Kenya: 2 men challenge constitutionality of anal probe

NAIROBI, Kenya – A lawyer said Wednesday she has submitted the arguments during the first day of a hearing where two men are seeking a Kenyan court ruling to stop enforced anal examinations of men accused of being gay.

Sande Ligunya, said she argued the anal exams infringe on the right to privacy and the right to a fair trial. She said her clients were arrested in a bar near Ukunda along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast in February 2015 on suspicion of engaging in gay sex which is a criminal offence in Kenya.

The men were forced to undergo anal examinations after a magistrate ordered a medical examination, she said. The attorney general is expected to respond to their petition on May 12, Ligunya said. Human rights groups have condemned the examinations.

“Such examinations without consent or medical cause are an absolute violation of the privacy not to mention bodily integrity,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s regional head. “The strongest possible message must be sent to medical professionals about it.”