Reactions as UK High Commission hoist LGBTQ flag in Kenya

The UK (British) High Commission in Kenya hoisted the LGBTQ+ flag Thursday, sparking uproar on social media
The UK (British) High Commission in Kenya hoisted the LGBTQ+ flag Thursday, sparking uproar on social media.
Kenyans on Twitter have expressed concerns after the United Kingdom High Commission in Kenya raised the LGBTQ flag to mark pride month.
The flag was hoisted to mark Pride Month which celebrates LGBTQ+ communities in commemoration of the month when Stonewall riots took place in New York in 1969.
This is what is considered to have been a turning point for gay rights for many Americans and others elsewhere in the world.
In a statement on their Twitter page, the commission said that in the UK everyone is free to thrive and be themselves.
“We’re proudly flying the rainbow flag at the British High Commission to mark Pride Month. In the UK, we know that when everyone is free to thrive and be themselves, we all benefit. Everyone should be free to love who they love,” the High Commission tweeted touching off fires on Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites.
This comes at a time when different factions condemned the community, including some leaders in government, religious leaders, and Kenyans at large.
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In February, the Supreme Court, by a majority decision, ruled that the LGBTQ community have the right to association.
The Court said the decision by the lower courts to deny the members their right to register as an NGO was discriminatory.
The judgment sparked fierce criticism from several quarters who condemned it as an attempt to domesticate and force on Kenyans uncouth Western culture.
Kenya’s anti-homosexuality laws were first imposed by British colonizers in 1897.
Article 162 punishes carnal knowledge against the order of nature with up to 14 years in prison, while Article 165 makes “indecent practices between males” liable to up to five years in prison.
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