Homosexual acts are already criminalized in about 30 African countries. Especially in the Christian zone of the central part of the continent, the attitude towards homosexuality has been very negative throughout the 21st century.
Now Uganda, Ghana and Kenya are taking the oppression of sexual minorities to a whole new, frightening level.
– Uganda’s new law against homosexuality makes my existence a crime. If a person admits to being gay, lesbian, trans, bisexual, intersex or queer, he can be sentenced to up to ten years in prison, says a Ugandan gay activist Ruth Muganzi.
The laws being prepared in Uganda, Ghana and Kenya also criminalize organizations of sexual minorities, their financial support and reporting on them, for example in the media.
Laws oblige ordinary people to report neighbors or friends they suspect of belonging to sexual minorities. Renting an apartment to a person belonging to a sexual minority or to their organizations will also be punishable.
– All our human rights are being taken away. When we are declared criminals based on our mere existence, our lives are in danger, says a spokesperson for the NGLHRC, Kenya’s gay and lesbian human rights commission Annette Otieno.
“A Christian country cannot support homosexuality”
In February, Kenya’s rainbow people won a significant victory in the country’s highest court. The judges stated that the prohibition of discrimination in the country’s constitution also protects people belonging to sexual minorities and that the gay and lesbian human rights commission must therefore be accepted as an official organization.
The decision of the Supreme Court raised a huge moral uproar in Kenya. The country’s president, who was elected last year, is deeply religious William Ruto announced that he respects the Supreme Court’s decision but does not accept it.
– Kenya is a Christian country and cannot support homosexuality. Our values, customs and Christianity do not allow us to support same-sex marriage. I cannot allow men to compete with women for other men. That can happen in other countries, but not in Kenya, President Ruto assured.
Anglican Archbishop of Kenya Jackson Ole Sapit claimed in a TV interview that homosexuality is a dark conspiracy of western environmental activists whose goal is to empty the earth of people in order to combat climate change.
The Kenyan Ministry of Education, on the other hand, announced that it is bringing priests to schools to combat the infiltration of sexual minorities in education supported by the West.
And on Maundy Thursday, MP Peter Kaluma made a motion in the Kenyan Parliament on the “Family Protection Act”, which is similar in content to the anti-gay laws of Uganda and Ghana.
“This could lead to the genocide of sexual minorities”
Although the law is not yet in force, according to Annette Otieno, it has already increased violence against sexual minorities. The requests for legal aid registered by the NGLHRC organization have tripled during the beginning of the year.
– People are bullied, evicted from their apartments, abused. Kenyans have been raised to hate homophobia since childhood, and this new law will exacerbate the situation.
Annette Atieno speaks in a serious voice. According to him, on the nine-point scale of genocide, sexual minorities are now at point seven.
– In social media discussions, the text is terrible in some places, it is promised that “we will dig them out of their holes, burn them, cut their necks”. The situation is really bad, says Anette Atieno.
Anette Atieno believes that the “Family Protection Act” will be approved in the Kenyan parliament quickly.
– So far, no MP has raised his voice and defended sexual minorities. The law will probably be in force in a couple of months.
Anette Atieno assures that her organization plans to challenge the new law as well and continue to fight for the rights of sexual minorities.
– But it will become even more difficult, because according to this future law, neither we nor our organization will be allowed to exist anymore.
“Homophobia is not an African tradition”
Anti-gayism is an import in Africa. In both Uganda, Ghana and Kenya, the laws on “unnatural” sex came with the British colonial rule. Modern anti-gayism, on the other hand, has reached Africa largely with the missionary work of evangelical churches in the USA.
But now the situation is being turned upside down. Conservative politicians in Christian circles consider sexual minorities to be a conspiracy of Western countries and a threat to family values and African values.
According to Ugandan gay activist Ruth Muganzi, homophobia is not part of the African tradition.
– Africa is a very diverse continent, there are a huge number of different cultures here. But they are all united by one common principle called Ubuntu.
According to Ruth Muganzi, the core of Ubuntu is the idea of community.
– I’m fine if you’re fine. If you treat other people well, you will be treated well. If your neighbor is suffering, no riches will help you yourself.
Ghana is in a difficult debt crisis, Uganda’s government is torn apart by corruption scandals, Kenya’s Halitus is the target of public anger because of the rising cost of living. It is perhaps not entirely a coincidence that it is precisely in these countries that there is a heated discussion about sexual minorities right now.
– When people are hungry and angry and demand their leaders to account for their actions, it is very convenient to turn the conversation to homosexuals and how they threaten common values, says Ruth Muganzi.
The human rights of sexual minorities are also part of a larger geopolitical game board. China and Russia are trying to increase their influence on the African continent, and they have no need to criticize African leaders for discriminating against minorities.
When the Kenyan Supreme Court voted in favor of gays’ right to organize, the Russian embassy in Nairobi tweeted: “This is just the beginning, the West always wants more. Traditional values must be defended, otherwise humanity is doomed.”