Wednesday evening, President-elect William Ruto said homosexuality is not an issue that he will focus on in his presidency but respects everyone and what they believe.
Ruto was speaking to CNN’s Christianne Amanpour in an exclusive interview. Amanpour went back in the annals of history to remind Ruto of his statement in 2015. She then asked Ruto if he still held to the opinion or if it had changed.
In 2015, Ruto, then the Deputy President, told church congregants in Nairobi, “Kenya is a republic that worships God. We have no room for gays and those others.” These remarks gained him fame and sparked debate in Kenya and abroad, mainly because they came in the backdrop of John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State’s visit to Kenya.
On Wednesday, Sept 7th, the President-elect said Kenya has its Constitution, traditions, and customs, which should be respected.
“We respect everybody and what they believe in, but we also have what we believe in, and we expect to be respected for what we believe in,” he said.
In an interview with the global media giant, President Uhuru Kenyatta termed LGBTQ a “non-issue for the people of Kenya” and said he would not engage in that. Kenyatta added that “this (homosexuality) is not acceptable and not agreeable.”
Wednesday, Ruto echoed Kenyatta’s sentiments on the matter and said LGBTQ rights are not so important a thing to discuss. He said he was focused on creating jobs and reducing poverty in Kenya. However, he said, when homosexuality becomes an issue,” the people of Kenya will make a choice.”
Ruto’s sentiments sparked an online debate on social media sites, with many condemning CNN and the International Community for what many said was coercing African heads of state to adopt LGBTQ.
According to Al Jazeera, there is no comprehensive data on the exact number of gay people in Kenya, but the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK) estimates it to be at 1.3 million, which translates to about two percent of the population. Stringent government laws against homosexuality made it difficult for the organization to conduct a comprehensive census.
The Kenyan Penal Code criminalizes consensual same-sex relationships and marriage, with jail sentences ranging from 5-14 years.
Kenya and most African countries are conservative, thus the rigid stance of their leaders and populace toward LGBTQ.
Over time, the continent has reported several instances of death, humiliation, and discrimination because of homosexual acts and homophobia. Consequently, some gay people have had to seek asylum abroad to escape the wrath and discrimination by the majority of conservatives.