The High Court sitting in Eldoret put to rest a seven-year controversy over the recognition of the rights of a former international athlete, declaring that she will be recognised as a transgender individual.

In a landmark ruling delivered on August 15, 2025, Justice Reuben Nyakundi found that the petitioner, whose identity remains protected, had proven that her right to self-identity and gender had been violated.

The judge directed the State to grant legal recognition of her gender identity within the framework of Kenya’s legal system.

The court also urged the State to take steps towards enacting legal measures to safeguard the rights and protection of transgender individuals in line with the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination on any grounds.

“In this regard, I recommend the enactment of a Transgender Protection Rights Act as a potential mechanism to ensure equal protection and recognition for transgender persons,’’ Justice Nyakundi noted in his ruling.

The court further called on the government to urgently provide facilities within police stations and prisons to accommodate what it described as a “third gender,” warning that failure to do so could place the State in conflict with constitutional guarantees.

The ruling closed the case of the former international athlete, referred to as “C.K.” to protect her identity. She had moved to court after claiming her rights were trampled upon and sought constitutional interpretation and protection, arguing that her gender identity clashed with her community’s cultural beliefs.

Counsel for the petitioner explained that while most people’s gender identity aligns with their biological sex, transgender persons represent a minority whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth. In this case, the petitioner is a transgender woman — born male but identifying as female.

The petitioner told the court that she was born in Moiben, Uasin Gishu County, on December 28, 1990. After losing her mother at the age of two, she was raised by her two elder sisters and an uncle, who identified her as male and named her Hilary Kiprotich.

She said she began identifying as female at the age of five, presenting herself as a boy in school but as a girl at home.

Her troubles escalated when she sought work as a house help after dropping out of Flax Youth Polytechnic. She was arrested by police in Eldoret and placed in a male cell, where she was sexually assaulted by two inmates.

The petitioner recounted how, due to the mismatch between her gender identity and her assigned sex at birth, she suffered misunderstanding from the public and state officials, leading to physical, emotional, and mental distress, as well as widespread discrimination.

The court underscored that Parliament now bears a constitutional obligation to enact the Intersex Persons Bill, 2024, to formally recognize the rights of the transgender community in Kenya.

Justice Nyakundi also urged the Prisons Department to consider amendments to Part VI of the Prisons Act to protect transgender individuals from constitutional violations.

In addition, the court awarded the petitioner Ksh600,000 in damages against the Prisons Department, the National Police Service, and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for violation of her constitutional rights. A further Ksh400,000 was awarded against a fourth respondent for breach of her right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution.

The ruling has since sparked hope within Kenya’s transgender community, with activists and athletes describing it as a critical step toward recognition, equality, and protection under the law.