Three Anglican clergy sacked for allegedly being gay must be reinstated, a court in Kenya has ruled, after the Church failed to produce any evidence they were homosexuals.

The country's Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling forcing the Anglican Church of Kenya to pay 6.8million Kenyan shillings (£50,000) in damages and reinstall the three men.

Archdeacon John Njogu Gachau, Rev James Maina Maigua and Rev Paul Mwangi Warui will be paid their salaries in full from when they were dismissed in July 2015 and given new jobs.

Archdeacon Gachau was awarded Sh2,437,780 (£18,000) Rev Maigua Sh2,224,996 (£16,700) and Rev Warui Sh2,219,814 (£16,300).

Justice Philip Waki, Justice Roselyne Nambuye and Justice Patrick Kiage threw out an application by the Registered Trustees of the Anglican Church of Kenya which argued the payments were excessive and without legal basis.

Representing the Anglican Church lawyer Syphurine Nyongesa Mayende argued the court was failing to consider the circumstances when the priests were dismissed.

He said all three held sensitive posts within the church and accusations of homosexuality were read out to their congregations.

'Church ministers ought to have faith, credit and trust and these have been lost,' he argued.

But the court rejected their appeal, saying there was no evidence of alleged homosexuality and the Church had many dioceses across the country where they could be reinstated.