Brian Mayodi
After an unsettling period of silence following the Supreme Court’s decision that members of the LGBTQ community have a right to association, the government on Thursday eventually stated its position on the LGBTQ issue.
Both President William Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua gave terse speeches denouncing homosexuality and same-sex unions, claiming they are unAfrican.
“You all know me, I’m a respecter of God and you have heard what the court has said. In as much as we respect court decisions, our culture, traditions, our Christianity and Islamic beliefs do not allow a woman to marry a fellow woman or a man a fellow man,” Ruto said.
At the relaunch of the Women Enterprise Fund and the Second Product of the Hustler Fund at the KICC, he spoke on the issue.
“That cannot happen in our country so don’t worry,” Ruto affirmed.
Gachagua, who spoke at the same event, claimed that his shock at the court’s decision on February 24 was the cause of his silence on the LGBTQ issue.
“You know you can be shocked to a point where you don’t know what to say. We don’t want those things, they are satanic. It goes against our beliefs. We have our traditions and customs and what they are suggesting is repugnant to immorality and justice and our way of life,” he said.
The government’s stance appeared to be in response to MPs’ challenging Ruto to follow in the footsteps of his counterpart Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and openly denounce the practice.
