“I find no violation of human dignity, right to privacy and right to freedom of the petitioners”, he said.
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These nature of the tests, have been discredited as ineffective and are considered torture: In their petition, the men said the anal examinations and HIV and hepatitis B tests they were forced to have amounted to being subjected to torture and degrading treatment.
In Kenya, gay sex is a criminal offense and can bring prison sentences up to 14 years.
MOMBASA, Kenya 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, in a ruling labelled “totally unacceptable” by Amnesty International.
Two men had launched court action after police allegedly forced them to undergo invasive anal examinations and HIV tests – a practice that officials claim can be used to determine their sexuality.
Other countries that still use “anal examinations” to determine homosexuality include Cameroon, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia.
Judge Mathew Emukule, in the coastal city Mombasa, said there were grounds in Kenyan law for the testing.
Politicians in Kenya have previously suggested that homosexuality is a problem on the same scale as terrorism and Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto is reported to have said at a church service in May 2015 that the country had “no room for gays”.
The plaintiffs say they will appeal the decision.
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Eric Gitari, the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) in Kenya, was in court for the ruling.
