Kenya’s fourth President, Uhuru Kenyatta has said in an interview that despite same-sex sexual activity being illegal, he will not allow LGBTI people to be persecuted in his country.
During his interview with CNN, Kenyatta said that he would not allow people to take the law into their own hands and harass LGBTI people.
However, the Kenyan President who has been in office since 2013 also said that Kenyans have “more pressing issues” than LGBTI rights and the majority of Kenyans do not wish to legalise same-sex sexual activity.
“That said and done, I will not allow people to persecute any individuals,” Kenyatta added.
“Every individual has a right to be protected by the law and that’s stated in our constitution.”
Despite the Presidents positive claims, in February 2015 two men were arrested in Kenya for same-sex sexual activity, and last year, approximately 60 people were arrested in a gay bar raid in Nairobi.
“What we are saying is that as a society, we do not accept some of these values,” Kenyatta explains.
“You’re not going to create the United States or Great Britain or the Netherlands in Kenya, or in Nigeria or Senegal overnight. We have to understand that these are processes and they take time.”
Last Updated on Oct 22, 2015
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