Is Kenya about to follow Uganda wh strict anti-gay legislatn?

Contents:

• ‘THE SKY DON’T LLAPSE.’ A FILMMAKER EXPLOR GAY LIFE KENYA.
• KENYA TO LE ON GAY RIGHTS AS AIN NEIGHBOURS LOOK ON
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• IS KENYA ABOUT TO FOLLOW UGANDA WH STRICT ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN?

‘THE SKY DON’T LLAPSE.’ A FILMMAKER EXPLOR GAY LIFE KENYA.

The laws create a misguid perceptn society that lbian, gay, bisexual and queer dividuals are crimal; a perceptn that subsets of the state and relig stutns advance to further perpetuate human rights vlatn and acts of vlence.

Sammy and Alex walk the Kara Fort durg the filmg of "I Am Samuel, " a documentary about a gay Kenyan man's stggle to be accepted by his fay and untry, Nairobi, Kenya, April 19, 2018. A lonial-era prohibn on homosexualy mak “rnal knowledge agast the orr of nature” punishable by up to 14 years “I Am Samuel, ” banned Kenya for promotg homosexualy, isn’t about that. In 2019, the untry’s high urt upheld a lonial-era legal prohibn on homosexualy, which mak “rnal knowledge agast the orr of nature” punishable by up to 14 years “I Am Samuel” isn’t about that.

Judg Kenya’s high urt will ci on Friday whether to repeal laws crimalisg homosexualy, a potentially historic cisn that has implitns for the rt of Ai, where LGBT people face wispread discrimatn.

KENYA TO LE ON GAY RIGHTS AS AIN NEIGHBOURS LOOK ON

Whatever happens Kenya will have a direct impact on all, ” said Frank Mugisha, an activist based neighbourg Uganda, where homosexualy is outlawed and thori have attempted to impose harsher sentenc on gay people recent years. All the rights will fally be regnised for queer people Kenya, ” said Lelei Cheto, of the Natnal Gay and Lbian Human Rights Commissn (NGLHRC) crim agast gay people – cludg physil and sexual asslt, blackmail and extortn – are mon, but most victims are too fearful to go to the police, rights groups say.

In several, gay people face life imprisonment or the ath attempt to get the laws repealed is beg opposed by the Kenya Christian Profsnals Fom (KCPF), a aln of Catholic, Prottant and Evangelil church. Charl Kanjama, the lead lawyer reprentg the fom, said homosexualy was “a sexual perversn that is damagg to the dividual, the fay and the society”.

In Ai there is a strong sense of muny and a society has the right to outlaw a behavur if is abhorrent and immoral, ” Kanjama urt has heard om expert wns who said there have long been tablished tradns of tolerance of homosexualy mpaign to repeal Sectn 162 received a major boost last year when India’s top urt scrapped a law that punished gay sex wh up to 10 years jail a historic verdict. There are Kenyans who paid the ultimate price for the eedoms we enjoy today, ” Jtice Wilida Okwany told a packed urtroom Nairobi at the Kenyatta, the print of Kenya, has scribed gay rights as an issue that was “of no importance to the people of Kenya”. “This is not an issue of human rights, this is an issue of our own base as a culture, as a people regardls of which muny you e om, ” Kenyatta told CNN an terview last neighbourg Tanzania, thori Dar Salaam, the biggt cy, have lnched a seri of crackdowns on gay people recent years.

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

Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny.

Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab". "We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May.

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

IS KENYA ABOUT TO FOLLOW UGANDA WH STRICT ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN?

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. "The bill will propose a total ban on what the Wt lls sex-reassignment prcriptns and procr, and prohib all activi that promote homosexualy, terms of...

Gay 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 orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many 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".