Kenya’s High Court ruled that refusing to amend gender markers on official documents of transgender Kenyans violates the Constitution. The court directed government agencies, including the Registrar of Births and Deaths, to begin receiving and considering applications for gender marker changes within 60 days. The case followed claims made over more than 10 years by Audrey Mbugua Ithibu, who said the state denied her rights by refusing proper gender markers on academic records, national identity documents, passports, birth certificates, and driver’s licenses. A prior 2014 ruling required an academic body to change her name and gender marker. In 2020, Ithibu and two other plaintiffs challenged the state’s refusal to update identity documents, citing repeated humiliation and denial of opportunities.
"The court ordered government agencies, including the Registrar of Births and Deaths, to begin receiving and considering applications for gender marker changes within 60 days, Kenya's Daily Nation reported."
"Their lawyers argued that the petitioners have been forced to explain themselves "at every juncture of their lives" due to the state's misgendered documents. They "denied them opportunities and rights," their lawyers said. The High Court agreed."
""The silence and delay cannot defeat rights," Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruled on May 20. "Constitutional rights cannot be delayed over administrative convenience.""
"The petitioners described repeated and painful encounters at airports, banks, insurance offices, and other public institutions where the misgendered identity documents were required. The state subjected them to humiliation, mental anguish, and suspicion from officials and service providers due to the docume"
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