This is in response to the article written by Abigail Arunga for Daily Nation: "Judge got it wrong in gay sex ruling".

High Court of Kenya declined to pass a law that would have seen same sex marriages in Kenya becoming legal and protected by the constitution. In 195 countries, only 29 has legalized LGBT, the recent one being Taiwan which became the first country in Asia to legalize homosexuality.

Of these 29, only one country in African continent, South Africa, that has legalized same sex marriages but discrimination and violence against gay people is rampant.
Among 52 countries in Africa, 35 already outlawed homosexuality while the rest do not have laws for or against homosexuality neither do they consider it as a topic of discussion -so far!

Before United States grafted LGBT in its constitution, 14 States had banned same sex marriages. Canada was the first country outside Europe, that legalized same sex marriages in the late 60's.

To date, Canadian authorities have been encouraging gay citizens to report assaults, discrimination or violence of any sorts to the police. This points to the fact that even in the most advanced countries LGBT communities still have battles to fight.

Ground Reality

Repeatedly, in London and other big cities like New York gay couples have been kicked out from public buses for kissing or holding hands in public. Verbal abuse and open discrimination happens openly in US and UK in daily basis even as we speak.

In 2013, a year after Barrack Obama had instituted LGBT in the United States constitution, a gay couple was denied a wedding cake for their wedding in Lakewood, Colorado. Another couple was kicked out from a family restaurant while most others have faced assaults and denial of services in various joints. Hundred of discrimination cases have been and are still being reported all over United States.

In June 2016, an American man entered Pulse, a gay bar in Orlando, Florida and killed 49 people. These was met by protests by gay communities fighting for their rights and acceptance. All these happens in countries that are expected to be more LGBT tolerant towards same sex marriages.

Africans have a very conservative history and any unconventional dynamics affecting tradition and culture is definitely going to face defiance . Religion, culture and tradition are values deeply rooted in African lifestyle even more deeper than any other continent.

Asia too is very hidebound. China has no legal protections for gay people. In fact, in China, you are either legally married or you are never married. Same sex marriage is a taboo and probably the last thing China will consider as a topic of discussion!

In Japan, same sex marriages are illegal. However Japan accepts such marriages done outside Japan with foreigners. Taiwan is the only country in Asia that has recently legalized LGBT. Of course, backlash is expected among communities while trying to adopt the so called western lifestyle.

Recently, June 9, 2019 in Toronto,Canada, a pastor was arrested for hoisting a horn speaker and publicly preaching against homosexuality in a gay friendly community.

Putting all these facts to perspective, it therefore follows that Kenya is not being unreal or posing as a queer country for rejecting LGBT in its system.

I respectfully disagree with Abigail Arunga's who said that, "Kenyans need to urgently wrap their heads around the fact that there are Kenyans who are operating on a different wavelength from them." I don't see why this is a Kenyan problem.

She continues to argue that, [Gay rights] "has nothing to do with marriage, or religion, or forcing a supposedly gay lifestyle onto other Kenyans. There are gay Kenyans. Gay Kenyans have rights. The world is changing rapidly, and whether Kenyans recognize this or not, the change will get to them."

No! Kenyans need not to wrap their heads around anything! They have nothing to do with being gay! No offense! They are not the ones with problems or desires to become gay or needing the courts to decide their case in these issues. This is not an issue of Kenyans versus Gay Kenyans! Am pretty sure Kenyans are immersed in other pressing issues!

And no! the world is not changing rapidly when it comes to LGBT. In fact, the world has refused to move on or is sluggishly moving towards acceptance! Even the dominant country spearheading gay rights in the universe, the United States, is in a muddle. Always in a muddle. Still in the muddle!

We all know that U.S LGBT laws were not a referendum deal where larger populations voted for it! It was announced to cover the minority gay and the majority Americans had to deal with it! It is not all affirmative actions that will be passed and that will be freely chime with the majority.

Even now, majority of Americans are still dealing with it! It's not even a guarantee that if the law met a different President in the Oval office, that it could have been an easy-peasy case.

Therefore, the idea of getting speed and tough with Kenyans in the issue of LGBT is ill fated. It behooves all stake holders in this battle to ride on slow and give Kenyans a breathing space!

Finally...

I have nothing against LGBT.
None whatsoever! I object any violence against any Kenyan anywhere. There are laws against assaults, battery or any kind of violence that protect all Kenyans.

If there is any discrimination against gay people, its because there are no laws protecting gay people or else it would be a prosecutable violation. What is prosecutable though, is being gay. Kenyans risk 14 years jail-time for homosexuality. But with this atypical situation where we we lack a legislation that protects gay persons, lets not wring the bull's tail in an effort to coerce Kenyans into acceptance.

This also does not give anyone the right to act violently against anyone for any reason. Likewise, it doesn't give LGBT a right to make an illusory assumption that Kenya as of now, owes them diddly.

With the current Kenya laws as it relates to LGBT, it will be a difficult ordeal reporting an attack to the police if the attack was because one is gay! Justice might go south as the victim may be arrested and face possible 14years of jail-time simply for being gay.

In 2013, when former President Obama visited the country, President Uhuru Kenyatta said in the press conference between the two presidents that, "the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue...… there are some things that we[Kenyans] must admit we don't share[with US]. Our culture, our societies don't accept."

Repeal 162

The recent trial to push repeal162 in Kenya was thrown outta-window by the High Court awaiting a possible appeal at Supreme Court. If Supreme Court passes any kind of law regarding homosexuality, then and only then, we shall talk about gay rights. Until that time, Kenya only recognizes one type of rainbow and we all know where it appears!