Nairobi, Oct 6 (EFE) – Hundreds of people took to the streets in Nairobi on Friday to protest against the LGBT community, a demonstration condemned by human rights organizations.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court in downtown Nairobi to reject the decision made by the court last February, when it allowed the legal registration of a pro-LGBT rights organization in the country against an appeal by the Kenyan government.
Three judges voted in favor of the ruling, while two dissented, arguing that Kenya cannot allow the registration of an organization that advocates actions contrary to or expressly prohibited by the Penal Code.
“LGBTQ is not African”
At the rally, National Assembly member Mohamed Ali read a speech criticizing the “misleading ruling of the Supreme Court.”
“In Kenya, as in other African countries, most customs, cultures and religious traditions consider homosexuality to be wrong, unnatural and ungodly,” Ali said.
The MP stressed that “during the formulation of the 2010 Constitution, the vast majority of Kenyans made it clear that homosexual relations remain illegal.”
“And the relationships that are allowed are only between a man and a woman,” the lawmaker said to cheers from the crowd, which demanded the resignation of those who spoke out in favor of the LGBT community.
The demonstrators, who were convened by Muslim and Christian associations, among others, carried banners with slogans such as “Kenya is not Sodom and Gomorrah,” “LGBTQ is not African,” and “Demons inspired LGBTQ.”
Rights organizations condemn the protest
In a statement, the Kenya Human Rights Commission called the protest “dangerous” and denounced the “hate campaign” that such protests represent.
In a separate release, Amnesty International said it was “deeply concerned about the recent surge in anti-LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex and Queer persons) online and offline statements and actions” in Kenya.
“It is our earnest appeal to political and religious leaders in Kenya to exercise care and caution in their public statements regarding the LGBTIQ+ communities. Instead of promoting hostility, discrimination and violence against other Kenyans, we urge them to engage in respectful dialogue with community representatives,” said AI Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton.
Colonial-era laws
Following the Supreme Court ruling, Kenyan President William Ruto said he would not allow same-sex marriage because such a union is against his country’s culture and tradition.
“I am a God-fearing man. Although we respect the court, our religion, traditions, laws and customs do not allow women to marry women or men to marry men,” Ruto said at an event in Nairobi last March.
While Kenya’s constitution only provides for marriage between members of the opposite sex, the penal code punishes sex “against the order of nature” with up to fourteen years in prison.
Of the nearly seventy countries in the world that criminalize same-sex relations, just over thirty are in Africa, where most of these laws are a legacy of the colonial era. EFE
pa/ics
