We don’t need flawed values

By Charles Kanjama

Section 162 of Kenya’s Penal Code is titled ‘Unnatural offences’. It penalises sodomy, bestiality and buggery, with up to 14 years prison, and aggravated sodomy with up to 21 years. The Penal Code also penalises attempted sodomy with up to seven years imprisonment, and gross indecency between males with up to five years. These offences are rather similar to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.

In addition, under the Sexual Offences Act, sodomitical rape is punished with up to life imprisonment; sodomitical defilement with minimum life imprisonment, 20 years and 15 years if the victim is under 12 years, 16 years and 18 years respectively. The Sexual Offences Act incidentally prescribes similar penalties whether the sexual offence is heterosexual or homosexual in nature, vaginal or anal.

Kenya’s Penal Code treats sodomy as it does other sexual offences like defilement, incest and bestiality. These are offences where consent is irrelevant, the logic being that the apparently-private act has serious public consequences, beyond the perpetrator and the victim, and hence it is in society’s interest not to sanctify that conduct but instead discourage it by penalising it.

In addition to these sexual offences, the Penal Code (s.20) treats enablers, aiders, abetters, counsellors and procurers like principal offenders. It also penalises soliciting, inciting, neglecting to prevent, conspiring and accessories after the fact (ss.391-7). Quite similar to Uganda’s anti-gay laws, though with milder penalties!

Foreign or local entities which deliberately flout, subvert and break our laws do not deserve our sympathy. And if this requires us to explicitly outlaw gay propaganda, so be it. Indeed, most of Africa, with the notable exception of South Africa, has similar anti-gay laws, some explicit some implicit. So African nations should defend their sovereignty and reject any foreign groups that seek to enforce their flawed values on us.

The reaction to Uganda’s anti-gay law shows up those who claim that same-sex behaviour does not affect others. I’m reminded of the person who died and went to heaven. He arrived at the Pearly Gates and met St Peter, who welcomed him in. He found the solemn harp and violin music uninspiring, and so requested St Peter to allow him to visit Hell and compare. St Peter consulted on this unusual request then came back with the answer, “Fine, you can go only once, for one day, but that’s it.”

So this person arrived in Hell, and found a party scene in full progress, with the guests in colourful regalia, food and drinks flowing, his favourite rock music playing and Lucifer himself as MC taking him round to sample the delights. Needless to say, he enjoyed himself. The next day he arrived back in Heaven and told St Peter he had decided to choose Hell. St Peter let him go, warning him this was an irreversible choice.

When the man reached Hell this time, he heard gut-wrenching screams, encountered intense heat, sulphurous fumes and ugly fearsome beasts. Lucifer himself had a scary countenance, a scorpion tail and a beastly form. The person stammered a question to Lucifer, “What happened to Hell?” Lucifer’s answer was trite, “Yesterday was the advertising department. This is Hell.”

The lure of homosexuality for some and the desire of the gay community to recruit the youth into this practice (gay sex requires someone to yield their backside to another) is a source of concern. So yes, homosexuals deserve full human dignity. Every human being does, whether the person is a murderer, a child rapist or a saint. Our human dignity is inherent and inalienable.  But that’s not the point. The point is simple. Should we sanctify sodomy? Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and most of Africa have said no, no to buggery, just like they’ve said no to bestiality and no to incest. And that’s our right. 

The idea that some laws in our books should be ignored allegedly because we are too busy looking for food is absurd. It’s like saying, don’t bother with rape since we have still not achieved high literacy rates in our population. As if we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.