The Kenyan lawmakers along with the country's religious leaders criticized the Supreme Court decision to allow the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ+ community, to be officially recognized, media said.
Senator of the state's county Nandi, Samson Cherargei said that the members of Kenya's Parliament (MPs) will not permit the debate about LGBTQ+ in the body.
"We will not entertain such debates in parliament. This is a God-fearing nation that people fear God," Cherargei was quoted by the media as saying.
Moreover, the lawmakers called on religious leaders to condemn the LGBTQ+ groups' activities in the country, adding that they promote moral deviation among children, the outlet revealed.
Speaking about the position of the religious authority, an archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of the country's Mombasa city denounced the court's decision on the NGLHRC.
"It is very unfortunate. If you legalize something, it means you are promoting it. Registering them (LGBTQ associations) means you are giving life to the behaviors. If you join a football club, it means you are ready to play football," the archbishop is quoted as saying.
In addition, according to the media, Kivuva assumed that the possible reason behind the court's ruling may be connected to financial issues, recalling Uganda, which was deprived of funding due to the enactment of anti-gay law.
"Why is this happening now? Is money exchanging hands? Is money the only thing we need? The reference to money could be triggered by what has happened in neighboring Uganda, where the World Bank has withheld critical funding to the country on the grounds that it enacted draconian laws against gays," he noted.
In response to the allowance of LGBTQ+ groups to associate, Muslim and Christian clerics reportedly took the streets of Mombasa, decrying the court's decision. The demonstrators also urged the Kenyan President William Ruto to "unequivocally denounce LGBTQ+" as it was done in neighboring Uganda, the outlet said.
In February, the court said that the NGO Coordination Board refusal to officially register NGLHRC a decade ago, was unlawful.
Following the ruling, the country's authorities condemned the decision. For instance, Homabay Town MP Peter Kaluma attempted to challenge the move, bidding to ban LGBTQ+ associations.
Ruto reportedly stressed that the country's constitution "clearly" states that "marriage is a man and a wife," expressing hopes that the judges "can make decisions not to please the Western world."
However, Kaluma's bid was dismissed by the court.
As for the Uganda's measures on the issue of LGBTQ+ movement, in late May, the country's leader Yoweri Museveni signed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law.
The enactment was followed by sanctions from the West. For instance, the United States imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and US President Joe Biden threatened aid cuts and other punitive measures against the African country. In addition, the World Bank suspended loans to Uganda in August.