Kenya’s High Court on Friday was set to decide whether same-sex relations are crimes in the East African nation.
The case challenges colonial-era laws that criminalise homosexuality with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.
“The potential landmark ruling is hugely significant for Kenya and the continent,’’ Human Rights Watch researcher Neela Ghosal told dpa.
According to Ghosal, if it is positive, it will be the first time on the African continent since the mid-1990s when South Africa decriminalised homosexuality that a court has made such a decision.
Friday’s ruling came after three Kenyan gay rights organisations filed petitions to declare sections of the penal code, which stem from the 1930s and make gay sex a crime, unconstitutional.
Court hearings on the matter have been ongoing since February 2018. (dpa/NAN)
Kenya set to rule on legality of gay sex
