We knew things weren’t going well in Kenya when a cabinet member’s call for gays and straights to coexist peacefully was answered by religious conservatives with furor. And when prison officials reluctantly release gay men arrested for trying to get married with the advice that they should split town — or else — well, you can imagine what the climate there for our kind is. Now enter Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who’s called for all gays — men and women — to be jailed. Ugh.
There is “no need” for homosexuality because there are enough women for the number of men, and vice versa, Odinga told an slum village audience at a Nairobi rally yesterday. “Any man found engaging in sexual activities with another man should be arrested. Even women found engaging in sexual activities will be arrested. … This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in this country. Men or women found engaging in those acts deserve to be arrested and will be arrested.”
The disgusting rhetoric came as a response to Kenya’s new constitution, adopted in August, that some believe lends status to same-sex relationships. But the constitution, which President Mwai Kibaki backed and created the new role of prime minister for Odinga in a power sharing arrangement arranged to appease the opposition, contains no such language, Odinga assured his audience. “Those were lies from leaders who wanted to confuse Kenyans to reject the new law, the Constitution is very clear on that matter. It does not state anywhere that same sex marriage is legal in Kenya.”
We realize this is a call by the co-head of a nation’s executive branch for the apprehension and detainment of an entire class of people simply for being born a certain way, correct? And that, with Kenya’s western neighbor Uganda, such action would create a geographical block of legalized bigotry?
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The comments require an immediate rebuke for leaders around the globe, beginning wit Sec. Hillary Clinton. So far I see condemnation only from international gay rights groups. This needs to be elevated.
Jeff K.
I hate to say it, but I think Africa needs another round of colonialism. The savages aren’t so noble after all.
Disgusted Gay American
..ut ohh, sounds like Africa needs another round of Slave ships headed there, and TAKING all the slaves it can get (of course ALL backed by religious teachngs of course, slavery is good) ..((((SNARK)))
:)
Lets not forget that white American Christians are heavily pushing homophobia on Africa.
Kev C
Isn’t it odd that african countries are starting to crack down on homosexuality while Obama and Hillary are in office? I hope Odinga’s “cousin” speaks out against this.
Rick Gold
She will probably say it’s a “state’s rights” issue.
Bless her heart.
REBELComx
@Jeff K.: Oh Jeff, Colonialism is what started this ridiculous anti-gay attitude in Africa to begin with.
customartist
Email United Nations US Ambassadors:
http://archive.usun.state.gov/Issues/Contact2.html
Address your comments to:
Ambassador Susan E. Rice
Ambassador Rosemary A. DiCarlo
Ambassador Brooke D. Anderson
Ambassador Rick Barton
Ambassador (Ret.) Joseph H. Melrose, Jr.
Call the US UN:
212-415-4062
Email the UN as a whole:
http://www.un.org/en/contactus/
Email The Whitehouse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
BrooklynBorn
It’s still a continent with a massive slave trade going on so if the Western world doesn’t care about that how can you expect it to worry about gays going to prison?
mikey the pissed off kenyan
Am Kenyan and it is such comments that disgust me. If you are gay in Africa, you’re told there are so many women you can marry so why be gay, it’s like its just a simple button that you press and wham!!! I don’t blame the west for thinking we are savages coz “we” brought it to ourselves. Also you should see how “religious” we are, hack each other over land and suspected witchcraft and wizardry, rigged elections, we swallow everything the religious bigots from the west have taught us without question then say being homo is unafrican. Well, the bible, or koran is unafrican, computers are unafrican, cars are unafrican, shopping malls are unafrican, i could go on…
reason
@Jeff K.: Colonialism is what is responsible for this type of hatred, and the majority of the problems that we face around the world today. The pushers of these hard line tactics reside right here in America, so the people you need to enslave are cruising past you everyday living the lives of luxury while spreading their gospel of hatred.
reason
@Jeff K.: Its like blaming the delivery driver for rotten fruit when the farmer that you cut the deal with is responsible.
afrolito
Another day, another topic to bring out the queerty racists.
Kev C
@reason: If that is the case, then the african hatred of homosexuals, which they call a white disease and blame europeons for spreading, is due to anti-colonialism. They want to eradicate gays because they link it to whites. Black gays are seen as traitors who sympathize with whites and are the enemy of black nationalists.
Tallskin
@Kev C, there is some truth to that. The public face of hysterical african homophobia is couched in terms of opposition to western liberalism.
So, sometimes we have to take what people say at face value.
It is a very childish temper tantrum- You like this, so we are going to take exactly the opposite position and hate what you like.
I am hoping all this horrible, feverish, delerious anti-gay nonsense is the final splurge before it all starts to get better.
After all, it is a truism that the darkest hour is before the dawn.
jason
Hillary Clinton is a fake gay advocate. So is her husband. Kenya is the country that gave us that other fake gay advocate, Barack Obama.
jason
Black homophobes? Nothing new here….
CONVERSATION CHAMBER
@jason: You making another stupid comment is nothing new either. “Jason,” I mean this with all sincerity: you’re like a three-legged Jackass…someone ought to put you out of your misery.
Jeff K.
Hm, I suppose I should have said they need another round of colonialism because the first one didn’t do any good. Of course this is all facetious posturing. We know this, right?
Silas
@Jeff K. and @Jason…
The true mark of an uneducated mind is seeing a story like this and assigning blame to EVERYONE of the same category. It’s intellectually shallow and embarrassing. Homophobes look at the things you say and then assign blame to the entire gay community, just like you claim all Africans and African-Americans are homophobic.
Educate yourselves.
Jeff K.
Who said anything about Americans? We’re talking about Africa here. And Africa’s woes go beyond homophobia. Nearly the entire continent is wracked by cultural backwardness and bad governance. A lot of it is the legacy of colonialism, but most African nations have had their independence for at least 40 years and what have they done since then? Committed genocide (Ruanda, Sudan), obliterated their economies (Zimbabwe) and fallen into anarchy (Somalia). Throwing money at the problem hasn’t worked, so what’s going to fix Africa? My comments were made for shock value, but if they aren’t going to fix themselves, then someone’s going to have to do it for them.
reason
@Kev C: Don’t think you have a clear grasp of Africa. Besides the countries with heavy Muslim populations that are following the messages of their Arab and Persian brothers (where the saying of homosexuality being a white mans disease came from) most are pretty pro European and have no interest in wiping out white people. You seem to be grasping for straws, even George Bush got an ecstatic reception across most of the continent. Evangelist that go over there, most of them who are white, also garner a great deal of respect and influence. The entire continent is not Zimbabwe, where a crazy old fool is doing what ever he can to hold on to power and justify the moronic decisions that he has taken. The continent is not one country, and in most places black nationals are less common than white nationals in America.
reason
@Jeff K.: To that I would say when you destroy a culture and then take off and isolate the countries, what would you expect to happen. One of the reason that the Jews have been so successful throughout history is becuase they have been able to hold on to their excellent culture which is engraved in their religion even while living among moral bankrupt societies throughout history. The same thing has plagued a portion of the African American community hear in the United States, they were destroyed and forced to due all sorts of inhumane things in the slave error including the destruction of the family, then you go through Jim Crow and all sorts of other things up into the late 60’s. The idea that a cultural reformation is supposed to materialize out of thin air is ludicrous, especially with the ill will that has been present in most of society well into the 80’s. The last thing that Africa needs is colonialism from America or any European countries, there culture needs to be restructured around Jewish practices and their lives will get a lot better.
Kev C
@reason: It’s not uncommon to find africans who say that homosexuality isn’t african but is a white disease, something caused by white influence. So if they’re trying to eradicate something that they think is caused by white people, what are they trying to eradicate?
So stop making excuses for it. Apologists are complicit with the criminals they make excuses for.
Pat Duffy
She won’t do a thing. This administration follows the Demo Creed on GLBT Rights….We Support You As Long As It Doesn’t Require Effort or Sacrifice.
Pato
I’m a straight kenyan guy, n no i’m not here to ‘homo bash’ infact i do think raila’s comments were a bit extreme but from what i’ve read in the comments here, i don’t think thats my biggest concern. Some guys think slave ships should be sent back and we need to be recolonized…….WTF? And african gays support such comments…..again WTF? Don’t get all high and mighty here wen in your ‘gay pride’ marches or whatever most of you hide your faces from t.v cameras and only do interviews when ur faces are blurred out, like it or not, this stigma, you perpetuate it yourselves because of the image of shame you potray when you hide like that. Or to the other extreme, go walking around holding hands or kissing on the streets or hand in the air fake cat walk (you know wat i’m talkin about) gay or straight, thats just stupid, if you were a straight chic theyd label you a slut so in all fairness keep ur shit in the bathroom, p.d.a’s hav never bn acceptable in kenya n nobody wants to be seein that stuff
jason
Pato,
Slavery was awful and completely unacceptable. White racists caused it. Black businessmen caused it too. Much of the enabling of slavery came from black businessmen who made an awful lot of money out of selling black people to the whites.
As for your comments on gay rights, I don’t really care what you say. I reserve my right to walk down the street holding another man’s hand. And I’ll do it in the middle of Nairobi if that’s possible.
We gays will never surrender our right to be who we are. If that grates, so be it.
Jan Njoki
With all the homophobia, its difficult enough to get a partner.
Now one has to also fear for their freedom and watch their back?
SteveC
“Colonialism is what started this ridiculous anti-gay attitude in Africa to begin with.”
Bullshit.
Canada; Ireland; Australia were also colonised by the UK. They inherited the same homophobic laws, but got rid of them.
Large parts of Africa were colonised by France – a country which decriminalised homosexuality about 200 years ago. The former French colonies adopted their own murderously homophobic.
Africa’s homophobia is Africa’s responsibility. Blaming colonialism is a lazy excuse for ALL of Africa’s problems.
African governments are almost universally corrupt, murderous and homophobic. Africa needs to accept responsibility for their own messes.
If they refuse then China will be only too willing to recolonise the backward continent.
samthor
The recent sweep of homophobia in Africa can & should be blamed on the christian missionaries pushing their agenda.
the so- called “messengers of God” have blood on their hands.
African cultures have not always been like this.
http://www.bidstrup.com/phobiahistory.htm
right wing gay
@SteveC: @SteveC: Absolutely right. The colonials didn’t start it. They may have codified anti-homosexual legislation, but that’s all. And while the colonising countries progressed in their civilised thinking, Africa has reverted to the jungle: south africans raping lesbians to “educate” them and abusing babies to be cured of AIDS (not to mention brutal murder of white farmers and their families); the embrace of the death penalty in Uganda and Malawi for consensual sex. Savage and uncivilised. Remove the aid package that is stolen by the ruling elite in these kleptocracies and they will rapidly change their mind.
reason
@SteveC: What you fail to understand is the racial hatred that the colonizers had of the Africans, and the beliefs that they were inferior. The crimes and manipulation that was purported on that continent far outstrips what was done in the other countries. They were also robbed of the resources to keep them poor while enriching puppets the colonizers put in place to protect their profits. Most current day European leaders who have access to the documentation and information have admitted it including the French. George Bush even brought it up in his interview yesterday and reiterated that the Europeans are responsible, the U.S. has never had colonies over there. The current leaders are embolden by similarly corrupt corporations and the weakened state of their people, the fact that the people are wary of the west after centuries of abuse is not that illogical. That would be like saying that a woman that was rapped several times in dark parking garages wouldn’t be afraid, paranoid, or what have you any time she was in a dark garage. The only thing that is going to change things over their is education and sincerity form the west and their corporations. From a human perspective what was done over there and is happening over there is a grave tragedy. China is there helping and trying to change things why we are her criticizing, how will perspectives of the west ever be changed?
right wing gay
@samthor: No. The philisophical source may be European or American. But the vicious and stupid follow through is authentically African. No excuses.
SteveC
“The recent sweep of homophobia in Africa can & should be blamed on the christian missionaries pushing their agenda.”
Bullshit.
The African people are extremely receptive to homophobia as it fits their worldview perfectly.
The religious crazies from the US go to places like Uganda; Malawi; Kenya etc preaching homophobia because they know full well that they will meet a captive, African audience who fully support their evil homophobia.
African homophobia is entirely Africa’s responsibility, and lazy excuses such as ‘Those nasty colonisers and those nasty religious people are to blame’ is a simply a copout.
I say all aid and trade to murderously homophobic countries like Malawi; Kenya and Uganda should stop.
Africa will still be able to trade with China. Let’s see how they enjoy that.
If Africa is going to wilfully ignore human rights then they need to be prepared for the consequences.
TripleB
“The recent sweep of homophobia in Africa can & should be blamed on the christian missionaries pushing their agenda.” That’s like saying they’re so dumb over there that we can control their minds that easily.
Kev C
@Pato: Sashaying and switching, or swishing and mincing (derogatory) are universal gay mannerisms. While some straight men also do them, many straight men can not move in a graceful manner. Another argument for being born gay. But it’s odd how this type of behavior causes hostility amongst straight men.
ait10101
It is very hard to generalize about Africa. It is a very large continent. You could put China, the US and Europe inside and still have plenty of room to spare. In South Africa, where I live, gays are accepted in the constitution, and have complete equal rights. There is still homophobia, but there is also in Canada, where I come from, as well as in the most progressive European states. Fingering out “Africa” in some special way has no value. It does not make sense given the size and diversity of the continent. It isn’t just racism, it is utter ignorance. Please learn a little before you post.
WillBFair
Besides the great black liberals who have supported us, from the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. onward, homophobia in the African community is ironic.
After being treated unfairly by whites, they might have learned not to repeat the offense against others.
Gay bigotry is just as ironic: our ignoring and ridiculing of unattractive people. But at least we’re not at their level. We don’t use physical violence and vicious cruelty as the hard core bigots do.
Basic fairness and kindness, and judging by merit and character, are still too hard to understand for millions of bullies across the globe. It’s sad.
Kev C
@ait10101: Homosexuality is illegal in most african countries and most muslim majority countries. Gays are generally hated and repressed in practically all of them. Sorry if that’s too general for you, but that’s reality.
Immigrants from middle-eastern and african countries carry their homophobia into europe and america, spreading hatred towards gays in the west. As a result, countries in europe are seeing an increase in street level (violence), business level (discrimination), and political level homophobia.
John (CA)
The signs at entrances to public parks in Shanghai used to read:
“No Dogs or Chinese Allowed”
I doubt you would have found too many “No Dogs or Whites Allowed” signs in colonial Philadelphia.
To say that colonialism in countries dominated by white settlers – Canada, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Argentina, etc. – was exactly the same as in non-white countries is a false equivalency. Some colonies clearly got a better deal than others. And racial politics played a huge role in determining which possession(s) received favorable treatment. The level of nastiness directed at Asians was actually quite mild compared to what they did to the Africans.
Ngari
@Jeff K.:
That’s a pretty dumb thing to say considering that these attitudes of homophobia were born from colonialism, and not from African traditional culture.
I am a Kenyan citizen and while some may say that homosexuality is “unAfrican”, actually if you look at the statute books, the only black African countries with laws prohibiting homosexuality are those who were colonized by Britain and whose constitutions are based upon Victorian British law or those based on islamic Sharia law. Those countries colonized by France, Belgium and Portugal adopted Roman/Napoleonic based legal codes which do not mention homosexuality.
And that is easily verifiable if anybody bothered to check. But of course the “black man hates gays” story is more media worthy.
It is easy to always blame others, whether you are black or white, of bad behaviour, or of being unreasonable. But it is much harder to look at yourself, again whoever you are, and acknowledge your own part, however small or large, in a problem.
Kev C
So if it’s ancient history, it’s worth debating. But if it happened this year, or this week, it’s not worth mentioning.
This week, the PM of Kenya wants to hunt down and jail all homosexuals. This month, the UN, on behalf of African and Islamic nations, voted to remove sexual orientation as a condemnable killing.
Here’s the list of countries who voted to ignore killings of LGBTs:
In favor of the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the
resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (79):
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Dar-Salam, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cameroon, China, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia,
Niger, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia,
South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan,
Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania,
Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Clearly we aren’t being cultural sensitive enough for them.
hephaestion
@Jeff K.: “The natives,” as you so grotesquely say, learned their homophobia from their European colonizers.
Know how to find the pro-gay pockets of Africa? Find those places that have had the least contact with European & American Christian missionaries. Google “Dagara + gatekeepers” to get started.
hephaestion
Russia also learned homophobia from Western European Christians. American Indians ALSO learned homophobia from Christian colonials. It is just a FACT. Before the Christians arrived, Russia, Africa & the Indians were all VERY pro-gay. It is documented.
When Catholic colonials saw gay indians in Colombia, they fed the gay Indians to packs of dogs. That WILL change a society. The Christians had the guns. Indians were forced into Christian brainwashing schools across the Americas and Australia.
When Christians came to Russia before it was Christianized, they wrote home about the disgusting sight of men holding hands and kissing in public. After Russia became Christian, by decree of the czar, homophobia took over.
And Christian missionaries and colonials in Africa had the POWER to make the laws and to outlaw homosexuality there. They had guns and they had education and they forced their homophobia on Africans. Read Malidoma Some’s books.
Jeff K.
@hephaestion: Irrelevant. If a father teaches his son that killing people is good, and then the son grows up and kills someone, do we let him get away with it because his father taught him wrong?
All of Africa is sovereign now. They are responsible for themselves and for their own hatred. The truth is, as others have mentioned before, African leaders and those complicit with them are hypocrites. They rail against things that are un-African, yet they eagerly embrace un-African institutions like Christianity, Islam, and homophobia.
India was a European colony that became independent roughly around the same time as the African countries, and while they have experienced some hurdles, they decriminalized homosexuality several years ago and are now having pride parades. I ask again, what’s wrong with Africa?
Lena
@Jeff K, cultures change. To use a Muslim example, the Ottomans legalized homosexuality back in the 1850s, at a time when it was a capital crime in many European countries, including the UK. Now, in many parts of the old Ottoman empire, you can be executed for being gay. The culture changed. It’s the job of the historian to figure out why; what I want to emphasize is that no culture is an unchanging, monolithic thing.
Your posts imply that there is something fundamentally wrong with Africa for failing to get its act together over the last century. You know, many places take their time getting their act together. Northern Europe remained a backwater for 10,000 years while the Mediterranean, the Middle East, parts of Africa, and Asia flourished. It took its time getting there, but it DID get there. If Northern Europeans can make it, so can anyone. Really.
Homophobia is a despicable thing, and this prime minister is a despicable man. That, however, gives no one an excuse for being racist in return. That, too, is a despicable thing. WHATEVER the reasons for the African situation, it will change. That’s just the way it is with human cultures. They change.
Btw, there’s an excellent book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond. It attempts an explanation. Give it a go.
TripleB
Lena, that book is just one explanation, though. Others have theorized that Europe advanced ahead of everyone and changed world history with its inventions (everything technological we use in our daily lives today, including this computer) because the cold forced the European to be more creative. Whatever. You are correct, though, that the Ottoman Empire (and the days of the Persian poets) is a good reminder that cultures change.
Kev C
Odinga is probably trying to gain grass roots support for his next presidential run, with homosexuality as a wedge issue. Online polls of Kenyans favor Odinga’s view of homosexuals.
Meanwhile, the State Dept. isn’t condemning Odinga for his homophobia, but the US has apologized to him on behalf of the Obama administration for the Wikileaks disclosure of Kenya’s swamp of corruption.
Returing to the History Channel …
Lena
@TripleB, totally agree that Diamond’s book is only a single explanation. There are many others out there 🙂 I love European inventions and European art.
@Kev C, predictable for all concerned :/
Queer Supremacist
What do you do when the oppressed become the oppressors?
What made this country great is western secularism. Those principles are the only defense against homophobia, racism, misogyny, and the repression of innocent people. Cultures that repress the inalienable economic and social rights of individuals should not and will not be tolerated anymore. National self-determination and sovereignty is a privilege of nations that respect human rights, and gay rights is a non-negotiable part of that package.
These homophobes running African “countries” into the ground are not stupid. They are cynical and calculated in their hatred of their gay superiors. And they blame “white people” for homosexuality. They are pure evil. The countries that colonized Africa are now more pro-gay than the USA; maybe they left too soon? I agree with those that want to bring back colonialism; even if they’re being sarcastic they have a point. They are inhuman monsters who are unfit to be around other humans, much less govern them.
Meanwhile, that son of a (supposed) Kenyan who is illegally occupying the White House (I don’t care if he got a majority, if he’s discriminating against us, his “presidency” is illegitimate) remains silent.
@Kev C: So much for the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”? All civilized nations need to resign from the United Nazis, and the US needs to forcibly evict it from that ugly building in New York
@jason: African tribal kings gladly sold their subjects to white Western slave traders.
Chitown Kev
@hephaestion:
To back this up, think about the fact that Christian evangelicals trying to stamp out voodoo in Haiti since the earthquake.
Then read this wiki article on how “gay positive” voudon actually is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Voodoo
ewe
Oh please. Don’t tell me Clinton and Obama have no idea why the fuck the international court in the Hague exists. All they fucking give is lip service.
Michael Ejercito
It should be hardly surprising that domestic gay rights groups in America are not talking about this much, as they almost always concern themselves with domestic issues, similar to how the NRA does not talk much about gun laws in foreign countries.
ewe
@Michael Ejercito: You are on a blog which is a domestic gay group.
Michael Ejercito
@ewe: Hence the key words, “almost always”.
ewe
@Michael Ejercito: oops. i thought the key word was “rights”. That’s why i left it out.
Mykey
@Pato: Get real dude! If any gay/bi/lez person showed their face on tele, they’d get a heap of threats from bigots like you (read this fyi: http://www.gaykenya.com/news/3860.html). So you sit back and relax on your straight as, for everything is just fine for you. By the way, i don’t believe that the black gay guys here support such comment as bringing back the ships for a second dose of colonialism.
What is really irking is how Africa’s refused to change for the better, what with the bad leadership, corruption, poor infrastructure, poverty… but rather than tackling major issues, they’d rather talk about what two consenting adults do in their bedrooms, or bathrooms, whatever! So stop with your generalization with all gays are fem, you’d be surprised at how straight some appear, maybe a friend of yours! You claim your straight and on a gay site, and not here to bash. That’s good and if so, you’d better be educating people on how to be tolerant and accepting to diversity, and not hiding your face behind a gay blog!!!
Tony
@Jeff K.: It was the first round of colonization that brought in the anti homosexual clauses into our laws. I’d hate to think what nastiness another round would bring…