Being gay in Kenya
2006-02-22 14:28
Nairobi - Chinese stir-fry sizzles on the
stove and lively conversation crackles between the three friends
gathered round a table on a Tuesday night in Nairobi.
It's a run-of-the-mill dinner party but many Kenyans would
say it is not a typical one.
"I'm not afraid, but I'm not going to tell someone, 'hey,
I'm gay'," says Alex, 31, a marketing consultant.
Stirring coconut milk into rice cooking on a glass-topped
stove, Alex, who comes from a conservative Muslim background,
says there are not many places to meet gay people and talks
excitedly about wanting to open a gays-only bar.
"There's no gay anything here," he says.
More like 'gay death'
"It's more like gay death, not gay life in Nairobi."
The three friends eating in the tiny kitchen are members of
an unrecognised and stigmatised minority in Kenya. Keeping a low
profile is their way of handling the isolation.
While debates in developed countries rage over same-sex
marriage, in most African countries gays and lesbians suffer
from more basic concerns - the right to choose how to live.
Homosexuality is outlawed in many African countries,
including Kenya, and is often condemned as being "un-African" -
a 'disease' imported from the West. In some traditional beliefs,
homosexuals are said to be cursed or bewitched.
"Homosexuality is against African norms and traditions, even
in religion it is considered a great sin," former Kenyan
president Daniel Arap Moi once said.
"Kenya has no room for homosexuals and lesbians."
In Cameroon this month, tabloid papers published names and
photos of allegedly gay politicians, businessmen and musicians
in what editors said was a crusade against "deviant behaviour."
African bishops led by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola
mutinied last year over the issue of gay Anglican clergymen.
Only South Africa, whose constitution was the world's first
to enshrine equal rights for gays and lesbians, bucks the trend.
In December, its top court ruled it was unconstitutional to deny
gays and lesbians the right to marry, paving the way for it to
become the first African country to legalise same-sex marriage.
Double lives
Though rarely enforced, punishment in Kenya for gay sex is
five to 14 years in jail. Sex between women is not mentioned in
the law.
The gay Kenyan men interviewed by Reuters asked to have
their names changed, citing potential family and work problems.
"I don't want my parents to know something that will end up
hurting them," Alex said.
Many in Kenya say they live closeted lives because they risk
being disowned or fired if their family or bosses find out.
"People live double lives here. There's a life you live with
your straight friends and the life you live as a gay person,"
says Jeremy, the co-ordinator for Galebitra, a local gay and
lesbian rights organisation.
"We are vulnerable, we are neglected, and we don't have any
visibility," he adds, speaking softly in the upstairs part of a
hamburger bar in downtown Nairobi. Jeremy says he comes to the
restaurant because it is more "gay-friendly."
Tall and lean, Jeremy slouches and says, almost whispering,
"Without massive protest and gay people coming out, standing up
for what they want, the government will continue disowning us."
He says if one country in East Africa opened up, it would
clear the way for the surrounding countries to follow. "The
situation you see in Kenya is the same for East Africa. If our
country can open up, it'll be a big breakthrough," he said.
Homosexuality 'unAfrican'?
According to Behind the Mask, a South African-based gay and
lesbian rights group, laws prohibiting homosexuality exist in
most East African countries except for Eritrea and Rwanda, where
there are no laws specifically banning homosexuality.
Punishments range from a few years in prison to death.
Last month in Nigeria, the government gave initial approval
to a draft law which would ban homosexuality and same-sex
marriage. The bill would make homosexual acts punishable with
five years in prison and outlaw gay groups and rallies. It has
yet to be approved by parliament.
On a continent with many Western missionaries and
still-flourishing animist beliefs, religion plays a major role
in shaping public opinion, especially in rural areas.
Around three-quarters of Kenyans are Christians. The
Catholic Church and the Protestant churches in Kenya, including
Anglicans, condemn homosexuality as sinful. In Islam, the Qur'an
forbids homosexual acts.
A poll in Kenya last year showed that 96% of
respondents viewed homosexuality as being against their beliefs.
Illustrating the social prejudices, opposing sides in
Kenya's constitutional referendum last year accused each other
of wanting to legalise homosexuality.
"Homosexuality is not an issue (the authorities)
particularly want to get involved with," says Mwangi Githahu, a
journalist with the influential Nation newspaper.
He said most Kenyans did not want to talk about
homosexuality. "The law and everybody else pretend it's not
happening, they just don't want to know," he added.
"There's this crazy idea out there that homosexuality is
un-African. Where that came from, nobody really knows," he says.
Back in the restaurant, Jeremy argues that there are many
different kinds of traditional family structures in Africa and
asks why same-sex relationships cannot be part of that.
"There's a lot of talk about family values. In Africa,
family unions are very important," he says.
"Emotional values are part of same-sex unions. We share the
same family problems ... but if you don't talk about it then it
becomes a silent killer."