Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Audrey Mbugua Wins Her Landmark Case!

Been talking about this on the blog since last year, and finally have some wonderful news to report.

Prominent Kenyan trans activist Audrey Mbugua has won her landmark case against the Kenyan National Examinations Council {KNEC}!

KNEC was ordered by the High Court Tuesday to change the name and gender marker on her academic certificates.   

Justice Weldon Korir said KNEC had failed to demonstrate why they couldn't make the changes requested by Ms. Mbugua, and gave them 45 days to print a new certificate without the gender marker.

The court ruled that Ms. Mbugua would have to pay for any extra costs to make the change, but you can obviously presume she was exceeding happy about this latest legal victory.

We won,” Mbugua told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “It’s a huge watershed moment.”

Back n July, the High Court ordered the Kenyan authorities to register her lobby group, Transgender Education and Advocacy, saying their refusal to do so had no legal basis and was an abuse of power.

Mbugua has also been nominated by the Dutch government for their Human Rights Tulip Award for the innovative and groundbreaking human rights work she has been doing raising the profile of transgender human rights issues in Kenya.

This is a huge win she's been fighting hard for, and congratulations to my Kenyan sis.  Common sense and justice did prevail in this case.

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