Binyavanga Wainaina, one of Africa’s finest authors and winner of the 2002 Caine Prize for African writing, has revealed that he is gay.
The Kenyan, who ‘came out’ in an article entitled ‘I Am a Homosexual, Mum’ published to coincide with his 43rd birthday, made his proclamation against a backdrop of fierce debate over gay rights in Africa. Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya and Nigeria and Uganda have both passed anti-gay legislation in recent months.
Reaction to Wainaina’s revelation has been mixed on social media, with some praising his courage while warning of a possible backlash.
“Nobody, nobody, ever in my life has heard this,” Mr Wainaina wrote in the article published first on the Africa is a Country and the Chimurenga Chronic websites.
“Never, mum. I did not trust you, mum. I am a homosexual, mum,” he wrote.
Wainaina’s article was styled as a “lost chapter” from his 2011 memoirs ‘One Day I Will Write About This Place’. He told the GlobalPost news website on Monday: “Of course my friends knew, but I had been toying with how useful it would be to make a public statement for close to eight months.”
Gay and lesbian people risk a jail-term of up to 10 years if they are convicted of homosexual acts in Kenya. Most religious groups in Kenya and other African countries are strongly opposed to homosexuality, saying it is un-African. Human rights groups are meanwhile campaigning for anti-homosexual laws to be overturned.
