Do you remember what happened last year in Kenya? Let me fill you in. Two male lions were caught on camera servicing each other's sexual needs and the whole of Kenya was shaken! Well, maybe not the whole of Kenya but at least Dr. Ezekiel Mutua was shaken. He thought it was the end of all lions. He thought they were possessed by demons and yet a piece of him was convinced that gay tourists had taught them these homosexual tendencies.
Mutua told Nairobi News, "These animals need counseling, because probably they have been influenced by gays who have gone to the national parks and behaved badly. I don’t know, they must have copied it somewhere or it is demonic. Because these animals do not watch movies." He added, "I mean where on earth have you ever heard something like this happening. The demonic spirits inflicting in humans seems to have now caught up with animals.”
He was not done. He also said, "That is why I will say isolate the crazy gay animals, study their behavior because it is not normal. The very idea of sex even among animals is for procreation. Two male lions cannot procreate and therefore we will lose the lion species."
To Mutua, two lions having homosexual sex was the apocalypse of all lionkind! They had to be quarantined before the virus - or demons - or gay influence (whatever caused this behaviour) spread to the "good" lions. Mutua is the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) chief executive and he is a man who knows how to wield the sword given to him. Look at him trying to censor animal behaviour like it is television programming! Someone needs to tell Mutua that nature cannot be censored.
Anyway, that is not the main issue. The issue today is the dramatic treatment of homosexual behaviour in speeches and interviews yet the country is considered by some members of the LGBT community to be a haven in East Africa. Reports suggest a good number of refugees from Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are running to Kenya. Why? Denis Nzioka, a gay activist says, "Kenya is less intolerant to members of the gay community compared to some of her neighbours. Although there isn’t a clear government policy with regard to the LGBT community, organisations working primarily in this space have been left to thrive."
This is a fairly good country for homosexuals. It is hypocritical to assume airs of self-righteousness to the extent of regulating animal behaviour yet there is a bar in which Mercy Akinyi was touched by another woman who solicited for sex. Homosexual sex so we can be clear. In the same report carrying Mercy Akinyi's experience, a Standard Group editor confirms he was approached by men scouting for partners in a bar. In fact, interviews by the Nairobian team then show that 4 years ago, homosexual men and women were already sneaking into inboxes scouting for partners. Isn't that what heterosexuals do? And they are feeling a little liberated to do it in Kenya rather than other countries. Why?
The problem then begins when President Uhuru Kenyatta decides to dismiss gay rights as a non-issue on account of culture. He told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that, "I won't engage in a subject that is of no importance to the people of Kenya. This is not an issue of human rights, this is an issue of our own base as a culture, as a people regardless of which community you come from."
Kenyatta refuses to engage in conversations about homosexuality but does he realise his country has bars in which homosexuals are freely scouting for partners? Does he know, like Mutua does, that lions in the Masaai Mara are having gay sex? Will he dismiss their behaviour as a result of tourist influence too and shy away from the nature versus nurture debate? Does Kenyatta realise that in his country, gay activists are taking this issue to court, challenging the public to have a discussion around the humanity of homosexuals and their right to privacy? Five years ago, the Pew Research Centre found that 90% of Kenyans do not condone homosexual behaviour but the issue goes beyond simple numbers. The number of activists is rising. The number of people running to Kenya for protection (in spite of having a 14 year sentence for homosexual sex) is also rising. What is it about Kenya? This country has cognitive dissonance of epic proportions.