In January 2026, Kenya’s Court of Appeal ruled that the 2018 ban on Wanuri Kahiu’s film Rafiki was unlawful and disproportionate. The judges found that depicting a same-sex relationship is not the same as promoting crime and said the film should, at most, receive an age-restricted rating. The ruling also struck down police powers to forcibly stop filming and to retain cut footage, narrowing state control over film production