Rights body has finally stood up for gays and lesbians

repost from Daily Nation

by Makau Mutua

Makau Mutua is Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School and Chair of the KHRC.

I’ve been pilloried for standing up for gays and lesbians. Tough luck – that won’t stop me. Nor will it drive gay rights activists underground.

Those days are over – gone for good. That’s why I was ecstatic when the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, the country’s official human rights watchdog, asked the government to decriminalise homosexuality and sex work.

I never thought a credible Kenyan institution would ever do what the KNCHR has done. It’s perhaps the most important social statement to come out of the KNCHR.

It’s an acceptance that gays and lesbians are part of Kenyan society. It means “straights” needn’t be afraid. Continue reading