homosexuality and aids: a double-edged sword

By Wanjira Kiama (Weekender: Special Report Friday)

June 26, 1998: Kenyan law defines any sexual relations between men as a criminal act. There are, however, few prosecutions; one exception is the current (early 1998) investigation into the Forum for Positive Generation on Aids Prevention, a registered community organisation for people with HIV in Kisumu. Police allege that the organisation has been "recruiting" homosexuals.

The rarity of prosecutions is no doubt one of the factors behind the statement of Attorney-General Amos Wako that his office does not know the extent of homosexual practices in the country. Wako repeats the Government's line that homosexuality is widely regarded as unAfrican and the wider public does not see the need for research in this area.

"What we have on this is just impressions, since there are no reliable figures anywhere," says Dr Frank Njenga, a psychiatrist and chairman of the social responsibility committee for the Kenya Medical Association and an HIV/AIDS prevention activist. "People tend to either exaggerate or underrate the extent of homosexuality, bisexuality and lesbianism."

Njenga argues that Kenyan society has not "developed" to the level where people with a different sexual orientation are allowed to be themselves or develop within laws and rights set out for them. As a result, "we have a good number of Kenyan men who are constitutionally homosexual and socially heterosexual, so as to fit in the society".

The only national statistics that in any way relates to homosexual activity is the UNAIDS estimate that fewer than five per cent of Aids cases are the result of sexual transmission of HIV between men.

The UNAIDS resident advisor, Dr George Tembo, says that for Kenya and other developing countries, this is a grey area since there has been no authoritative study. The figure is based on anecdotal evidence. Furthermore, many African men having sex with other men are bisexual. "It is a double-edged sword," says Tembo. "How does the doctor or sociologist decide whether the HIV/Aids infection of a bisexual man is through his relationship with a woman or with a man?"

Meanwhile, studies undertaken by the African Medical Research Foundation (Amref) of the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among truck drivers between Mombasa and Uganda offer evidence of some homosexual activity, particularly between men and boys aged 12 to 16. "It is not known whether it is men expressing their own sexuality, or whether it is something learnt," says Dr John Nduba, deputy director of the Amref country office.

Such studies are supported by anecdotal evidence that suggests sexual activity between men in Kenya is more common than generally believed. Young people, usually men with men and women with women, often share housing for economic reasons.

But, according to Allan Ragi, chairman of the Kenya Aids NGO Consortium, some young men share housing for emotional and physical needs. He adds that although not officially acknowledged, homosexuality is practised in prisons, the military and boarding schools and colleges throughout the country.

Ragi claims that more young men than old men participate in homosexual activity. An Aids programme manager with an international NGO who declined to be named, shares that opinion: "Men having sex with men is not only common among young people, but fashionable. Just as young men like to wear an earring, they are also opting to try out homosexual practice. It is not just seen as an orientation, but also a `fancy lifestyle'."

According to interviews with men who have sex with men, the most common sexual activity is anal penetration. The roles within the relationship are often clearly defined, with the same partners taking the active (insertive) and passive (receptive) role. Those who are looking for steady relationships often do not rush into sex, preferring to get to know each other well first. In such situations, the relationship progresses from appreciative looks to touching, kissing and cuddling before more intimate touching and finally to sexual intercourse. Those who are interested only in casual relationships want only sex, sometimes watching erotic videos to put themselves and their partners in the mood.

Due to the constraints on relationships between men, a good number of those interviewed have intense but short-lived relationships. Sometimes men give up relationships with other men, either to see if they can be happy in relationships
with women or, because of society's reaction, to practise celibacy.

In addition to the lifestyles described in this article, it is clear that there is "institutional homosexuality" - sexual activity between men in institutions such as boarding schools, the military and prisons - and this too is worthy of research.

PANOS