KENYA: Religious Outrage over Minister's Support of Gay

A Kenyan cabinet minister who called for greater acceptance of gays by society has been accused of promoting 'un-African' acts and asked to resign.

Special Programmes Minister Esther Murugi recommended more tolerance towards men who have sex with men (MSM) at a national symposium on "most-at-risk populations" in the coastal city of Mombasa last week.

Several Christian and Muslim religious leaders, including the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya, have called for Murugi's resignation and threatened street protests if she is not fired immediately.

"She cannot say people who are engaging in crime and spoiling our children have rights," said Sheikh Mohamed Dor, a Member of Parliament and religious preacher. "We are waiting for when she will be fired from her post."

Religious leaders in Kenya have often used their considerable influence to sway public opinion. While religious groups have contributed significantly to the care of people living with HIV, their frequent opposition to providing HIV services to MSM, and the promotion of condom use, has led to clashes with national HIV policy.

Kenya's recently promulgated constitution does not specifically mention homosexuality, but the penal code makes "carnal acts against the order of nature" punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Fonte: NAIROBI, October 8, 2010 ( CISA)