By Andrew Kariuki
The High Court in Nairobi has nullified three directives that had barred Marie Stopes Kenya from providing abortion services, post-abortion care, and related public information.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, December 18, 2025, Justice Chacha Mwita found that the bans issued by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB), the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) and the Director of Medical Services (DMS) were unlawful and issued without constitutional authority.
The court allowed a petition filed by the Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa (NAYA–Kenya) and Jackline Mary Karanja, who challenged the directives imposed in 2018.
The petitioners argued that the restrictions denied young people, women and other vulnerable groups access to lawful reproductive health information and essential medical services.
Justice Mwita ruled that the three bodies acted outside their legal mandates.
He held that the KFCB lacked authority under its governing law to ban a public awareness campaign run by Marie Stopes Kenya in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and aired through media platforms.
The court further found that the KMPDC, as constituted at the time, had no jurisdiction to discipline institutions, as its mandate is limited to individual medical practitioners and dentists.
On the role of the Director of Medical Services, the court held that the office had overstepped its powers by issuing directives that properly fell within the mandate of the Director General of Health, rendering the ban on post-abortion care unlawful.
“The impugned decisions were made without legal authority and are therefore unconstitutional,” Justice Mwita ruled, issuing orders of certiorari to quash all three directives in their entirety.
In their case, the petitioners told the court that the bans had serious consequences, including denying women and girls access to emergency and life-saving reproductive health services, even where such care is permitted by law.
They maintained that the directives violated constitutional rights and disrupted access to accurate sexual and reproductive health information.
The court agreed, finding that the actions of the three agencies infringed on fundamental rights and exceeded the scope of their statutory powers, effectively clearing the way for Marie Stopes Kenya to resume the affected services and public education initiatives.
