ruling \"does not and cannot impeach either Article 45 (2) of the Constitution nor sections 162, 163 and 165 of the Penal Code.\"\n\nThe wider court record does not show the Supreme Court striking the sections down, and the question is still before the courts. In a separate case, the High Court held on May 24, 2019, that sections 162 and 165 do not violate the Constitution, according to the Human Dignity Trust and [Human Rights Watch](https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/24/kenya-court-upholds-archaic-anti-homosexuality-laws). That ruling is under appeal. The Court of Appeal heard preliminary proceedings on Nov. 10, 2025. It sent the case to a five-judge bench for a full-day hearing, according to [KELIN](https://www.kelinkenya.org/appeal-on-penal-code-provisions-and-the-right-to-health-referred-to-five-judge-bench/), a health-rights group that is a party to it. The Human Dignity Trust's profile, last updated Sept. 30, 2026, says the hearing was adjourned again in February 2026 and was expected in May. This article found no report of a judgment.\n\nThe Nation also flagged an inconsistency in the report. The committee says the petition came before the Supreme Court ruling. But annexes to the report show it was presented on Feb. 21, 2024, a year after the judgment.\n\n## How often the laws are used\n\nProsecutions under these sections are rare, by the available accounts. In 2019, Human Rights Watch said it knew of only two prosecutions of four people under section 162 in the previous 10 years. The Human Dignity Trust says reports suggest police more often use laws on \"loitering,\" \"solicitation\" and \"impersonation\" to arrest LGBT people. It cites U.S. State Department reporting that statistics given to the National Assembly in March 2014 showed 595 unnatural-offense cases opened since 2010.\n\nNo official figures exist on the number of LGBTQ people in Kenya. Ali told the committee as much, adding that the behavior is \"largely concealed,\" The Standard reported.\n\nStrict enforcement would therefore depart from recent practice as these accounts describe it. The ministry's memorandum indicates it does not believe it can enforce the sections while the 2023 judgment stands.\n\n## The case for enforcement\n\nThe petition's backers frame the issue as one of law and family. Ali told the committee he was concerned that LGBTQ culture was foreign and aimed at enticing people into what he considered unnatural practices, The Standard reported. He argued that the Supreme Court \"overstretched its mandate\" in its 2023 equality reasoning, according to the Nation. He also listed what he described as signs of LGBTQ identity, including rainbow colors and certain mannerisms.\n\nThe committee rested its case on Article 45. \"LGBTQ agenda in so far as the family unit is concerned, could therefore not be allowed to infiltrate the country's education curriculum,\" it said. The family \"learners ought to be taught is headed by parents, who could only be persons of the opposite sex.\"\n\nThe Ministry of Education, for its part, said sexuality education under the Competency Based Curriculum promotes \"abstinence, self-respect, and protection from risky behaviors.\" It said \"the instructional materials are not expected to promote LGBTQ in any way.\"\n\n## The case against\n\nRights groups asked the committee to throw the petition out. Amnesty International Kenya called the petition frivolous and said it \"seeks to undermine the authority of the Supreme Court.\" The Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders Kenya said it was \"an attempt to undermine rights and fundamental freedoms contained in the Constitution.\"\n\nThe Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK+) said the petition entrenches a culture of discrimination and abuse. \"Sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent aspects of a person's identity that are not chosen and cannot be changed by force, law, or persuasion,\" it argued. The Human is My Identity Alliance asked the committee to dismiss the petition and to add gender identity as a basis for hate speech in the proposed NCIC Bill 2023.\n\nKELIN argues in the appeal that criminalization harms public health. It says the laws push men who have sex with men away from HIV prevention and treatment. It also says Ministry of Health policy documents themselves recognize this effect.\n\n## Public opinion: low acceptance, rising slowly\n\nKenyan public opinion has long opposed acceptance of homosexuality, though the share has grown. In a 2019 survey across 34 countries, the [Pew Research Center](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/06/25/global-divide-on-homosexuality-persists/) found that 14% of Kenyans said homosexuality should be accepted by society. In 2002, the figure was 1%. Elsewhere in Africa, results varied widely: 7% in Nigeria and 54% in South Africa, up 21 points since 2002. The 34-country median was 52%. These are 2019 figures, and no more recent comparable survey was found.\n\n**Share saying homosexuality should be accepted by society, 2002 and 2019**\n\nPercent of adults. South Africa's 2002 figure is derived from Pew's reported 21-point rise to 54%. Nigeria's 2002 figure is not given in the source.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"},{"role":"htmltable","html":"