President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua reiterated that the government did not support calls to legalise the Lesbian Gay Transgender and Queers (LGBTQ) community in Kenya.
Speaking during the launch of the Women Fund on March 2 at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Ruto indicated that Kenya had values that needed to be respected.
"I cannot allow our women to get competition from men who chase after men. That will not happen under my watch," the President stated.
In Kenya, Ruto added, "we have our culture and traditions, we respect our constitution and all our religions we can’t travel the road of women marrying women or men marrying men. This won’t happen in Kenya."
Gachagua, on the other hand, expressed his shock at the Supreme Court ruling which determined that there was discrimination towards the registration of an NGO.
The DP indicated that the executive had not addressed the matter because they wondered why the Supreme Court made the ruling.
However, he maintained that the duo respected the courts.
"I was shocked and even wondered what I could say. Do you know that there are times when you can be shocked until you have nothing to say? We are hearing that there is an organisation that wants to defend same-sex marriage. What is that?
"We have no problem with the court but we have to ask what they imagine when a woman marries another woman. We do not have that and that is against our beliefs," Gachagua stated.
In regards to Ruto's stand, Gachagua indicated that the Head of State was a firm believer who would not support the legalisation of LGBTQ.
"The President is a Christian and he will do what is needed. What they suggest is contrary to our belief. Therefore, we are not supporting that," he stated.
Gachagua was speaking in response to the ongoing debate on the Supreme Court decision.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling, determined that the NGO board discriminated against an organisation that was seeking registration for advocacy work in the LGBTQ community.
Notably, following the court ruling, Members of Parliament including Nyali lawmaker Mohamed Ali and his Homa Bay counterpart Peter Kaluma disclosed that they were preparing motions to criminalise the community and its activities.
