Kenyan society is highly conservative, and a large majority of people hold negative views of LGBT people. Homosexuality is "largely considered to be taboo and repugnant to cultural values and morality" of Kenya. According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 96 percent of Kenyan residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the fifth-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed. The Kenyan Christian Professionals Forum (KCPF), an anti-gay religious group, supports the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws, stating that they reflect the will of a country where 84.8% of citizens identify as Christian.
According to CNN, a 2014 report by Kenya’s parliament found the Kenyan government prosecuted 595 cases of homosexuality between 2010 and 2014. Despite this, various organizations are working to protect and improve LGBT rights. That’s why Kenya could follow South Africa and become the second country in the continent to decriminalize gay sex. A case currently in front of the country’s High Court could potentially repeal the Kenya anti-gay laws and create a ripple effect to overturn similar anti-LGBTQ laws across the continent. The court is due to pronounce a date for the ruling on April 26.
“We are concerned about move to legalize the acts. We still believe in the Bible. The Bible is above our cultures and does not allow it. So we must stand for that truth,” said retired Anglican Bishop Julius Kalu of the Mombasa Diocese.
As BBC reports, some religious leaders have lobbied against the law, which carries a sentence of up to 14 years in prison. They say repealing the ban — which they call a vestige of British colonialism — is a matter of protecting gay Kenyans’ health and dignity.
“I think it’s a delicate matter of concern to the church. Our churches do not exist in isolation, but we fear the secular forces will always be against the church,” said Kalu, adding that he won’t be surprised if the ruling is in favor of repeal.
“It is particularly disturbing when religious values are used to justify persecution of selected groups,” said the Rev. Kennedy Mwita, district superintendent of the United Methodist Church in South Nyanza. “Christians proclaim that all people are God’s children and deserve protection of their human and civil rights.”
Photo Credits: The Advocate
