kind of people imprisoned be convinced
of their freedom by the illusion of
power over the weak and could they by
disempowering dispossessing and
disturbing the weak perpetuate their own
enslavement and by so doing keep
themselves in prison who would leave
school for home every day at about the
same time because we lived in the same
neighborhood my three friends and I
would accompany each other home trading
jokes stories and banter on the way I’d
always look forward to this particular
moment in the day for in addition for
being the time when I would leave school
for home it also meant a release from
the rules and regulations of a rigid
school system while in the company of
companions it was almost as if for those
few precious moments in the day we were
free free to be loud free to be rude and
free to be boys and so we weren’t away
home from school one day we had boarded
at our usual stage alighted at our usual
stage and paid our usual fare
we’re cross the highway on route home
and were engaged in typical high school
boy banter you know cars sports food and
chicks
I remember was making a very fierce and
important point about something but as
the words came out of my mouth I
realized that my friends were no longer
with me I mean physically they were very
much there but their thoughts and
attentions had long diverted across the
street a woman walked in our direction
and they stared at her intensely eyes
and jaws wide open
turning the next buck to get a better
view did you see that one of them
shouted iaea not mommy was so fine did
you see her Safari comes another
exclaimed they soon realized that I was
not taking part in the discussion my guy
one of them said as he turned to me
don’t tell me you didn’t see that chick
the one was walking across the street I
mean she was alright I responded my
friends were describing this lady as
though she was the finest person they
had ever seen and I only saw her as
normal and ordinary to them something
was wrong with me you don’t think that
mummy was hot one of them asked no I
replied then you must be gay he shouted
his voice seemed to fade into space and
time as the others joined in in laughter
I must explain being gay went beyond
being homosexual it was no ordinary
insult to a young man those amongst the
worst in fact it wasn’t amongst the
worst that a young man could ever
receive being gay meant being weak it
meant being a sissy it meant not being
worthy of the company of other men I
felt rage rise from the pits of my
stomach as I turned to my friend and
pointed my finger and shouted I am not
gay I went home that day with several
question
it’s in my mind why didn’t I stare at
that woman was I really a man was there
something wrong with me ask these
questions with a critical acidity of an
insecure dollar sent and they burned and
tormented me intensely that night at the
dinner table I asked my mother what
being a man meant a man is the provider
and protector of his household as the
leader of his family he must guide his
home in the right way this is what our
culture teaches us this is what the
Bible teaches us and so I went to bed
that they determined to frame and model
myself in the image of the traditional
and religious African man I would be
strong I would be protective I would be
dominant but most importantly I would
not be gay across Kenya today
homosexuality remains an emotive and
divisive issue sexuality is in and of
itself a taboo topic in many Kenyan
households with the responsibilities of
sexual instruction left to schools
religious institutions churches so it
touches our religious institutions just
for those who didn’t know piers and the
internet homosexuality according to the
perspective of most of Kenya’s religions
and traditional perspectives is immoral
and sinful the family is the basic unit
of society and these perspectives hold
to particular views above the roles and
responsibilities of men and women in
society men are seen as leaders
providers and protectors and women are
seen as helpers caregivers and
homemakers homosexuality from these
perspectives therefore is not only
immoral and sinful because it breaks
religious code and practice but also
dangerous to the basic unit of society
which is the family as a result LGBTI
people face
routine ostracism harassment and
discrimination anti-gay sentiment is
popular in the media and amongst
politicians and religious leaders who
often use anti-gay rhetoric to serve
their own purposes and ends in 2015 the
leader of majority in parliament likened
homosexuality to terrorism in 2012 at
the coast of Kenya a mob of a hundred
youth led by a cleric disrupted a
conference of LGBTI people and and other
minorities and threatened to beat anyone
who would hold such an event ever again
as a result the the ending result of
this is the result of this is
unfortunate LGBTI people are forced to
lead two lives one presumably straight
that they present to the society to keep
themselves safe and the second there are
two cells which they hide within but
this can also have a negative impact on
the straight because their ability to
express their views is limited to the
spectrum accepted by society homosexual
it’s it’s it is a system maintained by
fear and out of this fear of ostracism
harassment and rejection comes a hate
and dislike that is directed towards
homosexuals it is a system that
encourages the people within it even
though they may hold alternate views to
maintain the line that the society
expects of them and so it was against
this backdrop that I stood in my own way
against LGBTI community and
homosexuality in my country not only out
of a belief that such practices were
immoral decadent and abhorrent but out
of an internal dissatisfaction with
myself for never having attained the
ideal Society heart of manhood I well I
I was not and never could be strong
enough dominant enough powerful enough
to be a man
in other words I and as I came to find
out later several others needed
homophobia as an affirmation of our
manhood and so the dominant views in
society reinforced and instilled in me a
homophobic attitude in nature towards
LGBT a community gay and sexist jokes
became routine and I did what I could to
reaffirm my manliness and my sense of
power and dominance in my own way
naturally change did not come from
within the society that had given these
ideas to me but from without as a
student in a foreign country I would
often have fierce debates with my
colleagues on homosexuality and gay
rights maintaining consistently my pro
culture pro religion and anti-gay point
of view until one day those our
sexuality gender and sexuality forum
being held on campus and one of my
colleagues encouraged me to just go just
go and see and so I went and with folded
arms I sat in the back seats of the
conference hall the forum began and one
of the another the speakers made their
presentations and to my surprise I found
out that they were just like me like me
they liked sports and were disappointed
when Germany was knocked out of the
World Cup like me they like to travel
and to explore like me they had goals
ambitions and aspirations but unlike me
their ability to achieve these goals
ambitions and aspirations was limited to
who they were by who they were when they
were born later that day I attended a
friend’s leaving party she was moving
house having come to the end of her
school year and she had organized a
get-together of her colleagues from
school and so we went and because the
weather was favorable we sat outside
trading stories as the weather changed
and the
son fell and night begun we made a fire
and sat around it and I’ll never forget
this it came to a point when what you
know sharing stories and narratives and
everything and one gentleman began
describing his plans and ambitions for
the future now I don’t remember exactly
what he said but it went something like
I’ve been looking forward to this a long
time actually my boyfriend and I and
almost immediately my mind went what my
boyfriend I looked around and noticed
that no one had interrupted no one had
interjected and the man continued with
his narration now instead of feeling
outraged instead of feeling disgusted I
felt for the first time ladies and
gentlemen that I was in a space in which
I could share my perspectives my
emotions
without fear of spite or prejudice from
anyone and almost instantly I wished
that such a space would exist back home
you see I believe that canyons are not
against the LGBTI I believe that through
open conversation we can come together
and we can be accepting of differences
in perspective differences in outlook
and even differences in sexual
orientation I was on my way to work with
a friend the other day and she saw a
colleague of hers walking on the road
she said look do you see that guy he
walks in IT in my workplace I think he’s
gay she said it as do it was a disease
or some serious internal disorder I
turned to her and asked is he friendly
and sociable at the workplace yes is he
good at what he does yes
should he be moved for being gay no
should he be fired for being gay
no should he be deprived of an income or
medical assistance or hell or education
because he is gay and she said no what
then should we do and she said we should
pray and leave him in peace I believe
that we have the power to frame and
model our society according to
principles of equity and justice for
everyone we should pull the chair for
our gay brothers and sisters we must sit
down and listen to their stories we must
extend a hand of invitation for if and
when we do then perhaps would realize
that they are just like us and that when
we see someone being slapped on the
street or being kicked out of a cafe or
being denied employment then it is our
duty to stand up and speak out against
it and if this fails to work the answer
is not to hurt to maim to kill to
deprive or to discriminate but to pray
and be in peace and for those of you who
despair the futility of the words I
envision I conclude with the words of
Eugene V Debs who said when the mariner
sailing over the tropics sees looks for
relief from his weary watch he turns his
eyes toward the Southern Cross as the
midnight approaches the cross begins to
bend the whirling world’s change places
and with starry finger points the
almighty marks the passage of time upon
the dial of the universe and though no
Bell may beat the glad tidings the
lookout knows that the midnight is
passing and at rest and relief close at
heart so leather people everywhere take
the heart
or vote for the cross is bending the
midnight is passing and joy cometh in the morning
of their freedom by the illusion of
power over the weak and could they by
disempowering dispossessing and
disturbing the weak perpetuate their own
enslavement and by so doing keep
themselves in prison who would leave
school for home every day at about the
same time because we lived in the same
neighborhood my three friends and I
would accompany each other home trading
jokes stories and banter on the way I’d
always look forward to this particular
moment in the day for in addition for
being the time when I would leave school
for home it also meant a release from
the rules and regulations of a rigid
school system while in the company of
companions it was almost as if for those
few precious moments in the day we were
free free to be loud free to be rude and
free to be boys and so we weren’t away
home from school one day we had boarded
at our usual stage alighted at our usual
stage and paid our usual fare
we’re cross the highway on route home
and were engaged in typical high school
boy banter you know cars sports food and
chicks
I remember was making a very fierce and
important point about something but as
the words came out of my mouth I
realized that my friends were no longer
with me I mean physically they were very
much there but their thoughts and
attentions had long diverted across the
street a woman walked in our direction
and they stared at her intensely eyes
and jaws wide open
turning the next buck to get a better
view did you see that one of them
shouted iaea not mommy was so fine did
you see her Safari comes another
exclaimed they soon realized that I was
not taking part in the discussion my guy
one of them said as he turned to me
don’t tell me you didn’t see that chick
the one was walking across the street I
mean she was alright I responded my
friends were describing this lady as
though she was the finest person they
had ever seen and I only saw her as
normal and ordinary to them something
was wrong with me you don’t think that
mummy was hot one of them asked no I
replied then you must be gay he shouted
his voice seemed to fade into space and
time as the others joined in in laughter
I must explain being gay went beyond
being homosexual it was no ordinary
insult to a young man those amongst the
worst in fact it wasn’t amongst the
worst that a young man could ever
receive being gay meant being weak it
meant being a sissy it meant not being
worthy of the company of other men I
felt rage rise from the pits of my
stomach as I turned to my friend and
pointed my finger and shouted I am not
gay I went home that day with several
question
it’s in my mind why didn’t I stare at
that woman was I really a man was there
something wrong with me ask these
questions with a critical acidity of an
insecure dollar sent and they burned and
tormented me intensely that night at the
dinner table I asked my mother what
being a man meant a man is the provider
and protector of his household as the
leader of his family he must guide his
home in the right way this is what our
culture teaches us this is what the
Bible teaches us and so I went to bed
that they determined to frame and model
myself in the image of the traditional
and religious African man I would be
strong I would be protective I would be
dominant but most importantly I would
not be gay across Kenya today
homosexuality remains an emotive and
divisive issue sexuality is in and of
itself a taboo topic in many Kenyan
households with the responsibilities of
sexual instruction left to schools
religious institutions churches so it
touches our religious institutions just
for those who didn’t know piers and the
internet homosexuality according to the
perspective of most of Kenya’s religions
and traditional perspectives is immoral
and sinful the family is the basic unit
of society and these perspectives hold
to particular views above the roles and
responsibilities of men and women in
society men are seen as leaders
providers and protectors and women are
seen as helpers caregivers and
homemakers homosexuality from these
perspectives therefore is not only
immoral and sinful because it breaks
religious code and practice but also
dangerous to the basic unit of society
which is the family as a result LGBTI
people face
routine ostracism harassment and
discrimination anti-gay sentiment is
popular in the media and amongst
politicians and religious leaders who
often use anti-gay rhetoric to serve
their own purposes and ends in 2015 the
leader of majority in parliament likened
homosexuality to terrorism in 2012 at
the coast of Kenya a mob of a hundred
youth led by a cleric disrupted a
conference of LGBTI people and and other
minorities and threatened to beat anyone
who would hold such an event ever again
as a result the the ending result of
this is the result of this is
unfortunate LGBTI people are forced to
lead two lives one presumably straight
that they present to the society to keep
themselves safe and the second there are
two cells which they hide within but
this can also have a negative impact on
the straight because their ability to
express their views is limited to the
spectrum accepted by society homosexual
it’s it’s it is a system maintained by
fear and out of this fear of ostracism
harassment and rejection comes a hate
and dislike that is directed towards
homosexuals it is a system that
encourages the people within it even
though they may hold alternate views to
maintain the line that the society
expects of them and so it was against
this backdrop that I stood in my own way
against LGBTI community and
homosexuality in my country not only out
of a belief that such practices were
immoral decadent and abhorrent but out
of an internal dissatisfaction with
myself for never having attained the
ideal Society heart of manhood I well I
I was not and never could be strong
enough dominant enough powerful enough
to be a man
in other words I and as I came to find
out later several others needed
homophobia as an affirmation of our
manhood and so the dominant views in
society reinforced and instilled in me a
homophobic attitude in nature towards
LGBT a community gay and sexist jokes
became routine and I did what I could to
reaffirm my manliness and my sense of
power and dominance in my own way
naturally change did not come from
within the society that had given these
ideas to me but from without as a
student in a foreign country I would
often have fierce debates with my
colleagues on homosexuality and gay
rights maintaining consistently my pro
culture pro religion and anti-gay point
of view until one day those our
sexuality gender and sexuality forum
being held on campus and one of my
colleagues encouraged me to just go just
go and see and so I went and with folded
arms I sat in the back seats of the
conference hall the forum began and one
of the another the speakers made their
presentations and to my surprise I found
out that they were just like me like me
they liked sports and were disappointed
when Germany was knocked out of the
World Cup like me they like to travel
and to explore like me they had goals
ambitions and aspirations but unlike me
their ability to achieve these goals
ambitions and aspirations was limited to
who they were by who they were when they
were born later that day I attended a
friend’s leaving party she was moving
house having come to the end of her
school year and she had organized a
get-together of her colleagues from
school and so we went and because the
weather was favorable we sat outside
trading stories as the weather changed
and the
son fell and night begun we made a fire
and sat around it and I’ll never forget
this it came to a point when what you
know sharing stories and narratives and
everything and one gentleman began
describing his plans and ambitions for
the future now I don’t remember exactly
what he said but it went something like
I’ve been looking forward to this a long
time actually my boyfriend and I and
almost immediately my mind went what my
boyfriend I looked around and noticed
that no one had interrupted no one had
interjected and the man continued with
his narration now instead of feeling
outraged instead of feeling disgusted I
felt for the first time ladies and
gentlemen that I was in a space in which
I could share my perspectives my
emotions
without fear of spite or prejudice from
anyone and almost instantly I wished
that such a space would exist back home
you see I believe that canyons are not
against the LGBTI I believe that through
open conversation we can come together
and we can be accepting of differences
in perspective differences in outlook
and even differences in sexual
orientation I was on my way to work with
a friend the other day and she saw a
colleague of hers walking on the road
she said look do you see that guy he
walks in IT in my workplace I think he’s
gay she said it as do it was a disease
or some serious internal disorder I
turned to her and asked is he friendly
and sociable at the workplace yes is he
good at what he does yes
should he be moved for being gay no
should he be fired for being gay
no should he be deprived of an income or
medical assistance or hell or education
because he is gay and she said no what
then should we do and she said we should
pray and leave him in peace I believe
that we have the power to frame and
model our society according to
principles of equity and justice for
everyone we should pull the chair for
our gay brothers and sisters we must sit
down and listen to their stories we must
extend a hand of invitation for if and
when we do then perhaps would realize
that they are just like us and that when
we see someone being slapped on the
street or being kicked out of a cafe or
being denied employment then it is our
duty to stand up and speak out against
it and if this fails to work the answer
is not to hurt to maim to kill to
deprive or to discriminate but to pray
and be in peace and for those of you who
despair the futility of the words I
envision I conclude with the words of
Eugene V Debs who said when the mariner
sailing over the tropics sees looks for
relief from his weary watch he turns his
eyes toward the Southern Cross as the
midnight approaches the cross begins to
bend the whirling world’s change places
and with starry finger points the
almighty marks the passage of time upon
the dial of the universe and though no
Bell may beat the glad tidings the
lookout knows that the midnight is
passing and at rest and relief close at
heart so leather people everywhere take
the heart
or vote for the cross is bending the
midnight is passing and joy cometh in the morning
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