FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NAIROBI, KENYA, 4 March 2020
On 5 March 2020, the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (“ISLA”) and Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (“KELIN”) will return to court as joint amicus curiae in the case in which Dr Tatu Kamau, as the Petitioner, is challenging the constitutional validity of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act (“the Anti-FGM Act”). The case commenced on 24 October 2019 before the Constitutional Division of the High Court in Kenya (“the Court”). It resumes before Justice Lydia Achode, Justice Kanyi Kimondo and Justice Margaret Muigai in court room 18, 4th floor, Milimani Law Courts as detailed in the Cause List available here: http://kenyalaw.org/kl/index.php?id=8284.
For details on the intervention that ISLA and KELIN seek to make as amici curiae in this matter, please see the press release issued at the first sitting of this matter, available here: http://www.the-isla.org/press-release-fgm-case-23-october-2019/.
Less than a month after the world marked the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, the State returns to Court to oppose Dr Tatu’s petition. Of the ten parties enjoined as interested parties in the proceedings, all but one oppose Dr Tatu’s petition. Tomorrow is expected to be the last hearing at which witness testimonies will be put before the Court. Two organisations enjoined in the proceedings as interested parties will present the final set of witness testimonies before the Court. Their evidence is expected to demonstrate that the declaration sought by Dr Tatu from the Court that the Anti-FGM Act is unconstitutional for being in violation of adult consenting women’s right to culture, health and equality is untenable.
For further enquiries kindly contact:
Matilda Lasseko
ISLA VAW Lawyer
Tel: +27 72 740 1764
Email: matilda@the-isla.org
Carolene Kituku
Counsel for ISLA and KELIN
Tel: +254 71 026 1408
Email: ckituku@kelinkenya.org
DOWNLOAD FULL PRESS RELEASE: https://staging.creativebox.agency/isla-beta/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2d57a920-press-release_isla_kelin_dr-tatu-case_vaw_4-march-2020.pdf