By Olakunle Agboola – Nearly half of the countries worldwide where homosexuality is outlawed are in Africa, according to a 2020 global review by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA)
In fact, out of the 54 African states, only 22 of them have legalized homosexuality. In some countries, it is punishable by imprisonment, while it is punishable by death in four — Mauritania, Nigeria (in states where sharia law is applied), Somalia, and South Sudan.
In 2006, South Africa became the first and remains the only African country to legalize same-sex marriage, with a constitution that also protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation. A bill was also introduced in 2018, to criminalize hate crimes and hate speech, and in 2020 South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa passed into law the Civil Union Amendment Act, which prohibits marriage officers from refusing to conduct same-sex marriages.
As claimed by the West and some of the developed nations, legalizing same-sex relationships is vital for equality, as it improves the psychological, physical, and social well being of LGBTQ+ communities. These communities are gaining more popularity through Western media and movies including children’s cartoons with gay characters. Legalizing same-sex relationships across the African continent might be a herculean task, as many Africans do not buy the idea, as it is perceived to be Western culture and not African ideals.
Former President of Kenya, Kenyatta in an interview with Christiane Amanpour of CNN, once reiterated Kenya’s stance on homosexuality. He emphasized that same-sex relationships are against the cultural beliefs of the majority of Kenyans not to talk of being African.
“I won’t engage in a subject that is of no importance to the people of Kenya. This is not an issue of human rights; this is an issue of our base as a culture, and as a people regardless of which community you come from. Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya’’.
During a visit to Kenya in 2015, Barack Obama, the former US president, directly challenged Mr. Kenyatta, on the need for equality for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community, suggesting that “bad things happen” when countries do not accept their citizens’ right to be homosexual. Mr. Kenyatta bluntly shut down Mr. Obama’s discussion on gay rights terming it “a non-issue” and that Kenya is not keen on embracing homosexuality.
“We share a lot of things, but gay issues are not among them… We cannot impose on people what they don’t accept. At the moment, Kenya has trained its eyes on boosting trade, health, democracy, security, women and youth empowerment, not gay rights’’.
President Yoder Museveni is not different in his opinion against same-sex relationships and over the years he has toughened anti-homosexuality laws in Uganda. 7 years ago, he was interviewed by Zain Verjee of CNN when he said that sexual behavior is a matter of choice and gay people are “disgusting.”
“What sort of people are gay? I never knew what they were doing. I’ve been told recently that what they do is terrible. Disgusting.
But I was ready to ignore that if there was proof that that’s how they were born, abnormal. But now the proof is not there.”
Museveni commissioned a group of Ugandan government scientists to study whether homosexuality is “learned,” but to his utmost surprise, he found out it is a matter of choice, and nobody was born gay.
“I was regarding it as an inborn problem. Genetic distortion – that was my argument. But now our scientists have knocked this one out.”
Many African leaders have kicked against the idea of homosexuality legalization and won’t blink making it a big issue. But this does not remove the fact that some African countries in the last decades have legalized same-sex relationships such as Botswana, Lesotho, Sao Tome, Mozambique, Republic of Seychelles, and Angola.
LGTB+ community still faced all sorts of discrimination even in many African countries where it is been legalized. The tolerance for same-sex relationships is still very low in most African countries, as they are exposed to prejudice and violence. South Africa is the only country in Africa where any form of discrimination against the LGBT community is constitutionally forbidden. In 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa and the fifth in the world to enact same-sex marriage.
Bayo Oni, A Social Commentator thinks that LGBT+ won’t have a great time in Africa even in countries that have been legalized. He a dvised individuals facing challenges as gay to leave the continents and find solace in Western countries where their rights would be protected.
‘I have said in many places that LGBT+ will not survive with African cultures and values, and I feel it is an aberration pushing this odious culture to Africans.
It is disgusting as President Yoweri Museveni put it and I can’t even stand it as this madness has penetrated through western movies and they want Africans to be infected by this horrendous virus. LGBT+ can’t survive in Africa because it is un-African.
Seyi Alo, a sociologist also shared the same opinion with the late Robert Mugabe who once called homosexuality “un-African” and “white disease”. He narrated the ordeal of some of his classmates in Secondary School who were abused and baptized into gay acts by white priests in the late 40s while he was in Secondary School in Nigeria.
‘Most religious texts say that homosexuality is problematic, and I can’t prove them wrong. I went to a catholic boy’s school in Lagos, and I can tell you that most white priests in those days were gay.
I am 94 years old, and I can tell the story of how they turned many young adults into monsters. It was a boy’s school and those who ought to look out and protect us were busy abusing us. This messed a lot of people up and till now, I can’t get my mind off it.
Whites brought this disease to Africa, and I am happy that most African leaders are fighting against the spread. It is un-African and we must protect our young adults from falling prey to these appalling acts’’.
Some developed countries have been considering or implementing laws that limit or prohibit general budget support to countries that restrict the rights of LGBT people. Despite this, many African countries have refused to consider LGBT rights, and in some cases have drafted laws to increase sanctions against LGBT people. African leaders such as Yoweri Museveni, Olusegun Obasanjo, William Ruto, Yahya Jammeh, Nana Akufo-Addo, and Hakainde Hichilema have continued to echo their voices that same-sex relationship does not align with the values and culture of Africa.
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