Kenya: Gays Fear For Their Lives in Kisumu

Gays Fear For Their Lives in Kisumu 

– August 21, 2011

The Truth Weekly, August 22nd – 28th 2011/ By Truth Team

Members of the gay community living in Kisumu city have expressed fear for their lives over what they termed as persistent harassment and attacks by locals opposed to their way of life.

Appealing to the Government to enforce the law and defend their rights as enshrined in the new constitution, both homosexuals and lesbians whose operations in the lakeside city have been secretive, claimed that one of their own was last week killed by unknown people who accused him of going against the local culture.

According to Adams Lenox, a self confessed gay, members of the gay community have now been forced into hiding after  last week’s death of one Charles Omondi Racho whose  body was found dumped in a thicket by the roadside within the town at the wee hours of Saturday morning.

He said the late Racho was attacked and killed by a group of rowdy youth  who earlier identified him at a local night club and threatened to discipline him for being a gay.

“ Imagine this guy ( Racho was attacked in the presence of his cousin who was also threatened by the same gang and all his belongings taken and when we reported the matter to the police, no action was taken only for the police to laugh at us and accuse us of going against the local culture”, noted the visibly angry Lenox.

He further claimed that the killing of the late Racho who was also a known gay and a staunch activist for gay rights in Kisumu city, followed a series of threats and hostilities directed at members of the gay community and which, he claimed has greatly threated their humanitarian activities in the region.

He disclosed that most of their members were operating under the banner of Kisumu Initiative for Positive Empowerment ( KIPE), a local NGO which is also involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS within the regions of Western Kenya. Among the programmes he said they undertake includes, the sensitization of the youth on the dangers of the sexually transmitted diseases as well as home based care for those infected and affected by the HIV menace.

On last week’s death of their member, Racho, Lenox further noted that unless an immediate intervention was initiated by the Government to protect gay rights in the country, “ we are a afraid our human rights will continue to be violated by those opposed to our life style and by the time action is taken, we might all be dead”.

Last week, a young man  believed to have been a leading gay practitioner in the town was killed and his body dumped in a thicket by the roadside in an incident believed to have been committed by people opposed to his gay life. The man in his late twenties who was identified by his relatives as Charles Omondi Racho is said to have been attacked by a group of fellow youths at the wee hours of Saturday morning while on his way from a popular night club within the city.

According to his cousin Mr. Peter Lawi Racho who was with him at the time of the incident, the late Racho was attacked by the rowdy youths who accused him of allegedly practicing homosexuality against their culture and vowed to teach him a lesson. “ I had to run a way after those guys attacked my cousin, started beating him aimlessly and threatened to kill me also if I dared raised an alarm”, said Mr. Lawi while sobbing his tears.

Before meeting his death on Saturday morning, the deceased had been attacked twice by unknown people in the same town, injured and even lost his luggage to the hostile youths in one of the incidents when he alighted from a shuttle bus from Nairobi to attend a workshop on gays in the city.

The deceased who hails from Gem constituency in Siaya county, is a known Gay and has always been complaining of constant harassment and attacks from his community and members of the public who view him as an outcast.  His numerous complaints to the local police have bore no fruits as the law enforcers are  also said to be opposed to the Gay rights in the country as the practice is not legally acceptable in Kenya.

Mr. Lawi further revealed that the deceased was only last month attacked by other hostile  youths at the Kisumu bus Terminus where his clothes were torn and other personal effects including documents lost as the angry youths descended on him with blows and kicks just because he was a known gay.

The deceased reported the incident to the local police and other frequent harassments  and attacks aimed at him because he is Homosexual but the police turned deaf ears to his complaints, claiming that homosexuality is prohibited in Kenya and has no place in the society.

Following the incident, Mr. Lawi has also been forced to go into hiding fearing that he might also be killed by the same gang who murdered his cousin since they were always seen together in public whenever they were in the lakeside city. He is appealing to the Government to protect  the rights of gays as enshrined in the new constitution.

Just last month , people attending a workshop of homosexuals and lesbians in Kisumu were attacked and the meting venue set a blaze by rowdy youths who accused them of going against the local culture.