US President speaks out for gay rights in Africa
US President Barack Obama has criticised African governments’ treatment of its LGBTI citizens聽in a speech during his visit to Kenya over the weekend.
Comparing homophobia to racial discrimination, Obama said the state had no right to punish people because of 鈥渨ho they love鈥�.
鈥淚鈥檝e been consistent all across Africa on this,鈥� he said in a joint press conference at the state house in Nairobi.
鈥淚 believe in the principal of treating people equally under the law, and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.
鈥淲hen you start treating people differently, because they鈥檙e different, that鈥檚 the path whereby freedoms begin to erode.
鈥淲hen a government gets in the habit of treating people differently, those habits can spread.鈥�
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta publicly disagreed with Obama’s statements.
鈥淭here are some things that we must admit we don鈥檛 share,鈥� Kenyatta said.
鈥淚t is very difficult for us to be able to impose upon people that, which they themselves, do not accept. insisting that gay rights 鈥渋s not really an issue on the foremost mind of Kenyans.”
According to a , homosexuality in Kenya is “largely considered to be taboo and repugnant to [the] cultural values and morality”, and same-sex sexual acts are punishable as crimes by the government.
Despite this, there are various organisations in the country that work聽to protect and improve LGBT rights.
Watch the speech below:
