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OUT In Africa – History Made as Gay Man Stands for Kenyan Senate

Melanie Nathan; Oct 11,2010;

David Kuria – a gay man – is standing for the senate – the Kenyan Senate. If elected, he’ll be the second openly gay politician in Africa (the first is South Africa’s Ian Ollis). Kuria, who is director of the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), is already well known to Kenyans from frequent TV appearances. His prominence has also resulted in him being targeted by American evangelicals.

The Evangelicals have made a point of exporting American gay-hate to Africa – perhaps an inadvertent platform to find some wider cheering crowd, where maybe they are losing ground here in the USA.  Yes, there is nothing like an opportunity to spill gay blood- and imagine Africa a willing killing field. Way to go Evangelicals!

However, as my good friend Paul Canning, whose finger is always on the pulse of gay Africa reports in his widely red BLOG,  Kuria’s candidacy for the senate is the latest development in GALCK’s “gradualist” strategy, which involves building alliances with civil society groups and talking with religious leaders. This showed its worth in the successful deflation of an anti-gay backlash following the February riot.

“The strategy seems to be paying off. “We have to accept [gay] people the way they are and embrace them in the society,” the Kenyan special programs minister Esther Murugi told an HIV/Aids conference last month. Her words ignited a storm but, despite various Christian and Muslim leaders calling for her head, she has refused to resign. Defending her, justice minister Mutula Kilonzo called discrimination in HIV/Aids services a “gross violation of human rights”.

“The new visibility in Kenya was seen last month when gay people openly joined a march in Nairobi demanding improvements to the Kenyan health system. They were well received, says Kuria.

Increasingly the movement is becoming mainstreamed as legitimate stakeholders in the civil society,” he added. “It is not uncommon to hear people now talk on the issues of sexual minorities in the same sentence with other minorities – this coming from people who only a couple of years, even months ago would not have even listened to such issues.”

To read more please go to http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/10/history-made-as-gay-man-stands-for.html for Paul’s interview with David Kuria.

In Uganda, civil society groups and prominent figures including Bishop Christopher Senyonjo have rallied to defend LGBT rights in the face of a barely disguised genocidal push. In July, the former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, called for the repeal of sodomy laws. In Cameroon, gay leader Steave Nemande says media coverage of homosexuality is fast improving.

In South Africa two weeks ago a massive march in Soweto said no to the epidemic of “corrective rape” of lesbians. “Anti-gay mob violence remains a problem, but the post-apartheid ANC government has trail-blazed,” Peter Tatchell says of South Africa. He describes the country’s legislative gains (which include gay marriage) as “a beacon for LGBT rights all across Africa”.

Pan-African movements like the Coalition of African Lesbians and African Men for Sexual Health and Rights are growing, and now an East African network is under formation. Kuria says: “We have numerous listserves and increasingly we are meeting at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.”

Tatchell points out: “The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights – with its guarantees of universal equal treatment and non-discrimination – offers a legal framework for the securing of LGBT equality legislation.”

Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission describes the progress of African LGBT movements as astounding:

“Movements are more professionally run, politically smarter, more accountable and transparent, and more diverse. In almost every country, there are emerging organizations and political spaces for queer women, trans people, those who want to be political, those whose interests are more social. Community centers and safe spaces are emerging continent-wide.

“In the face of much adversity and homophobia, it’s actually quite a heady moment.”

PAUL CANNING   ate   http://madikazemi.blogspot.com/2010/10/history-made-as-gay-man-stands-for.html