The High Court on Friday declined to decriminalise sections of the Penal Code that make it illegal to have consensual same sex in Kenya.

Judges Roselyn Aburili, Chacha Mwita and John Mativo dismissed the case filed by Eric Gitari and a host of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups, which sought decriminalisation of sections 162 and 165 of the law.

The judges said that declaring the sections illegal would open the door to unions of persons of the same sex, creating a conflict with article 45(2) of the Constitution.

The article states that marriage is between a man and a woman.