Court upholds forced anal testing in homosexuality cases

Two men being prosecuted for having gay sex in Kenya lost their legal bid on Thursday to challenge the authorities’ right to force suspects to have anal examinations. The two unnamed men who deny the gay sex charges, said in their petition they had been coerced into undergoing anal examinations by security personnel and a […]

Two men being prosecuted for having gay sex in Kenya lost their legal bid on Thursday to challenge the authorities’ right to force suspects to have anal examinations.
The two unnamed men who deny the gay sex charges, said in their petition they had been coerced into undergoing anal examinations by security personnel and a public hospital in Mombasa in February 2015.
They wanted the court to declare that the forced examinations – which are used to try to prove gay sex has taken place – amounted to “degrading treatment” and a violation of human rights.
But high court judge Matthew Emukule said on Thursday there was sufficient justification under Kenyan law to allow the intrusion into the human body for the purpose of gathering evidence to prove a sexually related crime.
“The petition has no merit and is dismissed,” he said in his ruling in the Kenyan port of Mombasa.