• Wachira Kiago stated the council was "totally against this ruling," as it went against the culture of their community.
•He said the council demanded respect for their traditions and values.
Image: AMOS NJAU
The Kikuyu council of elders, led by national chairman Wachira Kiago, has spoken out against the latest court ruling supporting LGBTQ rights in Kenya.
The Supreme Court of Kenya ruled the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community has the right to association.
Three Supreme Court judges — Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Justice Smokin Wanjala and Justice Njoki Ndung’u ruled on the majority side on the issue.
"It would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate through denial of registration of an association purely based on the sexual orientation of the applicants," they ruled.
The judges in their majority judgment said the decision by the lower courts to deny the members of the gay community in Kenya their right to register as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was discriminatory.
Speaking to Star on Sunday, council chairman Wachira Kiago stated the council was "totally against this ruling," as it went against the culture of their community.
He went on to say that the council demanded respect for their traditions and values.
The council appealed to all parents to advise their children not to accept what they referred to as "evil behaviours," and expressed concern that allowing such behaviour could lead to the destruction of African generations.
According to Kiago, the acceptance of LGBT rights was a foreign way of life that was not in line with African culture and traditions.
“We won’t allow our people to lose their culture and we are against the court ruling," Wachira said.
In 2015, Kenya’s former Deputy President William Ruto said there is “no room” for homosexuality in Kenyan society, the latest comments from an African former DP to anger activists and likely also to annoy Western donors who say gays are targeted by the continent.
Edwin Chiloba, a gay activist and fashion designer was murdered last month and his body was found stuffed inside a metal box in Kenya.
Edwin Chiloba’s body was found in the box after it was dropped by the side of the road from a moving vehicle with no license plate in Uasin Gishu county in the country’s west.
According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, Chiloba's death followed the unsolved murders of several other rights advocates for sexual minorities, Sheila Lumumba, Erica Chandra and Joash Mosoti.
(Edited by V. Graham)