Kenyan court continues ban on lesbian love story

A Kenyan court has decided to continue a ban in the country on the film Rafiki, which portrays a romance between two young Kenyan women, Reuters has reported.

Rafiki – ‘friend’ in Kiswahili – was first banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board in April 2018 on the grounds that it promotes homosexuality in a country where it is largely illegal. In Kenya, gay sex is a criminal offence, same-sex marriage is banned, and there are no explicit protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Critically acclaimed Rafiki premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Queer Palm.

In appealing the ban producer Wanuri Kahiu argued it was against freedom of expression, which is upheld in Kenya’s constitution. But the constitutional court refused to lift the ban.

Kahiu told Reuters: ‘We are disappointed of course. But I strongly believe in the constitution and we are not going to give up. I think it is very important for us to define what freedom of expression means in Kenya as per our constitution. We are going to appeal. The ruling today is not a true reflection of what the constitution says.”

KFCB’s chief executive Ezekiel Mutua went on Twitter to say: ‘We went against popular opinion and said no to homosexual content. We were labelled as homophobic and ostracized locally and internationally. But we stood for family values and what we believe to be in the best interest of Kenya. Family is the basic unit of society.’