In the latest sign of rising homophobia in different African countries, a Kenyan opposition MP is leading a campaign for parliament to criminalise the country’s LGBTQ community. George Peter Kaluma’s move comes after neighbouring Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejecting threats by US President Joe Biden to impose sanctions and travel restrictions on “anyone involved in serious human rights abuses. The Ugandan law is regarded as one of the most anti-LGBTQ laws in the world.
It proposes life imprisonment for anyone convicted of homosexuality, and the death penalty for so-called aggravated cases, which include having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone becomes infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.
In Ghana, MPs recently voted in favour of amendments to the country’s anti-gay legislation, pushing it closer to being enacted into law.
Though less harsh than Uganda’s new law, the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill proposes a three-year prison sentence for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promotes homosexuality.