Kenya President William Ruto says no to gay marriages

Kenya’s President William Ruto has sworn that he will never allow gay marriage in Kenya, which he says ‘goes against the country’s cultures and religious beliefs’.

This comes after a Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the queer community to register lobby groups in Kenya.

Recently the Supreme Court ruled that an LGBTQ and intersex rights group must be allowed to register as a non-governmental organization.

The ruling followed an appeal by Eric Gitari, the former executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, who in 2013 challenged the Kenya NGO Coordination Board’s decision not to allow him to register the NGLHRC as an NGO because it contained the words “gay” or “lesbian.”

“The court was of the view that the appellant’s decision was discriminatory and that it would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate, through denial of registration of an association, purely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the applicants,” reads the ruling. “The court noted that by refusing to register the NGO, the persons were convicted before they contravened the law. The court however pointed out that all persons, whether heterosexual, lesbian, gay, intersex or otherwise, will be subject to sanctions if they contravene existing laws, including Sections 162, 163 and 165 of the Penal Code.”

NGLCC in a tweet described the ruling as a “victory for Kenya’s LGBTIQ+ community.”