Kenya court victory as transgender rights group is allowed to officially register

Kenyan transgender rights group Transgender Education and Advocacy (TEA) have won a major court battle, with the country’s high court ruling that the government’s Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) coordination board must allow them to register.

Justice George Odunga criticized the board for declining to recognize the group, saying that it had failed to carry out its own statutory function. He also ordered the board to pay the legal costs TEA members Audrey Mbugua, Maureen Muia and Annet Jennifer had incurred during their three year legal fight.

The board had argued that it could not register TEA as an NGO working in Kenya because the names of the people in their paper work did not match their birth gender.However all three had legally changed their names via deed poll and Judge Odunga found it unconstitutional to deny registration of a group because of their gender.‘A public authority cannot be allowed to get away with discriminatory actions that deny persons their rights of assembly which is a clear abuse of the power bestowed on such an authority,’ he found.

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