LGBT rights Ai: Will Kenya be the latt to pass anti-gay law?

Contents:

• GAY RIGHTS KENYA: 'WHY OUR FIGHT ISN'T OVER'
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• GAY MARRIAG WON’T APPLY KENYA: ACK’S OLE SAP
• STORM OVER SUPREME COURT LG ON GAY RIGHTS KENYA
• IS KENYA ABOUT TO FOLLOW UGANDA WH STRICT ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN?
• KENYA PRINT WILLIAM RUTO SAYS NO TO GAY MARRIAG

GAY RIGHTS KENYA: 'WHY OUR FIGHT ISN'T OVER'

Image source, Gee Wafula/BBCKenya's High Court has led agast mpaigners seekg to overturn a law banng gay sex.

More on this story:What has been like to be gay Kenya? I am source, Gee Wafula/BBCImage ptn, The law banng gay sex is specific to men but activists say that lbian, bi, trans and non-bary voic are val this nversatnBut there many dividuals om the muny who have experienced physil and verbal vlence and var forms of discrimatn. Today, there are muni of gay, lbian, trans men and women, and non-bary dividuals across the untry who support, enurage and love one another.

It was 2016 that mpaigners filed a se Kenya's High Court llg for the crimalisatn of gay sex. 'The gay genie is out the bottle'The Kenyan gay genie was out of the bottle and out of the closet.

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

Image source, Gee Wafula/BBCImage ptn, Judg led May that the lonial-era law crimalisg gay sex is not unnstutnalSeated a stairwell, other iends and I listened to the lg beg read out. Image ptn, Juliana and Esther Soi married the early 1990sHomosexual acts may be outlawed Kenya but there is a long tradn among some muni of women marryg each is hard to fathom a untry where relig lears nmn gay unns as "un-Ain" - and those who dare to clare their partnerships openly often receive a hostile public the s volvg women are not regard the same a woman has never had any children, she tak on what is regard as the male role a marriage, providg a home for the younger woman, who is then enuraged to take a male sexual partner om her partner's clan to bee offsprg will be regard as the u of the marriage.

In 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 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" I met Mr Kaluma - a member of veteran Kenyan opposn polician Raila Odga's Orange Democratic Movement - he was stg behd his sk at his office the pal Nairobi, proof-readg and makg rrectns to a bill that he tends to table parliament soon.

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

"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 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. "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 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.

GAY MARRIAG WON’T APPLY KENYA: ACK’S OLE SAP

"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". 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.

STORM OVER SUPREME COURT LG ON GAY RIGHTS KENYA

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. Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma says. 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". "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 says.

FWI's Mormon founr Sharon Slater ni that the group promot anti-gay laws Ai.

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

She 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". This after the church of England allowed prits to bls the civil marriag of same-sex upl a profound shift the church’s stance on homosexualy after a historic vote by s erng body.

The Clergy led by Christ is the Answer Mistri (CITAM) and Leg Maria of Ain Church Missn have rejected last week’s lg of the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCoK) on gays rights and warned that act was sful. The lg giv gay dividuals the eedom of associatn.

Rev O noted that this ntroversial lg me agast the backdrop of sectns of the Church the Wt cid to bls gay unns. The Supreme Court s lg, stated: “Dpe gayism beg illegal ( Kenya), they have a right of associatn.

KENYA PRINT WILLIAM RUTO SAYS NO TO GAY MARRIAG

“This rather ntradictory lg has left many of wonrg whether other illegal practners like paedophil and those volved ct also have right of associatn and if not, how different they are om homosexuals.

“On Friday, 24 Febary 2023, the Supreme Court of Kenya unr a seven-judge bench led that the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer (LGBTQ) muny have the right to associatn. Legalizg homosexualy and offerg a platform for their eedom of associatn shall pletely ero the moral ethos of our youth and we therefore reject the lg wh the ntempt serv. The gatherg was meant to be a celebratn, but the anisers had also been reful to take attendg the gay pri party the Kenyan port of Mombasa last week arrived on and twos, most drs, whout flags or regalia.

Mombasa has many nservative Christians and Mlims and pollg suggts the vast majory of Kenyans nsir homosexualy to be taboo, even if tolerance is creepg gay muny also liv fear of appallg vlence. Earlier this year, an openly gay activist was attacked by a mob a slum close to the party venue. Many fear such attacks may crease after neighbourg Uganda recently passed one of the world’s strictt anti-gay laws, and some policians Kenya now want to do the the party, therefore, atten only changed to lourful stum once they joed the baret si, but some guts and dignari clearly still wanted to distance themselv om the proceedgs.