Refugees and asylum seekers who identify as LGBTQ would be expelled from Kenya under a proposed anti-homosexuality law.

The Family Protection Bill, 2023, that would criminalize homosexuality with a life sentence, is currently under consideration by a parliamentary committee. 

The measure, which opposition MP Peter Kaluma has sponsored, proposes changes to Kenya’s Penal Code that prohibits consensual same-sex relations with a 14-year prison term. The lawmaker notes that homosexuality, same-sex marriages and other so-called unnatural sexual acts go against “public morality” that threaten the family unit under Article 45 of Kenya’s constitution, which recognizes marriage as between people of the opposite sex.

“The bill contains miscellaneous provisions that allow the expulsion of refugees and asylum seekers who breach the law, contains provisions for psychotherapy and rehabilitation of offenders and consequential amendments to other acts of Parliament,” the proposed law reads. 

Kenya hosts more than half a million refugees in its Kakuma and Dadaab camps from neighboring nations: Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo that face long-standing conflicts and insecurity.

Kenya is also the only East African nation that has been accepting LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers without questioning the individuals’ sexual orientation. This is despite rampant cases of homophobia in the country and some LGBTQ refugees complaining about discrimination, violent attacks and destruction of their property by other refugees and residents.      

Several LGBTQ human rights groups, including the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration, have released a report on violations the LGBTQ people face in Kakuma, which is one of the world’s largest refugee camps.

The U.N. Refugee Agency in Kenya in March 2021 issued a statement in response to homophobic attacks on LGBTQ refugees in Kenyan camps by assuring its commitment to their safety.  

The move to curb homosexuality in Kenya through the new law comes barely three months after more than 300 LGBTQ refugees at Kakuma camp launched an online signature collection initiative to petition the authorities to stop discrimination, torture and mistreatment.  

In the petition, the group decries rampant incidents of brutal attacks in the camp that have left them with “deep wounds and scars” that often result in disability and death for some victims.  

“As refugees who have sought safety and refuge from conflict and persecution, we should not have to endure further suffering and discrimination within the confines of the camp. Yet, this is the reality for many of us,” reads the petition. 

The group also laments police brutality and mistreatment, even though they are supposed to protect them like other refugees regardless of their sexual orientation.   

“This has led to a climate of fear and insecurity within the camp, where we are unable to live freely and openly as members of the LGBTIQ+ community. We are tired of living in fear and we demand an end to these injustices,” it reads. 

The proposed Family Protection Bill, 2023, has sparked mixed reactions from Kenyans, with some supporting it and others opposing it for infringing and undermining other people’s rights. 

“A very human plea to a Kenyan MP who’s pushing an agenda of hate against a section of Kenyans. I live for the day we’ll see all humans as persons deserving to be treated with dignity and love, and not be victimized for who they are, how they live, and who they love,” Lukoye Atwoli, a celebrated Kenyan scientist and dean, said. 

He argued that it is not his or anyone’s duty to police consenting adults in a consensual same-sex relationship. The MP who sponsored the Family Protection Bill, 2023, however, holds that whatever consenting adults in same-sex relationships do in private affects the entire society. 

“Same-sex sexual acts and unions are sterile by nature,” Kaluma said. “If tolerated or supported and propagated, would lead to the extinction of the human race.” 

The legislator joined other anti-LGBTQ African MPs in Kampala, Uganda, early this month to champion so-called family values. They demanded fresh scrutiny and repeal of international laws used by individuals and organizations that push the “anti-African cultural agenda.”  

The proposed Kenyan law seeks to limit several constitutional rights and freedoms in restricting LGBTQ practices and associated activities in the country.

It would impose a jail term of not less than five years on people found guilty of assembling, picketing, promoting, or supporting LGBTQ-specific activities. The bill also seeks to limit the right to information by restricting the media from publishing or broadcasting LGBTQ-specific content and would ban the recognition or registration of any LGBTQ group or organization in Kenya.

This provision is in response to the Kenyan Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in February that allowed the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to register a non-governmental organization.

The ruling attracted criticism from religious leaders and government officials including President William Ruto, who has instructed the attorney general to challenge the court’s decision for violating the country’s laws and morality.    

With the Family Protection Bill, 2023, the country now joins Uganda whose MPs in March passed a bill that would criminalize anyone who identifies as LGBTQ with life imprisonment amid international criticism. President Yoweri Museveni has returned it to Parliament for further consideration before he signs it.  

Embattled U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) last month introduced a bill that would ban U.S. foreign aid to countries that criminalize LGBTQ people.