In the maze-like alleys of Kibra, Africa’s second-largest urban slum, Peter (Not his real name) vigilantly walks in Bombolulu. His voice softens as he recounts a violent encounter with a neighbor who nearly discovered he is gay.
For Peter and others in the LGBTQI+ community here, the struggle is not just about survival in poverty but also about navigating a world that denies their identity and humanity.
With the widespread stigma and systemic discrimination members of his community have faced in the past in Kenya, he hopes that perhaps one day, he will be able to come out and speak clearly about his identity, which he is not comfortable letting the world know for now.
“Telling people who I really am is inviting death in this community. I have to pretend that I am like them until I can afford to take care of myself and move out,’’ he laments.
Peter, working in the art industry, has been receiving both local and international visitors at his shop, with many people, according to him, questioning why he has male customers often.
“This neighbor started spreading rumors about my identity when foreigners became frequent visitors to my shop, which also acts as my home,” Says Peter revealing that he had to move to a more secure and gated community in one of the villages in Kibra.
Globally, about 69 countries criminalize same-sex relationships, with 32 of them in Africa, according to a 2023 report by Human Rights Watch. Kenya remains one of these countries, with sections 162 and 165 of the Penal Code criminalizing “unnatural acts.”
In May 2023, Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law after parliament watered it down. It is still among the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws in the world.
The 2019 Kenyan census omitted LGBTQI+ categories, erasing their presence from official records. A 2020 study by the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) reported that 53% of LGBTQI+ Kenyans had experienced physical violence, with many cases going unreported due to stigma and fear of reprisal.
For Kato* (name changed for safety), one evening, life changed irreparably in Kibra’s Makina ward. The 26-year-old transgender man was attacked by a group of men who forcibly undressed him at night. They aimed to “prove” his gender.
“They stripped me like an animal, I screamed for help, but no one dared intervene. They laughed, asking if I still wanted to pretend to be a man.” Kato recalls.
Police have never investigated a case he filed. Instead, they questioned why he was out late at night when he was supposed to be in the house.
A senior officer at Kibra Police station confirmed that the matter was reported to them but was never documented in the occurrence book (OB). He did not state the reasons.
Pamoja FM has since established that all Boda Boda operators who committed this act are still operating within Makina area, and no action has been taken against them.
To this day, Kato avoids Makina area. He says that he cautiously makes movements in Kibra, fearing a repeat of the attack. Isolation has become his shield, but it has also deepened his loneliness.
“I just want to be seen as human, but here, being different is seen as a crime. ” Kato says.
Kenyan scholar Dr. Wairimu Ngaruiya Njambi notes, in her analysis of African sexualities, that communities once demonstrated cultural fluidity in understanding non-heteronormative identities, often tied to social roles or spiritual practices. Among the Kikuyu, for instance, woman-to-woman marriages were recognized as practical arrangements for property and inheritance, while the Nandi and Mijikenda accepted individuals who defied traditional gender norms in unique social or spiritual roles.
However, colonial rule disrupted these indigenous perspectives, introducing rigid Victorian norms that stigmatized LGBTQI+ identities. Today, colonial-era laws, such as Sections 162 and 165 of the Penal Code, continue to marginalize LGBTQI+ individuals.
For Achieng* safety came not from her family but from the queer community she found in Kibra. Years ago, in Laini Saba ward, Achieng was gang-raped by a group of men who had mocked her for her appearance and demeanor. The fear of her father’s reaction kept her silent.
“He was always so harsh, I knew he wouldn’t understand what happened to me, so I kept it to myself.”” she says. ”
Achieng has found solace and a sense of belonging among her queer friends, a community where she feels most at ease.”
“They don’t judge me. They’ve become my family, and I feel safe here,” adds Achieng, insisting that she never sees eye to eye with her father, who never believed her story even after sharing it with him weeks later.
“Instead, he started accusing me of trying to imitate the lifestyle of people from the west,” Laments Achieng.
Pamoja FM has established that one of the suspects in the rape of Achieng’ has fled Kibra. The suspect, identified as Jasper Muchiri, initially relocated to Undugu Village within Kibra. However, according to sources , Jasper now resides in Korogocho slums after switching off his phone number in December 2024 , which was last traced to Railways Bus Station in Nairobi.
In a similar 2021 case, a lesbian woman in Kisumu reported being gang-raped by a group of men who claimed they wanted to “correct” her sexual orientation.
I asked several residents of Kibra how they would respond if their children came out as members of the LGBTQI+ community. Their reactions were mixed, but one resident emphasized that addressing pressing economic challenges takes precedence over such matters.
For Nyaboke*, living openly as a lesbian in Kibra has been a double-edged sword. Her first relationship ended in tragedy when her girlfriend was raped by a group of boys in Makina Ward.
“They said we were spoiling their daughters,” Nyaboke explains. “I had just stepped out, and when I returned, everything had changed.”
Nyaboke later re-married another lady. But the threats persisted, and her new partner narrowly escaped an attempted rape before fleeing Kibera.
“I love who I am, but this community makes life tough and unbearable for my partner and I ,” Nyaboke says, insisting she won’t lose her identity.
At her small open business in one of the wards in Kibra, Nyaboke has now learned not to reveal her identity to the people, especially the men who hit on her frequently
“I have to act like I fit in so I can keep my business going. These men think I like them, and I let them believe that, but I make sure to keep my distance and stay safe.
Dr Susan Gitau, a counseling Psychologist, however, avers that the LGBTQI+ community has to continue supporting themselves despite how society treats them.
Despite everything, Peter holds on to hope.
“One day, I hope people here will accept us as we are. For now, I just want them to know we are human too, we have feelings, dreams, and struggles. We just want to live in peace.”
