Parents of murdered queer Kenyan plead for help

The parents of a non-binary queer person who was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted in Kenya have pleaded for help in finding the killers of their “kind and head-strong” daughter.

“I want to see the people who killed my daughter, I would appreciate to just see them, and make sure action is taken,” Sheila Lumumba’s father told the BBC.

The killing of the 24-year-old, who identified as queer, sparked outrage across Kenya and the hashtag #JusticeForSheila began trending last week.

Several suspects have been interviewed, but police are yet to charge anyone with the killing that happened in Karatina, a town in Nyeri County.

Kenya has strict anti-gay laws, and rights groups say members of the LGBTQ community can often feel unprotected by law enforcement agencies, and routinely face discrimination and stigma.

We met Sheila’s mother and father at their home in Naivasha, a large town in Nakuru County.

John Lumumba and Milisens Oloo described their daughter as a loving, kind and determined person, adding that that they were proud of all Sheila’s accomplishments.

Brenda Oloo told the BBC that her cousin’s death was having a devastating impact on the family.

“We want to know why. The brutality of what they did to her, what did she do so wrong that they had to do all of that to her? It was with so much hate,” she said.

“We never imagined something bad could happen to her, she was so strong. We are still not in acceptance that she is gone.”

A network of NGOs in Kenya, including The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, is supporting the family in their search for justice.

Sheila’s funeral will be held later this week.