Let’s focus on issues that will help Kenyans during Obama visit

Each Sunday as the cocks crow and the sun starts to rise, Nairobi, like other cities, kicks into motion.

It is the same predictable pattern, week after week. The city’s churchgoers rise early and in anticipation of a long day, they pair their Sunday best with a hearty breakfast while across town, another solid majority nurse pounding hangovers thanks to the Tusker beers and single malt whiskies that flowed the night before.

The paradoxes of Nairobi. In this pulsating metropolitan where discos blare daily, one can enjoy every form of gospel music with as much relish as the steady cocktail of Lingala, hiphop and good ol’ country.

On a normal Sunday, preachers hail tolerance and in line with our national mantra, hakuna matata (no worries), the surrendering of all problems to God...but not today. This morning’s conversation has centred largely on gayism and what has been described as the abominable behaviour that must be shunned. As the country prepares for the visit of US President Barack Obama; a man who has openly defended gay rights and specifically gay marriages that were recently legalised by the US Supreme Court, homosexuality has captivated the imagination of all Kenyans with discussions around it reaching a feverish pitch.

There is a fear that like Ebola, this “virus” will infect our judicial system and with that, destroy our society. Homosexuality, you see, is our national crisis, an act more “criminal” than the corruption that’s crippling Kenya, the insecurity that’s killing it, spousal abuse, murder and even radicalisation of our youth into Al-Shabaab. I don’t know how many it has eliminated but with this kind of noise, the number’s got to exceed the more than 500 massacred in the spate of terrorist attacks this year alone. “When eagles are silent,” said Winston Churchill, “parrots begin to chatter.” Ours are singing. And to the wrong drumbeat.

The government has spent millions of dollars trying to sanitise its image and do its best to lure investors into Kenya. It has put in motion a series of actions that are heightening interest in Kenya and just this past week, the country hosted Richard Branson and a contingent of billionaires keen on investing. They are joining the queue of those seeking to capitalise on the opportunities within, and there is the itch to beat out China, which has a head start. Trade and not aid, is the official tag; oh, how nice it would be if we could stick to it and not, in one fell sweep, whittle this moment to generate positive media on Kenya, into a cheap, populist and myopic discussion about morality...that most our politicians lack.

Though the White House has been clear about its non-avoidance of homosexuality if only by mention, we need to recognise that Obama’s not visiting Kenya to advance it. He will be here for economic and geopolitical reasons that will give us the rare chance to enjoy the eyes of the world on Kenya and the historic visit we’ve whined about for so long:

His visit will not impact on our religious and cultural convictions including polygamy, a practice which the West doesn’t understand. It is not meant to. In the US itself and despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, there is still significant opposition to gay marriage and it is therefore unclear as to why we are we wasting energy, time and effort making incendiary comments about it instead of exploiting the opportunity to capture the right headlines.

Kenya is a tourist destination that is suffering. Our hotels are empty; we have competition from South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique and most crucially, a serious security problem that threatens the sector and our economy long term. Rather than jostle for headlines that are harming more than helping us in that they are projecting Kenya as a hostile destination when such is not the case, our politicians should focus the limelight on more salient issues such as improving investment. Ask any gay tourist what they think of Kenya, and they will share that while they are aware of the vibrant gay community in it, they also acknowledge that we are a conservative and moderately homophobic nation.

They are honeymooners and their families, Hollywood producers and, yes, the investors whose sexual orientation has been irrelevant until we made it an issue. It is their last intention to do anything offensive when visiting our beautiful country. We have a few more days to go before POTUS makes his landing and I have only one prayer: That instead of our politicians sponsoring protestors to strip, parade naked and brand Kenya with buttocks, they’ll push Obama for what we really need: America as a true ally in economic empowerment and the fight against terrorism.

—The writer is founder of Twana Twitu Foundation