Hon. Justice Korir allows petitioners to use initials to protect their identity

Petition 447 of 2018 came up for mention on 27 March 2018 at the Milimani Law Courts. The mention comes after KELIN alongside six other petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Section 26 of the Sexual Offences Act, by filing the petition on 10 December 2018. This law criminalises deliberate transmission and or exposure to a life-threatening sexually transmitted disease including HIV.

The matter came up for the hearing of an application, by the first to sixth petitioners to use their initials in place of their real names. The application emanates from the risk of the petitioners and their families being exposed to stigma and discrimination, as a result of the former disclosing their HIV status through the trial of this petition. The Hon. Justice Korir honoured the petitioners application to use their initials.

The courts have allowed this in previous cases. This begun with JAO vs Homepark Carters Limited and two others. Such orders are important when it comes to litigating on the rights of persons living with or affected by HIV. It further encourages others to file similar cases without fear of stigma, discrimination and ridicule perpetuated after disclosure as a result of prosecuting their cases.  

The High Court will now mention the case on 18 June 2019, when it gives further directions. This will be after confirming whether or not the the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecution have filed their responses to the petition.

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To access the court documents, please follow the links below:

For more information, contact:

Ted Wandera

Program Officer

Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV/AIDS (KELIN)

4th Floor, Somak Building, Mombasa Road

Tel +254202515790; Cell +254790111578

Email: twandera@kelinkenya.org