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Africa

Zimbabwe decriminalizes HIV transmission

UNAIDS applauded move in spite of NGO questions

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A Zimbabwe civil society organization has questioned lawmakers’ decision earlier this month to decriminalize the transmission of HIV.

Liam Takura Kanheng of Zimbabwe Human Rights Monitors Platform, which is based in the country’s capital of Harare, said parliamentarians were not supposed to repeal Section 79 of the Criminal Law Code, but rather amend it.

“Repealing the law that criminalizes the transmission of HIV stands to be problematic because it’s transmission through what? There is transmission through birth, there is deliberate transmission through sexual intercourse and sharing of sharp objects such as needles and syringes, but I feel deliberate transmission should be the one that should be criminalized and I think the law needed to be amended or revised instead of being repealed because there are many people that have done deliberate transmission of HIV because there are people who do not go for voluntary HIV counseling and testing or how partners in heterosexual or homosexual relationships don’t disclose their HIV statuses to their partners and have unprotected sex with those partners,” Kanheng told the Washington Blade. “So, I think it was a matter of reviews and amendments than repealing.”

“When it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community I just think it makes it hard for everyone and protects no one as well, so I think it should have been better off amended than repealed,” added Kanheng. “However, when it comes to the issue of transmission the LGBTQIA+ community is not really fingered as the main catalyst of HIV prevalence but heterosexuals, because being LGBTQIA+ is seen as socially immoral on cultural grounds because it’s seen as taboo and an abomination and therefore the status quo under such a law does not change for the LGBTQIA+ community. If we are really going to transform the lives of the LGBTQIA+ community when it comes to their rights to sexuality and self-determination there is more that needs to be done on a macro scale than this piece of legislation.”

UNAIDS, however, congratulated Zimbabwe’s Parliament for repealing Section 79 and also stated the southern African country had made great progress in the response to HIV over the past decade.

“Public health goals are not served by denying people their individual rights and I commend Zimbabwe for taking this hugely important step,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima in a March 18 press release. “This decision strengthens the HIV response in Zimbabwe by reducing the stigma and discrimination that too often prevents vulnerable groups of people from receiving HIV prevention, care and treatment services.”

UNAIDS notes Zimbabwe in 2019 completed a legal environment assessment, which identified the criminalization of HIV transmission as a barrier to health care and a driver of stigma and discrimination for people living with HIV and other key populations. Since then, the U.N. Development Program has worked with key populations and other stakeholders, convening meetings with parliamentarians and other partners to advance the recommendations of the legal environment assessment.

Zimbabwe was the first African country to enact an HIV-specific criminal law, including it in the Sexual Offences Act of 2001.

The law, which women’s rights groups supported as a way to address violence against women, made criminalized anyone diagnosed with HIV who ā€œintentionally does anything or permits the doing of anythingā€ which they know ā€œwill infect another person with HIV.ā€

It is estimated that 1.2 million of the 1.3 million people living with HIV in Zimbabwe are now on life-saving medicines. AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 63 percent since 2010, with new HIV infections down by 66 percent over the same period.

More than 130 countries around the world still criminalize HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission through either specific or general legislation.

Daniel Itai is the Washington Blade’s Africa Correspondent.

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Kenya

Kenya Red Cross-owned hotel to host anti-LGBTQ conference

Speakers from US, European countries to participate in May 12-17 gathering

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Plans to host a family values meeting next month in a 5-star hotel in Nairobi that the Kenya Red Cross Society co-owns have sparked an uproar among local queer rights groups.

The groups accuse the Kenya Red Cross of violating its Global Fund commitment of protecting key populations by allowing its Boma Hotel to host an ā€œanti-gender and anti-LGBTQā€ conference. 

Influential guest speakers from the U.S., the Netherlands, Spain, and Poland will preside over the Pan American Conference on Family Values that will take place from May 12-17. The Kenyan advocacy groups say these speakers’ organizations are globally recognized for undermining LGBTQ rights.

ā€œAs the principal recipient of Global Fund in Kenya, hosting this event contradicts (the) Red Cross’s humanitarian mission and threatens the safety and dignity of people living with HIV, women and LGBTQ+ individuals, the communities that Kenya Red Cross Society has long committed to supporting,ā€ the queer rights groups state. 

The LGBTQ groups that have criticized the Kenya Red Cross include Upinde Advocates for Inclusion, the Initiative for Equality and Non-Discrimination, and Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya. They have also launched an online signature collection drive to compel the Kenya Red Cross to withdraw the hotel from hosting the ā€œPromoting and Protecting Family Values in Challenging Timesā€-themed conference.

ā€œThe event’s so-called ‘family values’ narrative is a smokescreen for policies that push hateful legislation and promote death, discrimination, femicide, gender-based violence, and restrict fundamental freedoms across Africa,ā€ the groups said.  

The pro-life Western organizations that are scheduled to participate in the conference include Family Watch International from the U.S., CitizenGo from Spain, the Ordo Luris Institute from Poland, Christian Council International from the Netherlands, the New York-based Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), and the Foundation for American Cultural Heritage. Their local counterparts include the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Kenya Christian Professionals Forum, the Africa Christian Professionals Forum, and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya.

C-FAM President Austin Ruse; Family Research Council Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Travis Wever; Global Life Campaign Executive Director Thomas W. Jacobson; and the Rev. Ricky Chelette, executive director of Living Hope Ministries, Inc., and president of the Institute of Biblical Sexuality are among the U.S. guest speakers. Other participants include Henk Jan van Schthorst, president of Christian Council International’s board of directors, Ordo Luris Institute President Jerzy Kwasniewskie and his colleague, Rafal Dorosinski, director of the group’s Legal Analysis Center.Ā 

The Kenyan groups through their online petition — ā€œTell Red Cross Kenya Not to Give Hate a Platformā€ — has so far raised more than 1,000 of the 10,000 signatures they hope to collect. The petition is addressed to Red Cross Kenya Secretary-General Ahmed Idris and his predecessor, Abbas Gullet, who is the hotel’s director.

ā€œWe call on you to immediately cancel this booking and publicly reaffirm Red Cross’ commitment to human rights, health and inclusivity,ā€ the petition reads. ā€œFailure to act will raise concerns about whether (the) Red Cross can still be trusted by the community to lead with empathy and fight for their rights.ā€ 

The Kenya Red Cross, however, maintains the Boma Hotel is a separate entity, even though public records indicate it is one of the facility’s shareholders.

The LGBTQ groups note the hotel should be a safe space that promotes inclusion, not platforms that enable ā€œharmful gatheringā€ for hate and exclusion by ā€œdangerous groups.ā€   

ā€œBy providing a venue for this event, Red Cross directly enables a platform for hate and discrimination — a stark contradiction to the values of inclusivity, humanity, and nondiscrimination that the organization claims to uphold,ā€ they said. Ā 

The organizations further warn that proceeding to host the conference threatens the relationship between the Red Cross and the marginalized communities who have long depended on the humanitarian organization for support and protection. CitizenGo has nonetheless criticized the LGBTQ groups, which it describes as ā€œradical activist groupsā€ for ā€œtrying to silence a pro-family eventā€ and asked the Kenya Red Cross and the Boma Hotel not to back down.

ā€œThese groups are calling the event ‘hateful’ because it affirms the natural family — marriage between a man and a woman — and the dignity of every human life, including the unborn,ā€ Ann Kioko, the group’s campaign director for Africa and the U.N., said.

Through an online counter signature collection drive, Kioko holds CitizenGo and other groups won’t be intimidated, silenced or apologize to the queer rights groups for defending ā€œour families, our faith and our futureā€.  

ā€œThe real goal of these foreign-funded activist groups is to impose LGBTQ and gender ideologies on Africa — ideologies that have led elsewhere to the confusion of children, the breakdown of family structures and the rise of sexual libertinism that results in abortion, STIs and lifelong emotional and psychological trauma,ā€ Kioko stated.  

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Africa

LGBTQ activists in Africa work to counter influence of American evangelicals

Lawmakers continue their crackdown on queer rights

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LGBTQ activists protest in front of the Ugandan Embassy in D.C. on April 25, 2023. Activists across Africa are fighting the growing influence of American evangelical Christians. (Washington Blade photos by Michael K. Lavers)

American far-right evangelical organizations fund African MPs and religious groups and support their advocacy efforts against homosexuality.

The support for the two influential groups on the continent has contributed to increased homophobic rhetoric for conservative family values through religious teachings and public policy. Open for Business, a coalition of leading global organizations that champion LGBTQ inclusion, revealed this trend in its latest report that surveyed the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

ā€œThe anti-LGBTQ+ agenda driven by Christian groups in Kenya and Uganda has received significant funding and support from foreign anti-rights groups, particularly from U.S. far-right evangelical organizations,ā€ the report states.

The two nations, along with Tanzania, have had heightened curtailing of queer rights in recent years through legislation and religious protests. Homosexuality remains criminalized in the three countries, with varied jail terms of not less than 10 years.

ā€œThere is much misinformation and disinformation being circulated in Kenya about LGBTQ+ issues — churches are behind much of this, and they leverage selective interpretations of religious teachings to stir up anti-rights sentiments,ā€ the report reads.  

It adds religious groups have attained greater influence with their homophobic campaigns under President William Ruto, who is Kenya’s first evangelical Christian head of state.

The American far-right evangelical churches are part of the New York-based World Evangelical Alliance, whose global believers are considered ā€œincredibly diverse and vibrant people of faith.ā€

ā€œThey are bound together by spiritual convictions that they consider ā€˜non-negotiable’ while acknowledging a wide variety of expressions in non-essential matters such as their style of worship,ā€ the Rev. Leon Morris, the founder member and former chairman of Evangelical Alliance of Victoria, states on WEA’s website.  

The religious groups under the Kenya Christian Forum, in partnership with Linda Uhai Consortium (or Protect Life in Swahili) composed of pro-life organizations, late last month held their annual march in Nairobi, the country’s capital. Opposition to LGBTQ rights was among the agenda items.

Some anti-homosexuality placards that march participants held read, “Homosexuality is abnormal,” “Rainbow belongs to God,” “No to Western cultural imperialism, yes to family values,” and “In the beginning God made them; male and female.” The organizers also criticized the Kenyan courts over their recent rulings in favor of the queer community, such as allowing the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to register as a non-governmental organization.

The African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty is a caucus of African MPs that American far-right evangelical organizations support to drive anti-LGBTQ policies in their countries.  

The group held its second conference in Entebbe, Uganda, last May. The definition of sex and sexuality and their impact on LGBTQ issues were among the topics that delegates from more than 20 countries discussed.

The three-day conference that Ugandan Parliament Speaker Anitah Among and Henk Jan Van Scothorst, director of the Christian Council International, sought to curb homosexuality. The delegates also resolved to have the African Caribbean Pacific and European Union Economic Partnership, also known as the Samoa agreement, reviewed for undermining the sovereignty of African governments over LGBTQ rights and related “human rights” issues.

The far-left government officials and queer lobby groups from the U.K. and other Western countries, meanwhile, are engaging with LGBTQ activists in Africa to counter American evangelical organizations’ anti-homosexuality campaigns.

British officials, led by Equalities Minister Nia Griffith, in February met with Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha and Erick Mundia, a senior policy advisor for Ipas Africa Alliance, a Kenya-based abortion rights advocacy group.

ā€œAs part of our Queering Atrocity Prevention program, which seeks to center LGBTQI+ rights and risks as part of atrocity prevention and wider peace and security, our team held a parliamentary roundtable exploring the implications of transnational far-right organizing for global LGBTQI+ rights and how the UK parliament can respond,ā€ the statement reads.  

Klara Wertheim, head of global programs at Stonewall, and Farida Mostafa, queering atrocity prevention manager of Protection Approaches, were among the other representatives of queer rights organizations who participated in the roundtable with highlighted “the implications of transitional far-right activity for global LGBTQI+ rights.”

ā€œDiscussions with MPs, Lords, parliamentary staff and civil society representatives centered on tactics used by far-right actors to disrupt democratic rights-based systems,ā€ reads the statement. ā€œThe impacts of these malign efforts on sexual and gender-based rights in the UK and abroad, and how parliamentary actors can contribute to stemming these trends in their parliamentary work.ā€ Ā 

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Cameroon

Cameroonian LGBTQ activist shares journey of resilience, healing, and authenticity

Bandy Kiki recently married her Nigerian partner

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Bandy Kiki (Photo by Tatiana Tarasovskaya)

Bandy Kiki, a Cameroonian LGBTQ activist and media personality who currently lives in the U.K., has married Jenny, her Nigerian partner.

Kiki, who came out as gay in 2017, said in a March 25 post that she had become ā€œIjaw by marriage.ā€

Ijaw is a tribe in Nigeria from where Jenny originates.

ā€œFor many people, celebrating love is expected, even assumed. But for those of us in the LGBTQ+ community, it is often questioned, as though our love needs justification,ā€ Kiki told the Washington Blade in an exclusive interview.

And hers has been a journey of resilience, healing, and authenticity.

In this exclusive interview, Kiki shares her story as a gay person growing up in a Cameroonian society that considered, and still considers gay relationships as fundamentally flawed, and patently sinful.

ā€œFacing societal perceptions and expectations required both resilience and self-discovery,ā€ she said.

ā€œIn the beginning, it felt like I was constantly being asked to justify my identity, my relationship, and even my joy. There were moments of doubt, isolation, and deep frustration,ā€ Kiki told the Blade.

ā€œOver time, I have grown more confident in who I am. I have found community, chosen family, and a sense of self that no longer depends on anyone else’s approval.ā€

Here are some excerpts of the conversation.

BLADE: What inspired you to take this step and celebrate your love openly, despite the prevalent social and cultural stigmas about gays in your country of origin, Cameroon?

KIKI:Ā When I was asked why I chose to celebrate my love openly, I couldn’t help but wonder: Would I be asked that if I weren’t queer? For many people, celebrating love is expected, even assumed. But for those of us in the LGBTQ+ community, it is often questioned, as though our love needs justification.

Coming from a culture where being LGBTQ+ is still heavily stigmatized, I spent a long time feeling like I had to hide or shrink parts of myself just to be accepted. That is why marrying my partner is not just about legal rights. It is about joy, truth, and visibility. It is about showing that our love is just as real, just as deserving, and just as worth celebrating as anyone else’s. It is about healing and choosing courage over fear.

BLADE: What does this marriage mean to you personally and culturally?

KIKI: Marriage is a fundamental human right for everyone of marriageable age, regardless of their sexuality. It is not just a legal bond but the quiet vow to grow old with someone, not by the accident of time but by choice, every day. Culturally, I see marriage as the coming together of families or the beginning of one.

BLADE: How did your love story with your partner begin?

KIKI: Our love story began in the most modern way. We met online. I was not expecting much, but from our very first conversation, something just felt easy. She quickly picked up on one thing about me. I talk about food a lot. I mean, a lot. Especially about how much I had been craving Waakye, one of my favorite Ghanaian meals.

Immediately after our first date at a restaurant, which went incredibly well, she asked me to come to her house for a surprise. Naturally, my mind wandered to certain possibilities. But when I got there, she brought out a big bag filled with takeaway bowls of Waakye she had ordered, just because I had mentioned it in passing.

In that moment, I knew this was something special. This was not just about food. It was about being heard. It was about someone who listened to what I said and cared enough to remember it. That simple gesture told me everything. She paid attention. She took action. She showed love not just in words but in thoughtful details.

That was the moment she had my full attention. And honestly, she has had it ever since.

BLADE: Describe your life at home?

KIKI: We are both women, and our marriage does not operate on traditional gender roles. There is no “husband” or “wife” in lesbian relationships, regardless of how either partner presents herself in terms of fashion or style. In our marriage, we are equal partners who show up for each other in the ways that feel right for us. I love food and I am the better cook, so I do the cooking. My wife handles the cleaning, which works perfectly because I genuinely dislike it.

BLADE: At what point in your life did it occur to you that you were more inclined to same-sex relationships, and given Cameroon’s aversion to homosexuality, how did you manage to date fellow women in those early days, and can you speak to some of the experiences you had?

KIKI: In my teens, when friends were thinking about boys, I was thinking about girls. When I finally had the courage to seek love, it was all about “understanding and response.” I would do nice things for them, hoping they would see me as more than just a friend and maybe even feel the same way about me. That way, there was always deniability if they wanted to out me. It cost me a lot in time, energy, and emotion, but in an environment like Cameroon, queer people develop different tools to cope. For the safety of those back home, I will not go into more or other details.

BLADE: How has your journey been in navigating societal perceptions and expectations?

KIKI: Honestly, it was incredibly challenging, especially right after I came out. But it has also been completely worth it. Staying in the closet might have been easier, but it would have cost me my mental health and the chance to live my truth.

Facing societal perceptions and expectations required both resilience and self-discovery. In the beginning, it felt like I was constantly being asked to justify my identity, my relationship, and even my joy. There were moments of doubt, isolation, and deep frustration.

Over time, I have grown more confident in who I am. I have found community, chosen family, and a sense of self that no longer depends on anyone else’s approval. I now accept that not everyone will understand my path, and that is okay. What matters most is that I do.

BLADE: How do you hope your story will impact others in similar situations?

KIKI: I hope my story offers comfort to those who feel alone or unseen. I want others in similar situations to know that their feelings are valid and that they are not the only ones navigating this journey. Even in difficult environments, there is strength in quiet resilience and there is hope in knowing that being true to yourself, even in small ways, is powerful. If someone can see themselves in my story and feel a little more understood, then sharing it will have been worth it.

BLADE: What advice would you give to individuals who may be struggling with acceptance or self-expression?

KIKI: Take your time. Your safety and well-being matter just as much as your truth. Self-acceptance is not a race. It is a process, and it is okay to go at your own pace. Seek out safe spaces, even if they are few and far between, and surround yourself with people who see and respect you. When you are ready, express yourself in ways that feel right for you, no matter how small. There is no one way to be you, and there is no shame in surviving.

Killian Ngala is a freelance journalist in YaoundƩ, Cameroon.

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