'Can't Dictate Morals': West's Influence on Allowing LGBTQ Groups in Kenya

The ruling by Kenya's Supreme Court to authorize the registration of LGBTQ groups could have been influenced by Western countries, Kenya's Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei said in an interview with Sputnik Africa, while calling on the West to respect the nation's sovereignty and not to foist its values.

The ruling drew fierce criticism from both lawmakers and religious leaders, who tied the court's decision to "fearing the wrath of the Western nations."

"Of course, we cannot wish away the role of Western nations in this country. Our worries are that some of those supports that normally come with what we call strings attached [...] To some level, I agree with the assertions of the clerics that the reason these things are being allowed is simply because of the influence of the Western countries, especially in Kenya," Cherargei said.

The senator noted that Kenya has its own culture and values which are different from Western ideals and criticized the "some countries'" approach of imposing standards alien to the continent, adding that Kenya would in this case reject them "in totality."

"The Western nations must and should respect the sovereignty of Kenya, must respect this authority of Kenya, especially in its internal affairs. You cannot dictate morals," Cherargei remarked.

The legislator noted that Kenyan society in general has a negative attitude towards the neo-liberal agenda imposed by the West because it believes that "this is an attempt by the West to import their own culture into the setup."

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The lawmaker clarified that the difference in Western and African culture lies, for example, in the phenomenon of polygamy, which "is an offense" in Europe and the United States, but is normal in Africa.

"The problem with the West, they want to disrespect our culture, for example, by saying that they do not agree with polygamy, but when they want us to agree with LGBTQ. It it is not our culture," the senator alleged.

Cherargei also claimed that the ruling by Kenya's Supreme Court runs counter to the country's constitution and cultural and religious tenets.

According to the lawmaker, Kenya's Constitution stipulates that marriage is the union of people of opposite sexes.

"When you look at our Constitution, it recognizes family units and the marriage to be, and that is Article 45(2), that says every adult has a right to marry a person of the opposite sex based on the free consent of the parties," Cherargei explained.

It is this contradiction between the court's decision and the constitutional provisions that will prevent NGLHRC from enrolling in the registrar of societies, the official believes.

Cherargei also revealed that a motion from the lower house to amend the Criminal Procedure Code to punish or criminalize "the issue of gay and LGBTQ" as it "violates the culture of the country" is already in parliament.

This May, neighboring Uganda enacted the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023, which criminalizes the promotion of homosexuality and grants the death penalty for certain crimes, such as engaging in homosexual acts with a minor child.