Makena Njeri's message to Ruto on LGBTQ rights

 A collage of Makena Njeri and President-elect William Ruto.

CEO and founder of Bold Network Africa Makena Njeri has requested President-elect William Ruto to recognize the LGBTQ community during his reign.

This comes just a day after Ruto answered questions about the subject during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

When asked whether his government would crack down on the queer community, Ruto said it is important to respect everyone and what they believe in.

"We have Kenyan law, we have Kenyan constitution, we have our traditions, we have our customs, and we will continue to respect other people's customs as they respect our customs and our traditions.

"I'm very clear that we respect everybody and what they believe in but we also have what we believe in and we expect to be respected for what we believe in," he said.

Weighing in on the matter, Makena said the queer community is alive and has been there for a long time thus their rights need to be upheld.

"LGBTQ rights are human rights that we cannot downplay anymore. It is an issue that requires your attention as our president. The community is alive and has been there for a long time.

"Can we have a talk Mr President? We have been ready for this conversation for a long time," they said.

 Makena Njeri [Instagram]

During the CNN interview, Ruto added that the LGBTQ debate is not a pressing issue for Kenyans at the moment as they are grappling with unemployment and food shortage but Makena believes it should be part of the conversation.

"This is no longer a non-issue. We need to be open and address the issues around the queer community in Kenya.

"I appreciate the fact that the president has said his government will respect all people. This means that queer people should also be heard and respected. Our existence should not be reduced," they asserted.