- Title: Kenya's relative tolerance for LGBT rights under threat after Ugandan law
- Date: 22nd June 2023
- Summary: UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, KENYA (RECENT - JUNE 1, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED LGBT REFUGEE, SAYING: "2am in the morning of the 15th March, that's when I woke up in a blast of flames, I heard a blast and by the time I woke up I was in flames. My partner, my friend was also in flames. We're all burning, there was a lot of pain and everyone was running." UNIDENTIFIED LGBT REFUGEE SHOWING PHOTOS OF HIS BURN WOUNDS (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIDENTIFIED LGBT REFUGEE, SAYING: "These are the challenges that I am facing. And they are not the challenges that only I face as an individual, much as mine, they are many, and they have made me to live with these long lasting injuries. But (this affects?) all the LGBT community within Kenya and East Africa." UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, KENYA (JUNE 11, 2023) (REUTERS) LOCATION OF KENYA'S SECOND PRIDE EVENT POP-UP SHOP SELLING OBJECTS RAINBOW BRACELET RAINBOW T-SHIRT LADY WRAPPING RAINBOW FLAG AROUND WASTE
- Embargoed: 6th July 2023 06:57
- Keywords: ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL FAMILY PROTECTION BILL KENYA LGBT PRIDE
- Location: KAKUMA, NAIROBI, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, KENYA
- City: KAKUMA, NAIROBI, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, KENYA
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Africa,Human Interest/Brights/Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002672601062023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Kenya is the only East African country that hosts refugees fleeing persecution in other countries on account of their sexual orientation.
However, refugees are highly vulnerable to discrimination and violence in Kenya, according to a recent report by the National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and Amnesty International.
It described routine violence against LGBT refugees at Kakuma camp in northwestern Kenya, which is home to 200,000 refugees from countries around the region including hundreds of LGBT people.
One refugee from Uganda, who did not wish to be named because he feared for his safety, is living in hiding in Nairobi after suffering beatings and being set on fire in Kakuma. He showed Reuters gruesome photographs of his severely burnt legs.
"2am in the morning of the 15th March, that's when I woke up in a blast of flames, I heard a blast and by the time I woke up I was in flames. My partner, my friend was also in flames. We're all burning, there was a lot of pain and everyone was running," he said, speaking on camera on condition that his face was hidden.
The refugee said his situation in Uganda became untenable after his brother discovered in 2019 that he was in a gay relationship. Disowned by his family and hounded out of his home village, he tried to live in Kampala with his partner but they were repeatedly threatened by relatives of both men.
In early 2020, his partner was kidnapped and he has heard nothing from him ever since. That prompted him to flee to Kenya, where he was allocated a spot at Kakuma, but after the repeated attacks there he lost hope of a peaceful future in Kenya.
The country has long been a relative haven for LGBT Africans, but the enactment of a draconian anti-gay law in neighbouring Uganda has galvanised Kenyan lawmakers who plan to strengthen legal curbs on LGBT people and
anyone who tolerates them.
As things stand, gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in jail under a colonial-era law, and in a conservative society where same-sex relationships are taboo for most people, LGBT rights groups report a wide range of abuse and discrimination, still, the law is rarely enforced.
That limited tolerance is being challenged, however, by lawmakers who support a Family Protection Bill mirroring the Ugandan law that they say will soon be debated by the Kenyan parliament and has a very high chance of becoming law.
The bill, seen by Reuters in draft form, would impose the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", described as involving a minor or a disabled person.
That is strikingly similar to the Ugandan law in both language and content.
Other penalties include 10 years in jail for other instances of gay sex, five years for "promoting" homosexuality, and five years for tolerance, for example if a landlord aware of gay sex taking place on their property fails to report it to police.
Lawmaker Peter Kaluma, who initiated the bill, acknowledged direct influence from Uganda. He described attending a conference organised by Ugandan lawmakers in late March where delegates from Kenya, Malawi, Sudan and Ethiopia discussed strengthening anti-LGBT legislation in their countries.
Irungu Houghton, head of Amnesty International in Kenya, said the bill would "bring the state into the bedrooms of 56 million Kenyans" by requiring employers, landlords or taxi drivers to police the sexuality of staff, tenants or clients.
The bill also stipulates that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecution linked to sexual orientation, seeking to end Kenya's status as a place of refuge.
Lawmaker Mohamed Ali, an enthusiastic supporter of the Family Protection Bill, denied the existence of gay Africans, saying homosexuality was a Western invention being imposed on the continent, where it posed an existential threat to society.
"It will pass in Kenya, this is a God fearing country, it will pass. We are waiting for it like nobody's business. Once Kaluma is done with it with the stages in parliament we are really waiting for it. It's something that if, God forbid, even if I will be in the hospital under ICU, I will ask them to take me there to vote for that thing to kick them out. To kick LGBTQ out if Kenya completely. That is a bill that every single member of parliament is waiting for," he told Reuters.
A Pride event in Nairobi earlier this month showed the delicate balance currently existing in Kenya. Organisers did not disclose the location in advance for fear that anti-gay activists would target the event. Instead, they picked up participants and brought them to the venue.
Inside, rainbow flags were on display and people enjoyed socialising in a convivial atmosphere, but many said the Ugandan law had encouraged homophobia in Kenya and made them fearful that their freedoms would be curtailed.
"It's almost as if we are stuck in the depths of winter in Canada," said Queer Republic Member, Marylize Biubwa, describing the atmosphere in the country. "Kenya as a country doesn't feel like home anymore. Being at an event like this today means we get a brief moment to breathe."
(Christophe Van Der Perre, Mukelwa Hlatshwayo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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