State to challenge court ruling on LGBTQ rights
The government will challenge the Supreme Court ruling on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, Attorney General Justin Muturi has hinted.
Muturi stated that the decision to allow LGBTQ to register associations is going against the values of Society.
Speaking at a church function in Embu county during a thanksgiving service for Principal Secretary for TVETS Dr Esther Mworia, the AG said Kenyans should be given an opportunity to give their opinion through public participation since the issue of the LGBTQ weighs on life.
The AG said Kenyans should be engaged in public barazas so that they can be in the position to give their opinion for consideration noting the debate on the matter should now be moved out of the church to the public.
“Once I read the mood of the country, I may be in a position to move to Supreme Court by way of serving people to challenge the decision,”
He added, “I am sure over 95 percent of our population was shocked, we cannot and we must not go that route,” said Muturi.
He also said he will seek the attention of the apex court full bench so that it can address itself on that matter.
The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that it was discriminatory to deny LGBTQ their rights to register as NGO despite homosexuality being illegal in the country.
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula has also joined in the debate warning that the court verdict would wreck cultural norms in the country.
Wetangula said the ruling now opens ground for “unintended and unhelpful consequences.’’
The ruling by the apex court has been admonished by religious leaders, and political leaders with calls for it to be reviewed.
Street protests
In Mombasa, activists staged street protests yesterday against the ruling on Moi Avenue accusing Kenyan courts of abetting moral decadence. “We are ready to die of hunger but not from the anger of the God who created us, we will stand for what is good for our generations and we will not relent on this war,” said Salim Karama, chairman of the Anti-LGBTQ lobby.
The demonstration brought together Muslim and church leaders, human rights activists, youth, Muslim women who dressed in their veils to show solidarity against what they termed as an illegality.
The judges in their majority judgment said the decision by the lower courts to deny the members of the gay community in Kenya their right to register as an Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was discriminatory. “We are asking parliament to stand firm and make amendments to the laws so that we can save our generations, Kenya must show the world that we have our own values and we can’t follow other people’s interests,” said Sherif, a Muslim leader in Mombasa.
Wetangula on his Twitter page said the ruling opens ground for “unintended and unhelpful consequences”, at this time when the whole world is debating on how to handle the matter. “The country is deeply religious and the ruling seeks to create friction between the law and the church. It should be condemned by all and sundry,” Wetangula wrote.
