Uhuru Kenyatta - please stop these persecutions

This article was initially intended to urge the president to bring his leadership bear, so that the ongoing persecutions and arrests of gay people in Mombasa can stop. Earlier in the month the president ordered officials in his government to give out lifesaving ARVs to all the children in Kenya who need them. “We now have the statistics of these children, we know where there are. We need to put them on ARVs.” He said.  

 

Yet in the same month due to the on-going crackdown on what the police call “gay porn” I have been reliably informed of at least 3 people who have failed to collect their ARVs for fear of being attacked by local vigilantes. During crackdowns such as the ongoing one, moral vigilante groups feel legitimized to visit violence on vulnerable gay persons. The Minster for health knows this, because last year he issued a statement indicating the very same thing that we are writing about here – that these kinds of activities negatively impact on Kenya’s HIV work.   

This is not to say that the police do not have a legitimate claim to seek to arrest individuals suspected of child sexual exploitation. Photos doing round the internet do show children engaging in sexual activity with adults and this should and must be punished. Yet, what the sexual minority groups in Mombasa and indeed nationally are saying, is that collective punishment only denies the police the opportunity to get valuable information for the arrest of perpetrators of this heinous crime. The approach taken by the police needs to change because it neither protects the children nor does it punish those most culpable. 

In this article I had hoped to bring it to the attention of the president that he can show Solomonic wisdom by addressing this vexing issue once and for all.  True there are two competing sides on the issue of gay and lesbian people in Kenya. On the one hand we have the religious leaders who want heterosexualization of all gay people in Kenya (or at least the denial that they exist in Kenya) and on the other hand the human rights and gay people who want the full realization of equality rights. 

The president has a unique opportunity to address this highly topical issue in a way that hopefully satiates the interests (NOT POSITIONS) of both groups. I think the president could look at interest of the two groups and negotiate on acceptable utility compromise given that a unit of utility for each of the group represents a dis-utility for the other. 

I think the president could make use of Edgeworth’s theory of indifference curves as explained in his work "Mathematical Psychics: an Essay on the Application of Mathematics to the Moral Sciences.” In this case he could match the two group’s indifference curves such that they are inversely positioned and as each climbs the utility mould, they meet at a point that represents the best option for compromise. 

Essentially what the president would be doing is helping the two groups reach what economists call “equilibrium price” between consumers and suppliers – who similarly have inversely related utility curves. I personally hope that such equilibrium is best represented by these legal reform suggestions – because while they do not decriminalize homosexuality, they also do not unfairly invade in consenting adult’s private choices of who they love or live with. 

But instead of addressing the president however, I wish to challenge the Insurance industry to create a “Gay Rights & Health Policy.” This policy would cover for any loss or damages incurred should a gay person be arrested or accosted by moral vigilantes. Perhaps the cover could have policy add-ons like option for paying court/police bails/bonds and maybe even cover for income lost (whether a policy holder is in employment or private business).

But the commercial entities may not create this policy because of two risk factors – Adverse selection and Moral hazard. The “Gay Rights & Health” policy is likely to be attractive to those people who are most likely to be arrested and or accosted by moral vigilantes – such as gay rights activists.  Moreover if gay people (even those not in activism) were to take up such a cover, they would possibly take more risks because the insurance company bears the burden of those risks – Moral hazard is what they call it.

For that reason, I think social enterprises such us our foundation should create a mechanism that underwrites these risks. I think this would be a unique business opportunity – and for anyone looking for new business ideas, I just gave you one!

Shared Experience...at Nakumatt Supermarket...

Every now and then, a stranger walks up to me and says “You are Eric Gitari, Right?” and of course I respond that I am not – because in fact I am not Eric Gitari. Now Eric Gitari is a good friend, but he would be disappointed if I or anyone else went around telling people that we are him – perhaps he would even accuse us of impersonation.  

Early this week, a guy – who I never got his name, walked to me at the Junction Nakumatt and insisted that I am/was Eric Gitari – which I refuted, but I in the process discovered a way of dealing with this Eric Gitari thing. I told him, “I am not Eric Gitari, but I get where you are coming from….”

The “….I get where you are coming from…” seemed to have created a shared experience, because not only did he relax, but it also saved both of us a long conversation about whom we were or were not. Indeed after that he happily said, “I just wanted to say hi…” as he went about his own shopping. 

This article is about creating this “shared experience.” On the 17^th of this month (February), in partnership with GALCK, we shall be hosting a workshop at a venue in town. The workshop will discuss recent research on same sex sexuality, i.e., history, science, human rights conventions etc. Prof. Marc Epprecht of Queens University will be the featured key note speaker, but Galck will also host a panel discussion on the same topic.

On our part, we shall be launching this publication on “Economic rationale for advocating for sexual minorities.” We believe that advocacy for any socially excluded community should also be about social and economic benefits that derive from social inclusion. This task should not be left only to the socially excluded but to everyone who believes in social inclusion – because inclusion benefits all of us and exclusion hurts us all. 

Of particular note is Part Four, of this publication. It details, easy to implement actions, that you can take – from the comfort of your own chair (or even internet enabled phone), to increase social inclusion.  Please read this section, and if you plan on attending the workshop, we shall discuss it some more with you at the workshop. 

Also remember, we have proposed this “middle of the way” review of the existing sections of the law that criminalize sexual minorities. Please do forward a copy to a progressive Member of Parliament who can act as its champion on the floor of the house. 

Details of the workshop venue will soon be posted on Galck’s facebook page here and on my own here.

Kenyans call on foreigners to help make Kenya a better place for Kenyans.

My home village is called Banguro. Now the name Banguro, which is a corruption of the name Bangladesh, may have lost the sting, but when growing up, it was hardly flattering for one to be associated with this village. Our village was named after Bangladesh because in the 1980s, Bangladesh was thought of as being poor and overcrowded. I do not know whether our village mates were poor, but we certainly had a few large families, and in some cases rather crowded. Yet it remains the village many of us call home. 

As they say, East or West home is best. Now our country Kenya, inherited from the colonial masters, a law criminalizing (and stigmatizing) close to 10% of us, yet we still call it home. True there are days, when many of us, are tempted to leave and never look back, but not before giving change a chance. That is why in this article we explore a conciliatory approach to addressing this sad colonial legacy. 

But let us be clear, it is not like we are not aware of how conservative our society is, or indeed how much some in our country, especially religious institutions, have invested in continued criminalization of people like myself. It is also not like we are unaware of the desire by the political class to be in the good books of the religious institutions and their leaders – for fear of antagonizing the voters. That is why we propose this middle of the road solution.

Indeed instead of calling for full decriminalization – something government's own policies have done, we are only asking for an amendment (website link available here) that brings consistency to sections of the penal code, with other existing laws such as the Sexual Offenses Act of 2006 and the Constitution. Here is the suggested amendment, truly nothing dramatic but could make a difference in people’s lives!

Make no mistake – there are Government’s own policy documents that actually call for full decriminalization. These policy documents include:

1.   Kenya Aids Strategic Framework – KASF, which calls on the government to “Adapt legal frameworks to de-criminalise Key Population(s) activities and, thereby, increase their demand for and access to HIV services.” page 37. 
2.  Kenya Health Policy – The draft policy on page 34 on the policy objective five;- to Minimize exposure to health risk factors - says:- "reduce unsafe sexual practices, particularly among key populations.” The term Key Populations is used in reference to sexual minorities, sex workers and Injecting drug users. In this petition we are focusing only on sexual minorities. 
3. Policy Analysis and Advocacy Decision Model for Services for Key Populations in Kenya: This document also by National AIDS Control Council – NACC, analysed 120 policy and program documents related to HIV and/or key populations, and recommends as does UNAIDS and World Health Organization recommend the “review of laws that prohibit sex between consenting adults (including sodomy) in private, with the aim of repealing them” on page 11 and indeed the entire document.

But that is not all, even though it should be adequate. There is also this new publication (website link provided here), which presents an economic case for advocacy for the rights of sexual minorities. This document discusses the economic risks Kenya would incur if it were to enact Uganda-like anti-gay laws. The publication demonstrates that were Kenya to adopt the Ugandan anti-gay laws, the following economic consequences would follow:

1. The Government of Kenya would lose approximately 5.7% in donor support over a given financial year. 
2.  The Kenyan Shilling would weaken by a margin of 15% over a period of one year.
3. The decline of cash crop export would be up to 26.8% of the total cash crop exports over one year. This leads to a loss of GDP by 12.1%.
4. Direct Foreign Investment would also significantly decline.

Conversely if the country were to move in the direction of decriminalization, the country would derive the following economic gains;

1. Differentiated Kenya-country Brand
2. Efficiency gains from public health (especially HIV) spending
3. Perception of rule of law and constitutionalism 
4.  Reduced political risk costs and positive perception of National Self-agency

So you ask, with all the available evidence, why is the government retaining the status quo? And this one word will give you the answer – inertia! They will not move unless forced to do so – unfortunately (and very embarrassingly), by foreign government(s).

For that reason, I wish to end this article with a compelling, or benefit oriented call to action. I have read from marketing experts that for a Call-To-Action (CTA) to be effective it has to be compelling, risk reducing or benefit oriented.  The desire is  to have a CTA that forces the Government of Kenya to take a look at this Virtuous Amendment, and realize it is a fairly easy to implement reform, that saves lives  and does not have political costs associated with full decriminalization. 

Fearing that the government will just ignore this simple yet effective proposal for legal reform, it is better instead to request foreign governments or individuals with influence on the Kenyan government to condition their bilateral or private engagements to the adoption of this amendment. While such conditionality may not guarantee adoption, it will certainly provide opportunity for the Government of Kenya to take a look and realize that this amendment not only saves lives, it also does not cost them anything. Hopefully that will move them to do the right thing.

So take the action now, push this suggestion to one or more persons you know have the necessary influence to bring about this change - send them this article and urge them to read to the last sentence. Let us work together to make our home aka Kenya a better place for each and every single one of us!