Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is quoted as stating that being gay is unnatural citing the following reasons as the basis of his argument:
A. Kenya's census results show that their are more females than there are males therefore it is "madness" for a man to fall in love with another man! (Could somebody please inform him of the irrelevance of this point considering women can be gay too)!
B. There is no need for women to engage in lesbianism if they can bear children! (Please give this man a book!)
The question here is not whether or not being gay is right or wrong/natural or unnatural! The question we need to ask is whether or not sexual preference is grounds for being placed behind bars or as the good PM states "being turned in to relevant authorities". It could easily be argued that sexual orientation is now deemed a matter of human rights and what the PM is purporting could be viewed as a violation of these rights especially because the principles guiding these rights on sexual orientation relate to equality and non-discrimination whose violation is strictly punishable by law according to our constitution!
For the full story, please click on the link below:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/-/1064/1062134/-/78xndg/-/index.html
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6 comments:
i still stick to my opinion that this is an anomie. the state of social and cultural norms being broken are the reasons for Raila to have spoken or made such utterances about it. i am in no manner saying that he made a brilliant comment or came up with the best method of dealing with the issue. i would honestly like to know how many of the 'older' generation wouldnt have reacted in the same way or worse than Raila did. those making the most noise with respect to his reaction towards gays are the 'youth'. look at it from this point, in Raila's upbringing, homosexuality might have never even been an issue to discuss. the youth of nowadays have it all around them so its a norm in thier society.
Geegee i think people are being one sided about this whole issue of Railas remark. they are more emotional with thier reaction then rational. and i repeat, im not supporting or embracing what Raila said, im just trying to make people notice yes he did say whay he did, but can we understand where he is coming from?
I also wonder about the sense of jailing them. What purpose would be served? Would society be a better place?
This is a very complex issue, and jailing them would not be of significance at all.
@Digzer and Kigonyi, I think the issue goes further than merely asking what purpose would be served or questioning the significance of the move. This is a terrible outrage as it is clearly a human rights violation and in addition it betrays the ignorance of Raila or the people he is pandering to.
First up there is no constitutional basis for their arrest. Correct me if I am wrong but the criminal code in Kenya does not list this as an offense. Raila carelessly states- "it is madness for a man to fall in love with another man while there were plenty of women". Last I checked 'madness' is not a crime. Even if we equate 'madness' to mental illness that requires state intervention, that sort of mental illness is not a crime, rather a medical condition that requires medical intervention. Taking away people's civil liberties is a process that can only be executed in accordance with due process, from the act of gathering evidence against a defendant to the point of satisfying the necessary habeas corpus requirements. If we are to allow idiotic state leaders like Raila to make capricious and arbitrary declarations against individual freedoms then as citizens we have no protection against tyrannical state action.
Secondly, in addition to the terrifying implications to our legal system, there is also the matter of the intellectual robustness of the population. It saddens me that such declarations are met with cheers. In a recent post on this blog, I pointed out that without a sizable financially self-sufficient middle-class population, there is little hope for true political change. I think that assertion needs to extend to the education spectrum. Crudely put we have too many idiots in the country. Politely put, we desperately need to raise the education level of the population. I do not just mean formal education, I also mean the richness of their experiences. I personally confess to having been close-minded and borderline homophobic at one point in my youth. I credit the breadth and diversity of my experiences with opening my mind. This is in large part due to my fortune of having traveled, lived and worked in a variety of countries which has exposed me to a wider variety of cultures. I think we need to increase out investment in information technology. A wider range of people should have access to the internet which would help broaden their knowledge.
@Digzer and Kigonyi, I think the issue goes further than merely asking what purpose would be served or questioning the significance of the move. This is a terrible outrage as it is clearly a human rights violation and in addition it betrays the ignorance of Raila or the people he is pandering to.
First up there is no constitutional basis for his declaration. Correct me if I am wrong but the criminal code in Kenya does not list this as an offense. Raila carelessly states- "it is madness for a man to fall in love with another man”. Last I checked 'madness' is not a crime. Taking away people's civil liberties is a process that can only be executed in accordance with due process, from the act of gathering evidence against a defendant to the point of satisfying the necessary habeas corpus requirements. If we are to allow idiotic state leaders like Raila to make capricious and arbitrary declarations against individual freedoms then as citizens we have no protection against tyrannical state action.
Secondly, there is the matter of the intellectual robustness of the population. It saddens me that such declarations are met with cheers. Crudely put we have too many idiots in the country. Politely put, we desperately need to raise the education level of the population. I do not just mean formal education; I also mean the richness of their experiences. I personally confess to having been close-minded and borderline homophobic at one point in my youth. I credit the breadth and diversity of my experiences with opening my mind. This is in large part due to my fortune of having traveled, lived and worked in a variety of countries which exposed me to a wider variety of cultures. In addition to expanding access to education, I think we need to increase our investment in information technology. A wider range of people should have access to the internet which would help broaden their knowledge.
Actually "madness" can be considered a crime depending on what it manifests into.
What's really the issue in my mind is that it hurts no one. What does who someone else chooses to love have to do with you? How does that affect ones life if you're not a part of it?
If God has yet to strike people down for being gay then what gives anyone the right to judge?
Maybe more attention should be focused on topics of greater importance as stated by martin0261.
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