Justice Aburili commented for the court panel. "Decriminalizing the impugned provisions would indirectly open the door for unions among persons of the same sex. If this were to be allowed, it would be in direct conflict with article 45 sub article 2 of the constitution. We take this view fully aware of numerous decisions from different foreign jurisdictions, which we have referred to that have decriminalized provisions similar to ours, however persuasive this decisions may be, they are not binding on this court," Aburili said.

Friday's ruling is a result of a petition that dates from 2015, when the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), and the Nyanza Rift Valley and Western Kenya Network (NYARWEK), all LGBT rights organizations, filed petitions with Kenya's high court asking it to declare Sections 162 (a) and (c) and 165 unconstitutional.

Court hearings began in February 2018. In a series of proceedings through 2018, the petitioners argued the laws, as stipulated in the penal codes, violated the right to privacy, freedom of expression, the right to health, human dignity and the right to freedom from non-discrimination.

The petitioners behind the historic case wanted the high court to declare unconstitutional the sections of the penal code that discriminated against members of the LGBTQ community. Eric Gitari was one of the petitioners who was present during the ruling.

"It sends a very chilling message, not just to LGBT people in Kenya but LGBT people across the African continent that there is preference, as you heard the judges say, certain cultures, which is the heterosexual culture and protection of the family. When judges have to weigh the protection of human rights of LGBT persons, they will give preference to majoritarian views and majoritarian interest of protecting families — that's what we have been told and so we will remain criminals," Gitari said. After Friday's ruling, members of Kenya's LGBT community were clearly distraught.