Kenya’s Court of Appeal has ruled that the country’s Film Classification Board acted unlawfully when it banned the award-winning Kenyan LGBTQ+ film Rafiki for depicting a lesbian relationship, marking a significant victory for freedom of expression in the country.

Released in 2018, Rafiki made history as the first Kenyan film to premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Wanuri Kahiu, the film tells the story of two young Kenyan women who fall in love while navigating social and political pressures in Nairobi. Despite its international acclaim, the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) banned the LGBTQ+ film shortly before its release, claiming it had a “clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya”.

The filmmakers challenged the decision in court and were granted a temporary injunction allowing the film to be screened for one week. During that brief run, Rafiki broke Kenyan box office records across the country.

Crucially, the limited screening also qualified the film for entry into international festivals, where it went on to receive widespread praise, including winning Best Film in an African Language at the 2019 Africa Movie Academy Awards in Lagos.

In May 2020, Kenya’s High Court upheld the KFCB’s ban, ruling that it was constitutional and that the right to freedom of expression could be limited to protect public morality. However, in a judgment on January 23 2026, the Court of Appeal partially overturned that decision.

The appellate judges ruled that “outrightly banning a film that only depicts homosexual lifestyle without promoting or glamorising it is a disproportionate limitation to the right of freedom of expression”. They concluded that the KFCB should have classified Rafiki as suitable for adults only, rather than banning it altogether. The court emphasised that the mere depiction of same-sex relationships does not justify censorship.

While the ruling does not immediately lift the ban, the court urged Kahiu to appeal the original 2018 decision under the Film and Stage Plays Act within 30 days. The judges also struck down provisions of the Act that allow the KFCB to seize parts of films or permit police to forcibly halt screenings, except in cases of immediate threats to public safety or cruelty to animals.

Celebrating the decision to overrule the blanket statement, LGBTQ+ film on Instagram, Kahiu wrote: “Ideas are not crimes.” She described the ruling as bigger than one film, calling it a win for filmmakers, artists and all in Kenya who fought for the freedoms enshrined in the 2010 Constitution.