Nairobi — Yatta Member of Parliament Robert Basil has joined other leaders who are against the legalising of LGBTQ in the country, saying the practise is foreign and doesn't correspond with the country's traditions and laws.
MP Basil said allowing it will lead to increased HIV infections in the country, citing a research by Centre for Disease Control which revealed that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men are the population most affected by HIV.
Other MPs and religious groups have also faulted the Supreme Court ruling that the LGBTQ community has a right to form a lobby group.
"As a Member of Yatta I want to state that I am against legalising LGBTQ community in Kenya because it's against our practises . Also when you look at research this community is at high risk of contracting HIV and this shouldn't be allowed," MP Basil stated.
The Yatta MP also welcomed the move to have laws enacted outlawing unnatural sex acts.
According to Basil, having such a law will affirm Kenya's stand against such practices.
Already MPs George Kaluma (Homabay Town) Mohammed Ali (Nyali) have proposed to have the LGBTQ community outlawed in the country.
MP Kaluma in his proposed law wants have homosexuality and other unnatural sexual acts criminalized in Kenya, and increase the penalty of those convicted of engaging or promoting the acts to imprisonment for life.
On his part MP Ali through a motion wants the government to bar the community and other propagators of the LGBTQ agenda from doing so.
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The LGBTQ debate in the country was revived after the Supreme Court last week affirmed a decision by lower courts that quashed the decision by the NGO Board to decline an LGBT lobby group's formal registration.
The decision by the apex court on Friday followed an appeal arising form the Court of Appeal by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) had successfully challenged an appeal by the board against a favorable High Court decision.
The Supreme Court held the board violated the right to non-discrimination by refusing to accept the names proposed, as the respondent was entitled to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedom to associate by being able to form an association.
The court however pointed out that all persons, whether heterosexual, lesbian, gay, intersex or otherwise, will be subject to sanctions if they contravene existing laws, including Sections 162, 163 and 165 of the Penal Code.
The Penal Code provisions prohibit same-sex relations.
Justices Mohamed Ibrahim and William Ouko however wrote dissenting opinions against a majority decision by Justices Philomena Mwilu (DCJ), Smokin Wanjala, and Njoki Ndung'u.
Ibrahim and Ouko held the decision by the NGO Board was not discriminatory and that it did not infringe Article 27 of the Constitution (2010).
The two also argued that the board has the discretion to refuse to register any association if the association does not meet certain specified conditions spelt in the law.
