Lobby groups want Kenya-US tra al halted over anti-gay bill

Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual Kaluma tells me he wants their asylum to be revoked, and for them to leave a small, hidn church set up to offer fort and support to LGBTQ people central Nairobi, the female pastor says Mr Kaluma's bill is g "a lot of panic, anxiety, fear".

It fuels some kd of vlence that now people are planng but holdg back on, " she tells Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia". "It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma 's Mormon founr Sharon Slater ni that the group promot anti-gay laws Ai. "Fay Watch oppos legislatn that penalis a person for havg sexual attractns or for how they intify, " she says an emailed rponse to the Slater addrsed Ain lawmakers, clerics and mpaigners at their fom Uganda's laki cy of Entebbe March, and later appeared a group photo wh Print Meveni at his official more than 20 years, Mrs Slater has lobbied ernments on what she lls "fay valu" and has ma her missn to mpaign agast children and young people beg given Comprehensive Sexualy Edutn (CSE), a curriculum-based sex tn programme champned by the Uned Natns and other c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic.

"It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy" I ntact Maria Bakaroudis, UNFPA's CSE specialist for east and southern Ai, for ment, she says she is not keen to talk about the "opposn", as she refers to adds that the manual is only a guile, and each untry n tailor to su their Bakaroudis fends CSE, sayg provis "life-savg rmatn" to curb high rat of untend pregnanci, HIV, and sexually transmted 's LGBTQ muny has been wagg a long-nng mpaign to mand equal rightsAlthough Mr Kaluma attend the meetg Uganda -sponsored by FWI, he ni workg wh the group on his bill, which he says will propose a ban on teachg CSE sayg is part of the "LGBTQ agenda". It is the culmatn of a -long legal battle, and a victory for the LGBTQ+ a majory cisn, the urt led that the non-ernmental ordatn board was discrimatory and ged on the muny’s nstutnal right to associatn by refg to register any of six nam proposed by the muny’s reprentativ, among them the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn and the Gay and Lbian Human Rights ernment body had said that permtg registratn would ntravene sectns of the untry’s penal that crimalise gay and lbian unns, cludg a Brish lonial law layg down a 14-year sentence for anyone nvicted of homosexual acts.

KENYAN POLIL PARTY PH ANTI-GAY BILL DPE SOME GAS FOR LGBT COMMUNY

“There may be many people who are stgglg wh different kds of sexual sir but they have not gone to urt for the whole natn to regnise them, ” stat the church, which has a large followg Kenya’s urban Kenyan church lked the urt’s lg to the recent cisn by the Church of England to wele same-sex upl “unrervedly and joyfully” Kaluma, an MP allied to the opposn, vowed to table a bill parliament to prohib homosexualy and impose stiffer penalti, cludg life prison, for those engaged same sex lg will be a btersweet victory for the LGBTQ+ muny Kenya, whose members have been subject to harassment, excln and vlence. Kenya's so-lled Fay Protectn Act would crimalize same-sex sexual acts between nsentg adults wh a mimum of 10 years prison while imposg the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy, " fed as "engagg homosexual acts wh a mor or disabled person and transmtg a termal disease through sexual means. Acrdg to the new bill — as well as leavg anyone nvicted of "homosexualy" facg up to 10 years prison — a person who is nvicted of what the bill refers to as “aggravated homosexualy” uld face the ath penalty certa circumstanc, cludg for "serial offenrs", or for anyone havg same sex-relatns wh a person wh a disabily.

Addnally, media and journalists face prosecutn or imprisonment if they publish, broadst, or distribute any ntent that "promot homosexualy” the bill is still unrgog chang, some Ugandan MPs have shared their cricism of llg “unnstutnal” and argug that the offens crimaliz are already vered the untry's of crimal law. World lears, LGBTQ+ activists, and human rights anizatns have been quick to rpond wh their disapproval of the bill, llg for Print Meveni to rensir and reject the new Anti-Homosexualy Act passed by the Ugandan Parliament yterday would unrme fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and uld reverse gas the fight agast HIV/AIDS.

What’s more is that while Uganda has ma stris towards the eraditn of HIV, wh the number of AIDS-related aths creasg by 60% sce 2010, UNAIDS rearch shows that sub-Saharan Ai (a regn that clus Uganda) the chanc of gay men and other men who have sex wh men ntractg HIV is five tim higher untri that crimalize same-sex sexual activy pared to those that do not. In Febary, the Kenyan Supreme Court led that the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn uld register as a non-ernmental anizatn there, sparkg outrage among nservative lawmakers and Print William Ruto, who orred his ernment’s attorney general to challenge the urt’s cisn as a vlatn of Kenyan and moral law.

KENYA SAFE HAVENS AT RISK WH DRANIAN ANTI-GAY BILL

"I will ask them to take me to vote for that, to kick them out, kick LGBT people out of Kenya pletely, " he after Uganda enacted one of the most dranian anti-LGBT laws on Earth, Kenya uld be poised to follow su wh a siarly formulated bill that punish gay sex wh prison or even ath some s, acrdg to a draft of the law and two lawmakers backg parliament. Some regnal lawmakers ame the issue as an almost existential battle to save Ain valu and sovereignty, which they say have been battered by Wtern prsure to pulate on gay draft of Kenya's Fay Protectn Bill, seen by Rters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law, which was signed by Print Yoweri Meveni at the end of May to the dismay of the LGBT muny, human rights mpaigners and Wtern sex is punishable by at least 10 years jail unr the proposed Kenyan law, while "aggravated homosexualy", which clus gay sex wh a mor or disabled person or when a termal disease is passed on, brgs the ath penalty. "We nnot travel the road of women marryg their fellow women and men marryg their fellow men, " he said at the proposed Kenyan law reflects a signifint gree of agreement and ordatn on anti-gay polici between lawmakers across the regn, acrdg to the draft of the bill as well as Rters terviews wh the Kenyan MPs and activists.

"The Uned Stat  advanc efforts around the globe to protect LGBTQI+ persons om vlence  and abe, crimalizatn, discrimatn, and stigma, and to empower lol  LGBTQI+  movements and  persons, " the spokperson said rponse to qutns about this REIGNS AT NAIROBI PRIDEThe Kenyan bill would toughen up a lonial-era statute unr which gay sex was already illegal, though the olr, ls tailed law was rarely proposed law would signal the ath knell for Kenya's stat as a place of relative refuge for gay people East Ai as the only untry the regn to host refuge fleeg persecutn bee they are draft bill stipulat that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecutn lked to sexual orientatn.

‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW

Anticipatn of the new legislatn, and the anti-gay rhetoric polics and the media om public figur such as Ali and Kaluma that has acpanied , is already stg a chill over the LGBT muny, acrdg to anizers of the Pri event Nairobi this Kacha, one of the anizers, said that unlike prev years the lotn was not disclosed advance out of fear that anti-gay activists would target the event. "Kenya as a untry don't feel like home anymore, " she advot and opponents of the Fay Protectn Bill say has a good chance of beg law, boosted by the enactment of the Ugandan law and well-anized and fanced anti-LGBT polil Dias, executive director of the Gay and Lbian Coaln of Kenya, also ced last year's electn of Ruto. “I will ask them to take me to vote for that, to kick them out, kick LGBT people out of Kenya pletely, ” he after Uganda enacted one of the most dranian anti-LGBTQ laws on Earth, Kenya uld be poised to follow su wh a siarly formulated bill that punish gay sex wh prison or even ath some s, acrdg to a draft of the law and two lawmakers backg parliament.

Some regnal lawmakers ame the issue as an almost existential battle to save Ain valu and sovereignty, which they say have been battered by Wtern prsure to pulate on gay draft of Kenya’s Fay Protectn Bill, seen by Rters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law, which was signed by Print Yoweri Meveni at the end of May to the dismay of the LGBTQ muny, human rights mpaigners and Wtern sex is punishable by at least 10 years jail unr the proposed Kenyan law, while “aggravated homosexualy, ” which clus gay sex wh a mor or disabled person or when a termal disease is passed on, brgs the ath penalty. “We nnot travel the road of women marryg their fellow women and men marryg their fellow men, ” he said at the proposed Kenyan law reflects a signifint gree of agreement and ordatn on anti-gay polici between lawmakers across the regn, acrdg to the draft of the bill as well as Rters terviews wh the Kenyan MPs and activists.

“The Uned Stat advanc efforts around the globe to protect LGBTQI+ persons om vlence and abe, crimalizatn, discrimatn, and stigma, and to empower lol LGBTQI+ movements and persons, ” the spokperson said rponse to qutns about this reigns at Nairobi PriThe Kenyan bill would toughen up a lonial-era statute unr which gay sex was already illegal, though the olr, ls tailed law was rarely proposed law would signal the ath knell for Kenya’s stat as a place of relative refuge for gay people East Ai as the only untry the regn to host refuge fleeg persecutn bee they are draft bill stipulat that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecutn lked to sexual orientatn. Anticipatn of the new legislatn, and the anti-gay rhetoric polics and the media om public figur such as Ali and Kaluma that has acpanied , is already stg a chill over the LGBTQ muny, acrdg to anizers of the Pri event Nairobi this Kacha, one of the anizers, said that unlike prev years the lotn was not disclosed advance out of fear that anti-gay activists would target the event.

‘DEEPLY TROUBLG': UN RIGHTS CHIEF ON UGANDA ANTI-GAY BILL

“Kenya as a untry don’t feel like home anymore, ” she advot and opponents of the Fay Protectn Bill say has a good chance of beg law, boosted by the enactment of the Ugandan law and well-anized and fanced anti-LGBTQ polil Dias, executive director of the Gay and Lbian Coaln of Kenya, also ced last year’s electn of Ruto.

Mbajjwe Nimiro Wilson, 24, a gay man om Uganda, a safe hoe Otieno for The New York TimIn a spartan safehoe wh flimsy curtas and no furnure northwt of the Kenyan pal, Nairobi, people om neighborg Uganda clung to the few valuabl they uld snatch while fleeg harsh new legislatn targetg them back home. A lbian uple clenched the one smartphone that held photos om happier days, gog on dat and dancg began leavg after Uganda’s Parliament passed a sweepg anti-gay bill late March that threatens punishment as severe as ath for some perceived offens, and lls for life prison for anyone engagg same-sex relatns.

UGANDA’S HARSH ANTI-GAY BILL IS NOW LAW

In terviews, more than a dozen gay Ugandans who had fled to Kenya scribed how their iends, fay and neighbors turned agast them over the past year, as renewed anti-gay sentiment swept over the nservative Parliament, lawmakers promoted the basels allegatn that there was a plot to promote homosexualy schools. In the streets, Mlims marched agast them, and Christian church, clerics urged ngregants to rema watchful about efforts to lure their children to Augt, the thori took their most drastic actn yet when they closed Sexual Mori Uganda, the untry’s leadg gay rights Parliament adopted the bill March, dozens of L.

” It would also “jeopardize” Uganda’s progrs toward endg AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the statement Ugandan bill is already spirg others across the ntent, cludg Kenya, where a recent Supreme Court cisn had allowed gay rights groups to register legally — a lg that has drawn vol cricism om the print and others.

BILL TO STONE GAYS TO DEATH INTRODUCED KENYA

In the vio, 26-year-old Elisha Misa, who is reported to have been prevly imprisoned on filement charg, speaks for a ltle over eight mut tailg how he was lured as a mor to actg gay porn by Sexual Mori Uganda (SMUG)—a nonernmental anizatn (NGO) based Kampala workg to support and fend LGBTQ+ persons the untry. The would bee the first anti-gay laws on the ntent, laws that are now beg targeted by Ain LGBTQ-rights activists who argue that homophobia, not homosexualy, was an import om the effort suffered a setback this week, as Kenya’s High Court unanimoly led that the untry’s own Brish-era penal agast unnatural acts, adopted to law at Kenya’s 1963 pennce, do not vlate the untry’s 2010 nstutn. “We have to undo the notn of what culture is, ” as well as “what means to be Ain, ” Kari Mugo, the operatns manager at the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn of Kenya, told lls to reexame laws and tradns that were first imposed by the Brish have been acpanied by a new willgns on the part of Bra self to acknowledge s part crimalizg homosexualy around the world.

Some smaller former Brish terrori such as Belize have done so, wh South Ai gog so far as to legalize gay marriage 2006 and Malta followg su many LGBTQ Ains I’ve met, the movement to lonize Ain relatnships rri an emotnal weight at least as strong as the sire to reject English as a lonial language or to mand the return of Ain artifacts—looted durg lonial tim—om mms throughout the Wtern world. Ak to reclaimg their physil herage, to strike down laws agast homosexualy would be to reimage what life for LGBTQ people Kenya, Uganda, and other former Brish loni might have been like whout a century or more of Brish-imposed argument is tchg on: Proment amics and human-rights advot have begun drawg attentn to the lonial history of the laws recent months. As Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bullet not, Lively’s efforts to portray LGBT activists as paternalistic are unrmed by his own rerd of portrayg himself as the father of Uganda’s “pro-fay” movement and celebratg his efforts there as a “nuclear bomb agast the gay agenda” that would spread across the ntent.

“There is need to protect children and youth who are vulnerable to sexual abe and viatn as a rult of cultural chang, uncensored rmatn technology, parentls child velopmental settgs and creasg attempts by homosexuals to raise children homosexual relatnships through adoptn, foster re or otherwise. Nigerian Print Goodluck Jonathan, who earlier this year signed an anti-gay law that has spurred vlent persecutn of LGBT people, was nonted at a dner by a Micheal Ighodaro, a gay Nigerian activist and fellow at the Internatnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn, while he was Washgton D. It was not immediately clear what the punishment is for that offense followg last-mute amendments a protracted plenary ssn the pal, bill also creat the offense of “attempted homosexualy, ” punishable wh up to 10 years activy is already punishable wh life imprisonment unr a lonial-era law targetg “rnal knowledge agast the orr of nature, ” partly the basis of a report by dissenters on the parliamentary mtee that vetted the bill before Tuday’s vote.

Lobby groups want Kenya-US tra al halted over anti-gay bill

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LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?