Kenyans demand justice for murders of LGBTQ+ community members
LGBTQ+ Kenyans are in mourning as they seek justice for the murders of two more LGBTQ+ community members.
The latest murder victims were non-binary lesbian Sheila Lumumba, 25, killed in mid-April in central Kenya, and a 50-year-old intersex woman (name not disclosed) on May 4 in western Kenya.
Those two murders came in the wake of last year’s murders of trans woman activist Erica Chandra in August in Nairobi and of LGBTQ activist Joash Mosoti in May 2021 in eastern Kenya.
The following statement was issued by galck+, formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK):
Statement on the Continued Violence Against LGBTQ+ People in Kenya
Today we mourn the loss of a 50-year-old intersex woman in Cherang’any Constituency, Trans Nzoia County. We send our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the Kenyan Intersex community.
The news about this brutal killing comes only days after laying to rest Sheila Adhiambo Lumumba, a non-binary lesbian, who met with a similarly gruesome fate. It is difficult to comprehend the inhumanity behind such violence and even more disheartening to see that law enforcement authorities are either unwilling or unable to protect citizens as aligned to their slogan “Utumishi Kwa Wote” [“Service to All”].
The May 2019 High Court ruling upheld discriminatory laws that have sustained a perception that LGBTQ+ people in Kenya can be grievously harmed and/or killed with minimal consequence to the perpetrators. These laws violate Article 28 of the Kenya Constitution 2010 on human dignity, Article 29 (a). (c), (d), and (f) on freedom and security of persons and in addition, Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention from Torture Act, 2017, which contain provisions against torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
The criminalization of consensual sexual conduct of LGBTQ+ adults subjects them – whether known or perceived – to harassment and discrimination by not only members of society, but also by duty bearers. As such, Kenya remains in breach of its international obligations as well as its Constitution, leaving LGBTQ+ citizens with no recourse to justice in the face of violence.
As galck+, we express our sorrow, we acknowledge our loss and acknowledge the great importance of each life. Together with our members, we grieve over this latest brutal murder and demand for justice to be served. We encourage our community to report security threats and/or incidents through email at info@galck.org or call us at 020-242-6060. Additionally, we offer free counselling services and you can book an appointment through this link. [Editor’s note: A contact form for galck+ is here.]
The U.S.-based African Human Rights Coalition issued this statement on April 28:
AHRC Calls for Justice For Sheila and the Decolonization of Sexuality
By Melanie Nathan,
Executive director, African Human Rights Coalition
At African Human Rights Coalition, we are deeply saddened to hear of the brutal murder of Sheila Lumumba. We extend our deepest condolences to Sheila’s grieving family, their friends and the Kenyan lesbian, non-binary and LGBTQI community. May their dear soul find rest and may their memory be a blessing. AHRC joins the call for justice for Sheila. AHRC calls for an end to the criminalization and colonization of LGBTQI+ people. It is time to end the hate these dangerous laws engender among good people.
Together with other Human Rights groups, African Human Rights Coalition is calling on the Kenyan Government to investigate the murder of Sheila Lumumba, who identified as a non-binary lesbian. This call has has sparked the trending hashtag #JusticeForSheila.
Sheila Lumumba’s body was found April 21, after being missing when their colleagues at a hospitality business noticed their absence.
Blunt force injury to the head- stab wounds to the eyes – raped – mutilated – tortured….
While police have not yet reported a motive, at African Human Rights Coalition, we are privy to the constant stories of violence perpetrated against lesbians and the LGBTQI community who become targets, based on the perceptions and climates that criminalizing laws create for the community. The law that makes adult, private, same-sex consensual conduct a crime leads to discrimination and often leads to horrendous violence. When same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized, the effect is the criminalization of sexuality and relationships, and one’s very being!
At African Human Rights Coalition we receive extensive reporting from various African countries, including Kenya, of so called “corrective” rape. This occurs where the rapist believes he can “cure” a lesbian of her sexual orientation or to make them “act more like their gender.”
Kenya is a country that in effect criminalizes ALL LGBTQI+ people through the legislative existence and application of the Kenyan Penal Code which outlaws “carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” This statute is interpreted as prohibiting any consensual same-sex sexual activity. Violators of the statute face a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment if convicted. A separate statute specifically criminalizes “indecent acts” between men. Penalties range between 5 to 21 years imprisonment.
Sections 162 and 165, CAP 163, of the Penal Code was recently constitutionally challenged in the Kenyan High Court. The highly controversial case, Eric Gitari v Attorney General & another (Petition no. 150 of 2016), with the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), sought to invalidate the law arguing that the law violated Kenya’s 2010 constitution, which guarantees equality, dignity and privacy for all citizens. The Kenyan High Court heard arguments in the case that challenged parts of the Penal Code seen as targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The NGLHRC argued that sections of the code are in breach of the constitution and deny basic rights by criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults. The commission’s executive director, Eric Gitari, noted in a statement that parts of the Penal Code are used to “justify violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the East African nation.” The case was filed in 2016 and after many postponements argument was finally heard during February of 2018.In obvious avoidance, the Kenyan Courts kept postponing ruling on the case. On May 24, 2019 the Court upheld the Penal Code.
In Kenya, homosexuality is considered a western import, un-African, a taboo and repugnant to the cultural values and morality of Kenya. The Pew Research Center: Global Divide on Homosexuality, June 04, 2013, reports that 90% of Kenyans say homosexuality should not be accepted by society. Based on my experience with direct reporting on the treatment LGBTI people in Kenya, it is my opinion that if the Court had ruled that the Penal Code is unconstitutional, the majority of the Kenyan populace would have been displeased. While LGBTI individuals were already subjected to mob and vigilante justice, it was feared these incidents would increase if the code had been voided, and the populace would be inclined to heighten the already existing proclivity to deliver extra-judicial measures to “punish” and possibly “eradicate” LGBTI individuals. This placed LGBTI community in heightened fear and on extra alert to maintain privacy.
The Court in upholding the Penal Code decided in effect to maintain criminalizing gay sex, as noted by Reuters: “…keeping same sex relations punishable by 14 years in jail in the East African nation and drawing strong criticism from the United Nations and rights activists.” … “Some gay rights activists wept outside the courtroom after the verdict while supporters of the ban clapped, congratulated each other and yelled “thank you” at the judges’ bench. Other people backing the ban held placards outside the court with messages, including “homosexuality is an abomination.”
This is the climate that brought brutal murder to Sheila. This is the climate where those seeking retribution and correction feel justified to rape, mutilate and murder. This is the climate that the Kenyan Government fosters with its failure to repeal that Draconian Penal CodesThe societal justifications are a sordid misrepresentation of the genesis and history of these penal codes.
It is not un-African to be on a spectrum of human sexuality. To suggest such is tantamount to dehumanizing Africans. All human beings are subjected to sexuality, gender identity and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) and Africans are no different. Sexuality is not a behavior in and of itself. It is also not a culture. It is a human way of being. To call any form of sexuality UN-AFRICAN is to refuse to see Africans as human and serves only to prop up the misrepresentations, misunderstandings and the dicta of religious extremists and the continued colonization of Africa.
Families are also demonized for having LGBTQI+ family members, which often results in parents, siblings and close family members turning against their kin. It is a courageous act for a Kenyan family to stand up and demand justice for their LGBTQI+ child. The distraught family of Sheila is calling for justice. Given Sheila’s sexual orientation and non-binary gender identity, this is extremely courageous and should wake Kenya up to the fact that people can love their LGBTQI+ children and demand justice for brutal murder.
Perhaps this family can help Kenya to awaken to the fact love must come ahead of hate. It is time to open Kenya’s door to understanding that being LGBTQI it is NOT a Western import, which it is touted to be in attempts to justify the criminalization of LGBTQI+ people, but the fact is it is the very law that criminalizes homosexuality that is the Western Colonial-era import.
Members of Kenya’s LGBTQI+ community routinely face discrimination and stigma, and with efforts to decriminalize gay sex thwarted, LGBTQI and LGBTQI-supporting Kenyans have taken to social media to highlight the discrimination the group faces. Kenya’s National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) says what happened to Sheila is not a one-off. “It bears mentioning that unfortunately these are not isolated incidences [sic] and are part of a pattern of attacks and violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in the country,” it tweeted. In 2021 the hashtags #JusticeForErica and #JusticeForJoash were trending following the murder of trans-woman activist Erica Chandra and LGBTQ activist Joash Mosoti.
Over 30 countries in Africa criminalize LGBTQI people with harsh punitive codes and consequences that result in persecution, violence and discrimination. We see hundreds of cases per year – those seeking protection and asylum – escaping the very violence that Sheila was subjected to.
African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC), works with LGBTQI+ communities and individuals in and from African countries seeking to claim and defend human rights, utilizing education, advocacy, resources, and direct services.
Lesbians, gay men, trans, queer, non-binary and intersex people are fleeing African countries in increasing numbers, as we struggle to find resources and funding enough to accommodate the current needs. When an incidence of violence, so brutal as this occurs it causes widespread panic and we can barely cope with the onslaught of requests for safe shelter. There are no clear-cut or smooth paths for safety and exile and the entire displacement trajectory for LGBTQI people is fraught with impossibility and complications.
AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COALITION’S (AHRC) Work: –
o Educating and advocating on the issues emanating from homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia, forming coalition alliances locally, on the continent, and abroad.
o Case management services for LGBTQI+ people in forced displacement.
o Emergency shelter, food, medical referrals, and legal services to sustain LGBTQI+ asylum seekers, refugees and their children, throughout the displacement cycle.
o AHRC also provides country conditions expert witness reports and testimony for 14 different African countries to asylum cases in the United States, and globally.
There are currently cases of Lesbian asylum seekers before the U.S. Immigration authorities and courts. Many more are trapped in dangerous situations in countries of origin and hostile host countries pending resettlement.
PLEASE help keep this work going…
DONATE HERE.
Melanie Nathan is the Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition and a Country Conditions expert witness reporting and testifying in the U.S. and global courts on behalf of LGBTQI asylum seekers from 14 different African countries. nathan@AfricanHRC.org
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A vigil will be held for Sheila Lumumba on Saturday, April 30, 2022, according to the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya.
AfricanHRC.org
