A judge in eastern Kenya has rejected a challenge to the legality of anal exams, even though they are widely understood to be abusive and ineffective as a means of proving or disproving allegations of homosexual activity. Today’s ruling by the High Court in Mombasa means that a criminal case can proceed against two men … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Nairobi
African LGBTI advocacy group gains official status
An Africa-based advocacy group working for continent-wide recognition of the human rights of LGBTI Africans has won official recognition in South Africa. Pan-Africa ILGA (PAI), the continent’s regional chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), announced its new official status in the following press release. In 2014, about 150 African … Continue reading
Obama in Kenya: ‘Treat people equally under the law’
The Washington Blade reports: President Obama [today] discussed LGBT rights during a press conference in Nairobi with his Kenyan counterpart. “With respect to the rights of gays and lesbians, I’ve been consistent all across Africa on this,” said Obama in response to a question from Reuters reporter Jeff Mason about Kenya’s LGBT rights record. “I … Continue reading
Ugandan LGBTI refugees protest treatment in Kenya
LGBTI Ugandan refugees in Kenya protested today at the Nairobi office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, seeking improved human services, interviews, resettlement and, until then, protection from homophobic attacks. Kuchu Times reported: LGBTI refugees camping at UNHCR after delivering demands in a protest Ugandan LGBTI refugees from Kakuma camp and parts of Nairobi … Continue reading
60 to 90 arrested in raid on gay-friendly bar in Nairobi
Kenyan police arrested 60 to 90 people, including dozens of alleged LGBT people, in a raid on a gay-friendly bar in Nairobi early on Sunday, July 6. Their alleged crime? “Getting caught at a gay bar,” the tabloid-style Kenyan website Ghafa reported. That account differs from what Kenyan journalist/activist Denis Nzioka reported on Facebook — … Continue reading
African LGBTI activists unite at Nairobi conference
About 150 activists from throughout Africa revived the continent’s LGBTI rights organization last month at a conference held in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference of Pan Africa ILGA (PAI) provided a regional platform to discuss issues affecting LGBTI people in Africa, develop strategies to combat violence and discrimination of people on the basis of sexual orientation … Continue reading
Kenya making progress, but anti-gay violence continues
Kenyans are gradually becoming more tolerant of LGBT people, but a violent anti-gay campaign is currently under way, says the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK). The apparent trigger for the Kenyan violence was an uproar about homosexuality, provoked by a discredited study that claimed that Nairobi and two other locations in Ken The … Continue reading
U.S. group tackles anti-homosexuality laws in 76 countries
This column in the Orange County Register highlights the work of Spirit of 76 Worldwide in seeking to repeal anti-homosexuality laws in 76 countries: While the debate regarding civil rights and gay marriage rages on in this county, in 76 countries around the world, including Africa and the Middle East, being gay could be a … Continue reading
Troubles in Kenya — blackmail and stoning of gay men
Two troubling stories from Kenya: BLACKMAIL Criminals in Kenya are using Facebook and online dating sites to find in-the-closet gay and bisexual men in Kenya, whom they then blackmail, Gay Star News reports. Kenyan police are investigating. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, or GALCK, cited 10 cases of such blackmail in recent months. … Continue reading
20 male sex workers to fight HIV in Kenya
Male sex workers living with HIV and AIDS will soon join the fight against the disease in Kenya, the magazine Identity Kenya reports. Twenty sex workers will be trained as peer educators so they can tell other sex workers how to avoid HIV infection. The training, scheduled for this month, was organized by a Nairobi-based … Continue reading
