where are kenya's homosexuals?

By Wanjira Kiama

August 14, 1998: African leaders from Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, to Robert Mugabe, current president of Zimbabwe, have claimed that sex between men is ''un-African'' and only occurs on the continent as a result of pernicious Western influence Daniel Arap Moi, the current Kenyan president, agrees. ''Kenya has no room or time for homosexuals and lesbians. Homosexuality is against African norms and traditions, and even in religion it is considered a great sin,'' Arap Moi has been quoted saying in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.

But networks of men who have sex with men can be found across the continent. And in Kenya, where homosexuality is a criminal offence, their voices are beginning to be heard.

Statistics on the number of such men are hard to come by. ''What we have is just impressions,'' said Dr Frank Njenga, a psychiatrist and HIV/AIDS prevention activist. Njenga argues that Kenya has ''a good number of men who are constitutionally homosexual but socially heterosexual, so as to fit in the society.''

As in all other developing countries, sex between men plays a small but measurable role in Kenya's HIV/AIDS epidemic. But that role is not restricted to men alone. Official and societal disapproval often obliges such men to marry women. And if they have unprotected sex, the risk of HIV transmission increases.

According to UNAIDS, the umbrella United Nations agency, fewer than five percent of AIDS cases in the country are the result of sexual transmission of HIV between men.

But studies by the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) of sexually transmitted diseases among truck drivers show evidence of homosexual activity, particularly between older men and boys aged 12 to 16 years. These studies are supported by anecdota l evidence which suggests that sex between men in Kenya is more common than generally believed.

AMREF is trying to establish how people contracted the virus in order to develop strategies that can help check transmission. According to AMREF's Dr Nduba, ''Homosexuality is an area that needs to be looked into, but we tend to shy away from reality.''

''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','' said

All an Ragi, of the Kenya AIDS NGO Consortium.

Ragi says sex between men is practised in prisons, the military, boarding schools and colleges throughout Kenya. And some men share housing not only for economic reasons, but also to meet emotional and physical needs.

Other interactions are more open. Within walking distance of the University of Nairobi, in a building open to the public, young men who openly refer to themselves as gay meet regularly to socialise. A few even come in for a drink at the end of the day, wearing make-up and jewelery.

But in general, homosexuals in Kenya -- as in many other countries -- tend to keep their sexuality a secret. They include men like:-

-- Odongo, 42, a petrol attendant who no longer has intimacy with his wife but pays for sex with male partners;

-- Jared, 55, who owns a big house in a posh Nairobi suburb, and has been married thrice -- each of his wives left him after finding out that their marriage was a front for his homosexual lifestyle;

-- Amin, 54, a primary school headmaster who hires a room for sex with young men he picks up in the evenings;

-- Peter, a 50 year-old property developer who is frequently seen at social functions with young women. When the party is over, he drops the girls off before taking up his male relationships in private; and

-- Rocky, 23, a student of languages who says ''Marriage is not an option for me. God made me and understands me. I don't think it is a sin what I do.''

Men who have sex with men are perhaps more accepted in the coastal regions of Kenya, where there are 'marriages' between men. As older women, known as mkungus, educate young girls in the duties of marriage, young homosexual men learn from male mkungus. The training lasts a month; at the end, the younger man gives the mkungu special cloth and kitchen utensils as payment.

Most men who prefer sex with men claim that they are pressured into marriage. Some wives know of their husband's sexual and emotional relationships with other men, while others remain ignorant. Those who find out seek counselling, hoping that the husband will change, or, if they are economically independent, they walk out.

How much women are at risk of contracting HIV from their husbands' affairs is uncertain.

The taboos surrounding men who have sex with men have meant that few, if any, attempts have been made to provide AIDS education and support to them. As a result, few such men use condoms regularly. Some men do not use condoms with their wives because the y fear that it will invite suspicion. Often there is little sexual contact between husband and wife, although even one act of intercourse is enough to transmit the virus if a condom is not used.

While authorities acknowledge the impact of male behaviour towards women on the epidemic, there is no official recognition of the role of homosexuals who may either themselves contract HIV or pass the virus to their male or female partners.

UNAIDS Resident Advisor George Tembo says his organisation has not yet targeted men who have sex with men. ''Homosexuals are not easily accessible. They will need to come out of the closet if they are to get any attention,'' he says.

However, a document adopted unanimously by the Kenyan Parliament in September 1997 acknowledges that ''groups such as beach boys, watchmen, soldiers, prisoners and truck drivers may usually establish casual relationships because circumstances separate th em from their regular sexual partners for long periods. This makes them more vulnerable to HIV.''

Maina Kahindo of the Ministry of Health comments that ''taking into account other modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS, homosexuality is negligible, and should not take up our resources and time.'' He continues, ''We have other, far more pressing areas whic h affect the majority of our people and therefore need urgent attention.''

Panos