Artistic and LGBTQ+ Freedoms in Kenya Under Scrutiny

Freemuse and Nhimbe Trust’s joint submission to Kenya’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), April/May 2025, raises concerns about Kenya’s obligations to protect freedom of expression, focusing on the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ artists, state suppression of artistic content, and restrictions on public assembly. The UPR is a UN process under which UN member state’s human rights records come under review every four and a half  years.

Freemuse and Nhimbe Trust highlight that the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), empowered by the Film Stage Plays Act, regulates film and broadcast content. This law, however, is criticised as “arbitrary and overly broad.” KFCB frequently overreaches, banning content and imposing fines without allowing creators the right to respond or appeal, thereby centralising control over artistic expression. In 2021, for instance, KFCB sought to block LGBTQ+ content on Netflix, using laws penalising same-sex relations to justify censorship. Such censorship, under the form of regulating “indecency” reinforces conservative values and restricts freedom of expression. Kenya’s anti-Finance Bill protests (June–August 2024) saw significant participation from artists. Although the bill was ultimately withdrawn, leading to high-level dismissals of officials, police brutality, court order violations, and excessive force resulted in deaths and injuries, including among artists.

The joint submission urges Kenya to prevent laws criminalising consensual same-sex relations and LGBTQ+ content while addressing homophobic crimes, to replace the Kenya Classification Board with an independent content rating body, and to ensure new assembly laws uphold international human rights standards for freedom of assembly.

Freemuse and Nhimbe Trust will be closely watching the Kenya UPR review session and expects that our concerns for the state of artistic freedom in Kenya will feature highly among member States’ recommendations

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