Identity
EDITOR’S LETTER ‘Ruto knows that his campaign pledge to enforce ‘family values’
and ‘African traditions’ that outlaw abortion and same sex marriages, is aimed at the Church; the same Church that was thoroughly undressed when Kenyans voted for a pro-gay, pro-abortion Constitution. It is not surprising that Ruto is a protégé of Daniel Moi who was publicly anti-gay. Ruto is the new face of anti gay propaganda in Kenya. He now falls under our radar; we are watching all his moves.’
William Ruto, former Minister for Agriculture and current Member of Parliament for Eldoret North has emerged as the leader and face behind anti-gay sentiments and utterances here in Kenya. Time and time again, and most recently at the launch of his United Republican Party that will be the party he rides on to the 2013 elections, Ruto has campaigned using gays and in so doing perpetuated hate speech, stereotypes and largely unfounded fears on the more than 4 million Kenyans who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Ruto loves the gays. This is seen by his historical and personal attacks against what he considers an ‘immoral’ lifestyle. In a large part, he is a protégé of Daniel Moi, former President of Kenya who was also publicly anti-gay. During the launch of his party, and in an effort to sell his party as the ‘true Kenyan party for all people’ Ruto said he launched his presidential campaigns on ‘family values’ and ‘African traditions’ that say ‘marriage is between a man and woman’ and that ‘life begins at conception’ thus outlawing abortion. Ruto is trying very hard to please several voting blocs. One is the church which agree, albeit strongly, to his views on same sex marriages and abortion and two, Kenyans who still hold to customs and beliefs that are unfortunately challenged each day. The choice of Ruto’s party of a horn as its symbol is also symbolic. Is he trying to show he is the one who will shout out loud when he sees things go wrong? Will he be the one to summon people when danger, calamity or what he terms are ‘new perversions’ threaten his so called ‘family values’ and ‘African traditions?’
Its all too clear to ignore. When Kenyans were about to vote in the referendum for a new constitution, Ruto, who by now was fiercely opposed to it, and who knew that his opposition was waning, if not futile, tried, though unsuccessfully to claim that gays would be allowed to marry if Kenyans voted ‘yes’ to the Constitution. An in-between-the-line-reading of the Constitution does, though not explicitly, indeed allows freedom of gays and lesbians to marry and freely express themselves; however, the tone and attacks that Ruto used were unwelcome, suspicious and kicks of a dying horse. It has been found out that the more homophobic one is, the more gay one is. Men who are attracted to men and forced to follow or live ‘African traditions and ‘family values’ that say a man must marry a woman end up in frustrated, futile and failing marriages and relationships with women. Many of these men—closeted, on the down low—and who have been forced to live a lie, use their penned up emotions and decry the ‘perversion’ and ‘immorality’ of people who are openly living those same feelings they so fight hard to hide under a veil of male macho. Would it surprise me if Ruto, who is to stand trial for his crimes against humanity at the ICC, one day open up and share that he actually admires men? That he himself may be fighting feelings that he says are perverse? That he was a homophobe simply because he is homosexual? That would indeed surprise me. A little. We have seen many types like him. They always come out at the end.