An Assessment of the Human Rights Attitudes toward Sexual Diversity in Kenya: A Case Study of Universities in Nairobi

the adoption of liberal constitutions that provide for extensive bills of rights in the world, there has been strong resistance among African countries to extend these rights to include minority groups, particularly the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTI) community. To date, same-sex sexual relations, particularly male to male sexual relations remain outlawed in more than two thirds of African countries, Kenya included. Although several African leaders have spoken out against homosexuality in very strong terms describing it as „un-African,‟ most laws criminalizing same-sex sexual acts were inherited from the colonial era and were enacted without the input of the people that currently enforce them. This study examines the opinions of ordinary African students in universities within Nairobi Kenya. It analyzes public opinion data from a questionnaire survey on the human rights attitudes toward homosexuality in Nairobi, Kenya, where the topic has been a subject of major debate in recent years especially with the current Kenyan president labeling same-sex sexuality as a “non-issue” in Kenya. This study also analyzes data from in-depth interviews with key informants in the LGBTI and human rights field in Kenya, and some within the Kenyan government. The author analyzes whether young educated adults in universities think homosexuality is ever acceptable, while trying to understand their moral, religious, and legal attitudes, and finding out whether they are willing to accept homosexuals living among them. The results indicate that the Kenyan students in universities still hold negative moral and religious attitudes toward homosexuality, with some minor variation by age, gender, and religion. However, they hold positive legal attitudes toward same-sex sexuality as a human rights issue which suggests that it may be possible to live in a country where laws do not have to specifically be made with respect to what is considered religiously correct by the population.