Africa
Kenya seeks to ban LGBTQ movies on Netflix
Prohibition expected to take effect by end of year
The streaming of LGBTQ movies on Netflix in Kenya is set to be restricted as the country tightens the noose on same-sex sexual activity.
The Kenya Film Classification Board, which is charged with the classification and regulations of films for public consumption, is in final talks with Netflix to restrict same-sex content that violates the country’s laws.
Acting Kenya Film Classification Board CEO Christopher Wambua confirmed that official discussions with Netflix Africa began in October 2021, while noting that access to LGBTQ movies will be restricted before the end of this year.
“Already we have developed a draft agreement that defines how to conduct their (Netflix) operations in the country after another discussion in April this year,” Wambua said.
The Kenya Film Classification Board is supposed to share the agreement with Netflix Africa this week for further scrutiny of its provisions before implementing it. The company’s content manager for the continent is a Kenyan based in Nairobi.
The board has classified LGBTQ content under the “restricted category,” meaning it is not allowed for broadcast, exhibition and distribution to the public.
The agreement allows Netflix to self-classify movies streamed in Kenya by limiting offensive content that glorifies, normalizes, promotes and propagates homosexuality.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized under Section 165 of Kenya’s Penal Code while the Films and Stage Plays Act gives the board the power to regulate the exhibition, distribution, possession, or broadcasting of content to the public. Its content classification exempts live programming and news.
“Netflix will have to develop an intelligence safety-worth classification pool that is consistent with the film classification guidelines for Kenya so that the system’s output is aligned with our local laws and regulatory provisions concerning content classification,” stated Wambua.
The move to permit Netflix and other streaming services to self-classy movies for Kenya will only allow the board to monitor compliance.
“Netflix has indicated a commitment to operate in the country within the purview of the existing laws,” he said. “By the end of October this year we should have finalized the agreement so that by November we pilot the new framework.”
Kenya is the second African country to demand Netfilx ban the streaming of LGBTQ movies.
Egypt’s media regulator this month warned Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming services against broadcasting content that breaches its “societal values” and threatened to take action if not curbed.
The first Netflix film, “Perfect Strangers,” released earlier this year targeting the Arabic audience sparked criticism in Egypt and the Middle East for having scenes that depict homosexuality. One Egyptian lawmaker even called for Netflix to be banned in the country.
Egypt is among the countries in the Arab World that do not condone homosexuality.
Egyptian authorities usually prosecute gay men on charges of “immorality” or “debauchery.” Police regularly raid private parties, restaurants and bars to arrest them.
Egypt’s warning on Sept. 7 came a day after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman demanded Netflix to drop “offensive content” from its local streaming platforms as it “contradicts Islamic and societal values and principles.”
Egypt and Kenya have the highest number of Netflix subscriptions in Africa.
Kenya in September 2021 banned a gay documentary, “I Am Samuel,” produced by a local filmmaker.
The Kenya Film Classification Board said was “blasphemous” because it promoted “values that are in dissonance with our constitution, culture, values and norms.” The same film, however, has been screened at more than 25 film festivals globally and streamed on iTunes, Vimeo and other international platforms.
Filmmakers and groups opposed to the government’s LGBTQ films restriction criticized the decision as an abuse of the freedom of expression the Kenyan Constitution guarantees. Courts have dismissed challenges to it.
Apart from the Kenya Film Classification Board reaching a deal with Netflix to restrict LGBTQ content, Wambua disclosed that a new law has already been approved by the outgoing Cabinet to help the board effectively classify and regulate content in this digital era.
“The new digital platforms allowing streaming of movies make it difficult hence need to do some readjustments in the law to give companies powers to self-classify their videos-on-demand films that apply on auto-visual content. The existing law was for the analogue era,” he noted.
The proposed law, dubbed the Kenya Film Bill 2021, has yet to be introduced in the Kenyan Parliament, which reconvened on Wednesday after August’s general election.
The bill would recognize Kenya Film Classification Board key mandates of regulating the creation, broadcasting, distribution, possession and exhibition of films through the issuance of licenses to filmmakers, distributors and exhibitors. The bill would also recognize the Kenya Film Classification Board’s role in classifying films under various categories such as films that are either restricted or prohibited.
The Kenya Film Classification Board is engaging with other regulatory government agencies to have minimal adjustments on self-classifications through miscellaneous amendments to restrict LGBTQ content to avoid any delay in enacting the proposed law.
“If this is done even before we overhaul the existing law, we would have the requisite provisions that are necessary to allow us to accommodate the business model of videos-on-demand (VODs) which are on digital demand,” Wambua said.
The Washington Blade has reached out to Netflix for comment.
South Africa
WorldPride 2028 to take place in Cape Town
South Africa is first African country to host event
Cape Town last month secured enough votes to host WorldPride in 2028.
The bidding process, which started in late October, took place in Medellín, Colombia, where the Guadalajara (Mexico) Pride and WorldPride Cape Town bidding teams contended for the rights to host WorldPride. InterPride, which organizes the event, on Nov. 8 officially declared Cape Town the host of WorldPride 2028.
It will be the first time WorldPride will take place in an African country.
South Africa is the only country on the continent that constitutionally recognizes LGBTQ rights. South Africa, as a result, in recent years has seen a surge in the number of LGBTQ asylum seekers from Africa and around the world.
Reacting to the historical precedence, Cape Town Pride said it was now time for Africa to shine and acknowledged the WorldPride Cape Town bidding team and the city of Cape Town for their role in the bidding process.
“This is a first for the whole continent of Africa,” said Cape Town Pride CEO Tommy Patterson. “A few weeks ago, in Medellín, Cape Town Pride, the city of Cape Town, and the bidding team presented our bid. The team did a wonderful job and we all forged great friendships and allies from Pride groups all over the globe.”
“Cape Town Pride is thrilled by the news and support shown by the global LGBTI+ family,” added Patterson.
Michael Gladwin of the WorldPride Cape Town bidding team echoed Patterson’s excitement.
“This will mark the first time WorldPride is held on the African continent, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome the global LGBTQ+ community to our beautiful city,” said Gladwin. “A heartfelt thank you goes out to all our incredible partners who supported this journey. Together, we will showcase Cape Town as a beacon of inclusivity and diversity.”
Gladwin also congratulated Guadalajara Pride for their bid.
“Their commitment in promoting LGBTQ+ rights is inspiring, and we look forward to collaborating in the future,” said Gladwin.
Cape Town’s LGBTQ community is celebrating the successful bid, while others in the city have criticized it.
Rev. Oscar Bougardt, founder and lead pastor of the Calvary Hope Baptist Church, described WorldPride as “garbage” and “filth” that should be condemned.
“I am happy to say I am amongst the pastors in Cape Town who are in opposition and are outraged at this garbage planned for 2028,” said Bougardt. “The city of Cape Town and LGBTQ+ organizations planned this event without consulting rate payers, this bid was done in secret and taxpayers’ money will be used to fund this filth.”
“Just as the LGBTQ + organizations have the right to host WorldPride 2028, we have the right to say we don’t want it in Cape Town,” he added. “I pray more church leaders will stand up against the planned WorldPride 2028. To church leaders and parents, this is the time to unite and tell the city of Cape Town and LGBTQ+ organizations that we are disgusted at the planned event. Untied we stand and divided we will fall!”
Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 2022 won the bid to host WorldPride 2025, but the local planning committee withdrew it amid a dispute with InterPride. WorldPride 2025 will take place in D.C. from May 17-June 8, 2025.
The 2024 ILGA World Conference took place last month in Cape Town.
Uganda
Ugandan court awards $40K to men tortured after arrest for alleged homosexuality
Torture took place in 2020 during COVID-19 lockdown
A Ugandan court on Nov. 22 awarded more than $40,000 (Shs 150 million) to 20 men who police tortured after their 2020 arrest for alleged homosexuality.
The High Court of Uganda’s Civil Division ruling notes “police and other state authorities” arrested the men in Nkokonjeru, a town in central Uganda, on March 29, 2020, and “allegedly tortured.”
“They assert that on the morning of the said date their residence was invaded by a mob, among which were the respondents, that subjected them to all manner of torture because they were practicing homosexuality,” reads the ruling. “The alleged actions of torture include beating, hitting, burning using a hot piece of firewood, undressing, tying, biding, conducting an anal examination, and inflicting other forms of physical, mental, and psychological violence based on the suspicion that they are homosexuals, an allegation they deny.”
The arrests took place shortly after the Ugandan government imposed a lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Based on the same suspicion (of homosexuality), the applicants were then arrested, taken to Nkokonjeru B police station, and charged with doing a negligent act likely to spread infection by disease,” reads the ruling.
The ruling notes the men “were charged” on March 31, 2020, and sent to prison, “where they were again allegedly beaten, examined, harassed, and subjected to discrimination.”
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Uganda.
President Yoweri Museveni in 2023 signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.” LGBTQ activists continue to challenge the law.
Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha on X described the Nov. 22 ruling as a “significant victory for the LGBTQ+ community.”
Nigeria
Four men accused of homosexuality beaten, chased out of Nigerian city
Incident took place in Benin City on Nov. 17
Four young men have been beaten and chased out of a Nigerian city after they were found engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity.
An angry mob paraded the four men, who were only wearing boxing shorts, down Nomayo Street in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, on Nov. 17. One of them had a visible deep cut on his forehead as a result of the beating.
The mob threatened to kill them if they were to return to the city. It also questioned why they were “into” homosexuality when there were many women in the area.
Samson Mikel, a Nigerian LGBTQ activist, said the attack was misdirected anger.
“Benin City is one of the backward places in Nigeria and a dorm for scammers and other crimes, the people are proud of their roughness, they are never concerned about these other crimes or how the government is impoverishing them, but will light gay men on fire the moment they think,” said Mikel. “All they want is to live and experience love. They are not the cause of the economic meltdown in the country, neither are they the reason why there are no jobs in the streets of Nigeria.”
Attacks like the one that happened in Benin City have been happening across Nigeria — the latest took place in Port Harcourt in Rivers state last month.
Section 214 of the Criminal Code Act on Unnatural Offenses says any person who has “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature, or has carnal knowledge of an animal, or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of a felony” and could face up to 14 years in prison.
Several LGBTQ people and activists have been arrested under Section 214.
In some cases they are murdered with law enforcement officials showing little to no interest in investigating, such as the case of Area Mama, a popular cross-dresser whose body was found along the Katampe-Mabushi Expressway in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, in August.
The Initiative for Equal Rights, a Nigerian advocacy group, said the federal government should take concrete steps to protect the rights of all Nigerians.
“For many, especially LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, and those within the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity, Expression and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC), community, freedom remains a distant goal. Discrimination, violence and human rights violations are daily realities,” said TIERs Nigeria. “Despite the progress we have made, the journey towards justice is long, but our voices remain unwavering.”
TIERs Nigeria also called upon the federal government to repeal the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2014, to respond to the African Commission’s recommendation to review laws that criminalize rights of assembly and association, and to enact laws and policies that discourage hate speech and other actions that incite discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Many Nigerians vehemently oppose public discussions about LGBTQ-specific issues because of religious and cultural beliefs.
A number of local and international human rights organizations have advised the federal government to prioritize the rights of everyone in Nigeria, including those who identify as LGBTQ. There is, however, little hope that Nigerian officials will do this anytime soon.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in states with Sharia law. Those who advocate for LGBTQ rights in these areas could also face a similar fate.
Claudia López mum on whether she will run for president of Colombia
PHOTOS: The Holiday Show
Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Purple Parrot is sold
Navigating the holidays while estranged from ultra-religious, abusive parents
Hate crime charges dropped against most Salisbury students in off-campus attack
Trans rights supporters, opponents rally outside Supreme Court as justices consider Tenn. law
Protests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests
Will RFK Jr.’s ideas cause illness and death?
WorldPride 2028 to take place in Cape Town
Protecting trans rights is a moral duty, not a liability
-
U.S. Supreme Court5 days agoTrans rights supporters, opponents rally outside Supreme Court as justices consider Tenn. law
-
Congress4 days agoProtests against anti-trans bathroom policy lead to more than a dozen arrests
-
Opinions4 days agoWill RFK Jr.’s ideas cause illness and death?
-
South Africa4 days agoWorldPride 2028 to take place in Cape Town