Deputy President William Ruto has made his stance on the LGBTQ community known. This was during a discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies that was beamed live on YouTube.
DP Ruto, who was speaking with CSIS Africa Director Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, was responding to a question from a curious member of the audience who wanted to know what his stand was on the constant harassment the LGBTQ community goes through in Kenya.
The Kenyan's Second-in-Command stated that as a Christian, he follows what the bible says on the LGBTQ community. He, however, noted that he is also a public servant and obeys what the Constitution has stipulated on human rights.
Ruto stated that as a Christian, the bible condemns such relations and those are his personal views that do not overlap with the law of Kenya.
He stated that the Constitution of Kenya 2010 is the guiding principle in the country and he respects what the law says, adding that members of the LGBTQ community have nothing to fear should he ascend to power after the August 9 elections.
The DP stated that no one should harm every Kenyan even if they do not agree with their lifestyle choices. He added that members of the LGBTQ community should not be harassed or harmed by people who are offended by their way of life.
"I do not think anybody should pick up arms against any Kenya irrespective of whether you like what they are doing or not. Every Kenyan must be subjected to the rule of law and if you think any Kenyan is not acting in the right way, it is not for you to decide to harm them, it is for the law to take its cause.
"No Kenyan should be subjected to any form of harassment or any form of harm. The only authority that can take action over anybody is the authorities that are permissible within the law and if a Kenyan has not broken any law, nobody should harass them," he stated.
"As public servants, we will operate within the parameters of the Constitution and the law and every Kenyan must be safe within those parameters. There is no exception of anybody harming other Kenyans," the DP stated.
In 2015, DP Ruto made worldwide headlines after his remarks on the LGBTQ community were seen as extreme. The DP was speaking during a Church service where he stated that there was "no room" for homosexuality in the Kenyan society.
The remarks were made amid a visit by then serving US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who had arrived in Kenya for bilateral talks with the government.
"The Republic of Kenya is a Republic that worships God. We have no room for gays and those others," DP Ruto had told a Nairobi Church congregation at the time.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had also made similar remarks during a CNN interview that went viral around the world. Uhuru had told renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour that Kenyan society had rejected any gay agenda that was to be tabled in a global population conference that was taking place in the country's capital of Nairobi.
