Appearing this week on CNN, President Uhuru Kenyatta claimed that gay rights are not an issue of human rights in Kenya.
Christiane Amanpour, host of CNN International’s Amanpour, asked Kenyatta whether equal rights for sexual minorities is something he “aspires to” for Kenya, where gay sex is a crime and violators face up to 14 years in prison.
“I will not engage in a subject that is of no, it is not of any major importance to people under the Republic of Kenya,” Kenyatta said. “This is not an issue, as you would want to put it, of human rights. This is an issue of society, of our own base as a culture, as a people.”
“Irregardless of what community you come from, this is not acceptable, this is not agreeable.”
Kenyatta claimed that 99 percent of Kenyans support laws prohibiting consensual sex between two people of the same gender.
“But it’s a global issue right now,” Amanpour responded.
“It’s important to them where they are,” Kenyatta said. “I am saying it’s not important to me as the leader of 49 million Kenyans.”
“This is not a question of governments accepting or not accepting. This is a question of society, right?” Kenyatta said, adding that laws reflect social norms.
Late last month, a Kenyan judge banned the use of forced anal exams for men suspected of being gay.
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
