On 18 December 2025, the High Court delivered a landmark judgment reaffirming that state agencies must act within the law when regulating reproductive health services and information.
In Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa & Another v Attorney General & Others (Petition No. 428 of 2018, Justice E.C. Mwita quashed a series of directives that had banned a public awareness campaign on reproductive health services and barred Marie Stopes Kenya from providing abortion and post-abortion care services.
The Court found that the Kenya Film Classification Board had no legal mandate to ban reproductive health advertisements, noting that the Board could not point to any provision of law authorising its actions. The Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board was similarly found to have acted outside its jurisdiction, as it had no disciplinary powers over medical institutions. The Court further held that the ban on post-abortion care services was issued by a non-existent office, since the position of Director of Medical Services had been abolished under the Health Act, 2017.
As a result, the Court issued orders quashing all the impugned decisions, declaring them unconstitutional, unlawful and void.
KELIN participated in the matter as the 6th Interested Party in support of the Petition, underscoring the centrality of access to reproductive health information and services to the constitutional right to health.
Commenting on the judgment, Catherine Namulanda, Advocate for KELIN, said:
“This decision sends a clear message that public authorities cannot police reproductive health through unlawful directives. Regulation must be grounded in law, due process, and respect for constitutional rights—especially where women’s health and lives are at stake.”
KELIN welcomes the judgment as an important affirmation of the rule of law, public accountability, and the protection of reproductive health rights in Kenya. A detailed legal brief on the implications of the decision will be shared following receipt of the full judgment.
For more information, please contact:
Catherine Namulanda
Advocate for 6th Interested Party
Karen C, Kuwinda Lane, Off Langata Road
P.O. Box 112 – 00202 KNH
Tel: 0790 111 578
Email: litigation@kelinkenya.org
