Africa
TikTok in talks with Kenyan government to stop LGBTQ-specific content
Official says ‘draft framework’ will be ready by end of this month
TikTok is the latest global digital video platform to enter talks with the Kenyan government to stop access to LGBTQ-specific videos and other content prohibited under the countryās laws.
TikTok, a popular short-form mobile video-streaming platform, is currently in joint talks with government officials to develop a framework for censoring such content classified under the “restricted category.”
āA draft framework of the content regulation is being worked on by a joint team and it will be ready by the end of this month. The larger regulatory framework will address specific content like LGBTQ, explicit and terrorism materials shared on TikTok,ā an official who is familiar with the discussions told the Washington Blade.
The joint team is compelled to develop the framework to regulate TikTok users who enjoy full control of videos they share on the platform without the service providers’ prior approval, unlike Netflix and other movie streaming platforms that readily classify content for users.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized under Section 165 of Kenyaās penal code.
The move to regulate TikTok content arises from a petitioner who wrote to the National Assembly last month demanding the country ban the social media platform for promoting what he deemed harmful and inappropriate content.Ā
The petitioner, Bob Ndolo, an executive officer for Briget Connect Consultancy, cited violence, explicit sexual videos, hate speech, vulgar language and offensive behavior as content with a āserious threat to cultural and religious values of Kenyaā shared on TikTok.Ā
The petition ignited an uproar among Kenyans, particularly TikTok users who make a living from their videos through monetization.
They asked the government not to ban the platform, but instead enact a regulatory framework to stop inappropriate content. This request prompted President William Ruto and several senior government officials to convene a virtual meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Aug. 24 over content regulation under Kenyaās guidelines and monetization.Ā Ā
Chew during the meeting committed to āmoderate content to fit community standardsā by removing inappropriate or offensive content from TikTok and pledged to set up an office in Nairobi to serve the African continent.
The virtual meeting was followed by another physical one at State House between Ruto and TikTok Africa Director Fortune Sibanda on Sept. 2, where it was announced that the social platform is set to launch a national training program to empower its users on creating and promoting so-called positive content.Ā
TikTok has already stopped monetization for users sharing inappropriate or restricted content and deactivated their accounts as efforts to draft the regulatory work continue.
āA joint artificial intelligence tool is being used in the meantime to detect offensive content for removal and the accounts brought down,” stated the official. “It has significantly reduced inappropriate content for the last few weeks since Kenya and TikTok started engaging.ā
The latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report released in June revealed that Kenya leads the world in TikTok usage with an astounding 54 percent share of global consumption. Thailand and South Africa follow with 51 percent and 50 percent respectively.
The Kenya Film Classification Board, the countryās film regulator, signed an agreement with Netflix in February this year to stop the streaming of LGBTQ-specific movies. The regulatory body is part of the ongoing talks with TikTok.
The KFCB is also yet to finalize its talks with Showmax and two local video-on-demand platforms to stop the streaming of LGBTQ-specific movies.
The regulatory body derives its powers from the Films and Stage Act that regulates the exhibition, distribution, possession or broadcasting of content to the public.
The ever-changing digital technologies that include TikTok and other social media platforms have prompted the KFCB to reconsider its regulatory framework by coming up with new measures.
One such proposal, dubbed the Kenya Film Bill, would empower the KFCB to classify and regulate content in this digital era to stop ones that go against government-mandated standards.
The Information, Communication and Technology Ministry last week appointed a special team to look into existing laws and recommend policy and regulatory framework for the digital platforms. The ministryās senior officials, including Assistant Minister John Tanui, are also taking part in the talks with TikTok.
The ministry’s newly unveiled panel will also ask whether the Kenya Film Bill can be enacted independently or combined with new legislative proposals.
The regulation of TikTok content in Kenya comes amid the anticipated introduction of theĀ Family Protection Bill in the National Assembly that would criminalize any form of promotion of LGBTQ activities with harsh punishment of at least 10 years in jail or not less than a $67,000 fine or both.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
TikTok in April 2022 suspended the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ rights group in the U.S., for a couple of days after it included the word “gay” in a reel against Floridaās āDonāt Say Gayā law. The company determined the post violated “community guidelines.”
A British lawmaker criticized TikTok in September 2019 over reports that it censored LGBTQ-specific content, such as two men kissing or holding hands, and artificially prevented LGBTQ users’ posts from going viral in some countries.
Theo Bertram, TikTok’s director of public policy in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, apologized to the British parliamentary committee and confirmed the company only removes such LGBTQ-specific content if law enforcement agencies in countries of operation request it.
Mali
Mali on the verge of criminalizing homosexuality
Country’s Traditional National Council has drafted a new penal code
Mali’s Transitional National Council on Oct. 31 adopted a draft penal code that would criminalize acts of homosexuality.
Minister Mamoudou KassoguƩ after the TNC meeting said any person who advocates or engages in same-sex relations will be prosecuted.
“There are provisions in our laws that prohibit homosexuality in Mali,” he said. “Anyone engaging in this practice, promoting or apologizing for it, will be prosecuted. We will not accept that our customs and values āāare violated by people from elsewhere.”
Nginda Nganga, an African LGBTQ rights activist, said the Malian government should not be concerned about other people’s sexual orientation.
“LGBTQI+ people have always existed, and they always will. Itās a human rights issue, and honestly, I have never understood why some are so concerned about others’ personal choices and private lives,” said Nganga. “Itās strange.”
Eugene Djoko, another African rights activist, said deterring and monitoring one’s sexual orientation will not solve the countryās problems.
“According to the minister, anyone who practices, promotes or glorifies homosexuality will be prosecuted, however, restraining personal liberties is not how you will fix the country’s problems,” said Djoko.
Amnesty International in its 2023/2024 report said violence and discrimination against people based on descent remained prevalent in Mali. The report highlighted several killings based on this type of discrimination.
Although Mali does not recognize same-sex marriages, the country’s constitution and penal code does not criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations or LGBTQ identity. The TNC’s Oct. 31 vote, however, will change the situation for the country’s LGBTQ community, even though President Assimi GoĆÆta has not approved them.
The LGBTQ community before the Oct. 31 vote already faced a lot of stigma, especially from fellow Malians.
Mali is largely an Islamic country, and Sharia law does not tolerate same-sex sexual relations. The majority of Malians view homosexuality as a Western import.
People in some regions who are found to be part of the LGBTQ community can face punishments that range from so-called conversion therapy to amputation, flogging, and even death. Many LGBTQ Malians and those who advocate on their behalf remain in the closet or work behind closed doors. Some have opted to leave Mali and seek refuge in countries that protect LGBTQ rights.
The actual ramifications of KassoguĆ©’s statements as they relate to consensual same-sex sexual relations or LGBTQ advocacy in the country remain unclear.
Arrests of LGBTQ people or activists on the basis of sexual orientation are rare, but Malian society tends to handle them under the guise of religious and cultural beliefs as opposed to a law enforcement issue. Law enforcement officials cite acts of indecency when they arrest those who identify as LGBTQ or activists.
GoĆÆta, for his part, has yet to explicitly make any public comment on LGBTQ-specific issues. He has, however, often spoke about his support for Islamic and African values.
Kenya
Kenyan court awards two gay men $31K
Couple subjected to genital examination, given HIV tests after āunnatural sexā arrest
A Kenyan court has awarded two gay men charged with āunnatural sexā for engaging in consensual sexual relations a total of Sh4 million ($31,000) in compensation.
This is after the Magistrates Court in the coastal city of Mombasa ruled the authorities violated the menās rights in obtaining evidence.
During the arrest, the two men were forcefully subjected to genital examination and HIV tests against their constitutional rights to privacy and the rights of an arrested person, including being allowed to speak with a lawyer.
Section 162 of Kenya’s penal code criminalizes consensual same-sex relations with a 14-year jail term. Prosecutors wanted the court to find the two gay men, who were arrested in 2021, guilty of the offense.
In a ruling issued on Oct. 24, the court, while awarding each of the men Sh2 million ($15,600) in compensation, faulted prosecutorsā unlawful extraction of evidence.
The Center for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation, a local LGBTQ rights organization, last year petitioned the court not to admit the evidence for having been obtained unlawfully, to stop the hearing, and for the accused to be compensated.
In the petition, CMRSL cited infringement on the gay menās right to human dignity: A ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the rights to privacy and a fair trial, rights of an arrested person, and violation of their freedom and security as the constitution and international law mandates.
āThis provision (Section 162 of the penal code) has historically been used by the State to target and harass LGBTQ+ persons based on their gender identity and sexual orientation,ā CMRSL Legal Manager Michael Kioko told the Washington Blade.
The High Court in 2019 declined to decriminalize sections of the penal code that ban homosexuality in response to queer rights organizationsā petition that argued the State cannot criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations between adults. The constitutionality of laws that criminalize homosexuality is still contested in the appeals court, based on the argument they infringe on the rights to privacy and human dignity.
CMRSL termed the latest ruling āa crucial step toward dignity and human rights for allā while noting that the case was critical in its legal representation efforts to protect the fundamental rights of queer people in Kenya.
The Oct. 24 decision affirms the Mombasa appeals court’s 2018 ruling that struck down the use of forced anal testing in homosexuality cases by terming it as unlawful. Kenyaās National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission brought the case.
The appeals court verdict stemmed from a 2015 case where police in Mombasa obtained a court order to force two gay men to undergo anal examinations and HIV testing at a local clinic after authorities arrested them and charged them with unnatural sex.
NGLHRC, in challenging the court order, argued forced anal examinations are cruel, inhuman, degrading, and breached local and international medical ethics and human rights.
The latest ruling exonerating the two gay men from prosecution is among numerous cases in which CMRSL has represented queer people in court to defend and protect LGBTQ rights in the country.
The case against a gay man in Mombasa charged with an unnatural act (a same-sex affair) and represented by CMRSL in court saw the matter dropped last September. The court last June acquitted transgender women in Lamu charged with committing gross indecent acts between males against provisions of the penal code.
CMRSL represented the trans women.
The group has deployed community paralegals and field monitors to monitor, document, and report queer rights violations.
āThey (field monitors) work closely with LGBTQ+ community paralegals to link survivors to justice by providing legal support and connecting those to pro bono lawyers and legal aid services,ā Kioko said. āOn average, our monitors handle around 10 cases each month, ensuring that violations are addressed and survivors receive the necessary legal pathways to seek justice.ā
CMRSL in partnership with several queer lobby groups, is also challenging the Kenya Films Classification Board in court for banning a movie titled āI Am Samuelā on the pretext it contained gay scenes that violate Kenyan law.
The Kenya Films Classification Board in 2018 also banned the āRafikiā because it contains lesbian-specific content. Petitioners who challenged the ban in court argue the decision violates freedom of expression and other constitutional provisions.
Ghana
Ghanaian cardinal reiterates support of LGBTQ people
Country’s Supreme Court considering challenge of anti-LGBTQ law
A Catholic cardinal in Ghana has reiterated his support for LGBTQ people.
Peter Turkson has been vocal against the criminalization of LGBTQ people, advocates, and organizations. He is also among the few African cardinals who have supported the Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust) document that Pope Francis released last year.
The document offers a narrow set of conditions under which a priest or deacon can offer a blessing to a same-sex couple or unmarried heterosexual couples.
In an interview with TV3 News, a Ghanaian television station, Turkson expressed his grave concerns over the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill currently before the Supreme Court.
The bill, among other things, would further criminalize LGBTQ people and make advocacy on their behalf illegal.
Lawmakers in February approved the measure. President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he will not sign it until the Supreme Court issues its ruling.
Turkson said homosexuality is not new to Ghanaian culture and those who identify as LGBTQ should be treated like any other person.
“Who controls how one is born? And if one is born this way, how does it in itself constitute a crime? You criminalize them for what,” he asked.
Turkson also said there should be respect for diverse views, urging against the criminalization of identity.
Father Peter Knox from the Jesuit Institute in South Africa said there is an almost what he described as a neurotic denial of the fact there are African people who are attracted to people of the same sex.
āThe fact that people of the same sex enter into a permanent, loving, supportive, stable, fruitful relationships is beyond the imagination of many Africans. The very notion runs contrary to what many theologians and pastors claim is African culture,ā said Knox.
Knox also questioned why homosexuality is regarded as a Western concept, noting South Africa offers asylum to many LGBTQ Africans who are fleeing persecution from their countries of origin.
āFor decades South Africa has recognized the refugee status of people who are persecuted or whose lives are endangered because of their sexual orientation,” he noted. “For those who do not try to make it to Europe, South Africa is often a second-best destination.”
Knox noted one South African parish has a support group for LGBTQ parishioners.
“It is noteworthy that none of the members of the group are so-called Europeans. They all come from African countries,” he said. “One also hopes for more prophetic protection of a severely marginalized group on this continent.”
Cardinal Maurice Piat of Mauritius, along withĀ Turkson, is the only other of the continent’s 22 Catholic cardinals who hasĀ spoken publicly in support of LGBTQ people. Non-Catholic officials in Africa have largely dismissed Francis’s document.
Cardinal Stephen Ameyu, archbishop of Juba in South Sudan, has said the church’s role is to respond to sinners with mercy. He questioned the blessings of same-sex marriages last December during a press conference at a Christmas event.
“The church takes mercy first. Thatās why sometimes we are concerned about people who are criminals, people who have killed people. We turn to them in mercy,” said Ameyu. “So, the state of life that somebody lives does not exclude one from the concern of the church. Be merciful to others provide services to others who need the services, and the church can do a lot in order to convince people in their state of sins to come back to the church and be converted.”
Francis in 2023 visited South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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