Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma's plan to draft a bill enhancing laws against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community elicited debate among Kenyans.
In a statement dated Friday, February 24, the lawmaker revealed that he had written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, informing him of the plans to introduce the bill before the floor of the house in due course.
Kaluma indicated that he was proposing life imprisonment for those engaging in gayism.
He noted that he was in the process of drafting the legislation and needed the Parliament to help him avail various resources to facilitate the same.
"I intend to bring legislation to criminalize and punish homosexuality and other unnatural sexual acts and to further criminalize the promotion of such acts in Kenya.
"The proposed law intended to further the provisions of article 45 (2) of the constitution of Kenya and to protect the family will not only consolidate all existing laws relating to unnatural sexual acts but also increase the penalty for those convicted of engaging or promoting the acts to imprisonment for life or commensurate sentence," he stated.
After Kaluma made public his plans, Kenyans on social media expressed their divergent views on the matter that saw the topic trend on various platforms.
Kenyans who supported the MP noted that the move was timely given the rising debate on the matter.
"This is the way Mheshimiwa. The punishment should be harsh to even those who facilitate," Peter Ng'eno stated.
However, there were those who opposed the bill indicating that the country was also facing other serious issues such as ongoing hunger and corruption.
"In a country with starving people and hundreds of thousands of kids who have not reported to Form One this should be least of our concerns," Mwirigi Wa Kibaki stated.
"This bill amounts to an assault on civil freedoms. It is sad that Kaluma is fueling the repression of the marginalized and oppressed sections of society," Atheist In Kenya President, Harrison Mumia opined.
Notably, Kaluma's revelation came a day after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of an LGBTQ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) whose registration had been rejected by the board.
"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," the Court ruled.
