Kenyan Leader Tasked With Uncovering Why Antigay Laws Aren’t Enforced

Laws need to be enforced; it’s a fundamental necessity for any developed society. Otherwise there’s no point in having them.

But what happens when a law is so fundamentally unjust that its very existence is a threat to the society in question? Laws should protect people and create stable communities, yet Kenya’s antigay laws do the exact opposite.

Laws need to be enforced, and the tug-of-war between morality and legality is making that a tricky thing in Kenya. So tricky, in fact, that National Assembly Majority Coalition leader Aden Duale has been tasked with giving a full report regarding alleged non-enforcement of the laws.

And the laws are just as awful as you’d imagine — Section 162 of the Penal Code prohibits same-sex relations and provides a jail term of not less than 14 years for those convicted of the felony. Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for 14 years.

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Duale’s deadline is six weeks, but he says he’ll need “two or three years” in order to produce his report.

Could this be Duale’s own way of avoiding enforcement? “Two or three years” seems too vague to be sincere, but then again perhaps he’s just that thorough.

Hopefully Duale’s “investigation” is the never ending story and the laws can be undone by the time he’s forced to reach conclusions.

Sadly, we’re not holding out breath to find out.