Government Opposes Birth Certificate Alterations for Transgender Petitioners
Nairobi, Kenya- Kenya’s Attorney General (AG), Dorcas Oduor, has firmly stated that the country’s laws do not allow individuals to change their gender in adulthood.
In a high-stakes legal battle, three petitioners—Audrey Mbugua, Maurene Muia, and Arnest Thaiya—are seeking to have their birth certificates updated to reflect their gender identity.
But the government’s position remains unchanged: gender is assigned at birth and cannot be altered.
During her submissions before the High Court, Oduor argued that a person is born either male or female, and that classification remains unchanged throughout life.
She maintained that naming and the issuance of birth certificates are based solely on physical appearance at birth.
“The existing laws of the land do not contemplate a change of gender,” Oduor submitted, urging High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye to dismiss the case.
She further stated that psychological feelings of being trapped in the wrong body cannot be a basis for altering one’s gender in official records.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor says a person is born either a boy or girl and cannot change the sex after growing up. standardmedia.co.ke/national/artic…
The three petitioners, supported by organizations such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Jinsiangu Kenya, and Amka Africa Justice, argue that forcing them to live with names and gender markers that do not reflect their identities violates their rights.
They claim they have missed opportunities, been denied services, and faced discrimination due to their official documents reflecting a gender they do not identify with.
Audrey Mbugua, one of the petitioners, has long fought for transgender rights in Kenya, previously winning a court battle in 2014 to have her academic certificates reflect her new name.
In their argument, the petitioners contended that gender determination is not merely a biological process but includes factors such as chromosomes, hormones, and brain composition.
They argued that it is inaccurate to define gender solely based on genitalia at birth.
Government’s Stance: Gender Is a “Biological Fact”
The government, however, remains steadfast in its opposition. Senior State Counsel Ruth Wamuyu argued that Kenyan law does not provide for gender changes and that identification documents can only be corrected in cases of factual errors, such as spelling mistakes.
“The sex of a person assigned at birth is a biological fact, not an error,” Wamuyu stated. “What the petitioners want is a change of gender identity—a concept that is not contemplated in Kenya’s laws.”
She further argued that gender assignment is based on physiological attributes at birth, and the law does not recognize a process for later alterations.
The government maintains that recognizing gender changes would require legislative reforms, something Kenya has yet to consider.
The case has sparked national debate, with LGBTQ+ activists pushing for legal reforms while conservative groups argue against any changes.
Kenya remains one of the African countries where legal gender recognition remains a contentious issue, with no existing framework for changing one’s gender in official records.
As the High Court deliberates, the outcome of this case could set a precedent for future court battles involving transgender individuals in Kenya.
