President William Ruto has praised US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise only two genders, saying it aligns with Kenya’s belief that boys must remain boys and girls remain girls.
Speaking at Global Cathedral Church in Nairobi on Sunday, January 26, Ruto said the move reflects shared values between the two nations.
“We are proud that what is happening in the US supports what we believe in,” he said.
Newly elected President Trump signed an executive order last week mandating that all government documents, including passports and visas, identify individuals based on their biological sex.
The order reverses policies from the previous administration, which had prioritised inclusion measures and protections for LGBTQ+ people.
Ruto also noted Kenya’s continued role in international peacekeeping, particularly its mission in Haiti.
He said the country’s efforts to support stability and peace in the Caribbean nation demonstrate its commitment to global security.
“Our work in Haiti reflects our growing influence and the recognition of Kenya as a reliable partner in international diplomacy,” he said.
Highlighting domestic achievements, Ruto pointed to declining inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates as signs of economic recovery.
“Kenya is going places,” he said, expressing optimism about the nation’s progress and unity.
Scores of same-sex and transgender couples married in Thailand on Thursday as the kingdom’s equal marriage law went into effect, with two high-profile gay actors among the first to do so.
In matching beige suits, Apiwat “Porsch” Apiwatsayree, 49 — who was in tears — and Sappanyoo “Arm” Panatkool, 38, were handed their pink-bordered marriage certificates at a registry office in Bangkok.
“We fought for it for decades and today is a remarkable day that love is love,” said Arm.
The milestone sees Thailand become by far the biggest nation in Asia to recognise equal marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal.
“Today, the rainbow flag is proudly flying over Thailand,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted on X.
The new marriage law uses gender-neutral terms in place of “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives”, also clearing the way for transgender people to wed, and grants adoption and inheritance rights to all married couples.
Lesbian couple Sumalee Sudsaynet, 64, and Thanaphon Chokhongsung, 59, were the first to wed at Bangrak district office, and the couple showed the media their engagement rings.
“We are so happy. We’ve been waiting for this day for 10 years,” said Thanaphon, wearing a white gown.
Ruchaya Nillakan (L) and Nuttimon Sanyamast (R), a same-sex couple, attend their marriage registration event at Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok on January 23, 2025. [AFP]
The couple met a decade ago through a mutual friend and bonded over their passion for Buddhism and merit-making.
“The legalisation of same-sex marriage uplifts our dignity,” Sumalee told AFP.
“It allows us to enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples. My emotions today are so overwhelming; I can’t even put them into words.”
Dozens of couples dressed in traditional and contemporary wedding outfits trickled into a large hall in a shopping centre for a mass LGBTQ wedding organised by campaign group Bangkok Pride with city authorities.
Officials helped the couples fill out marriage forms at rows of tables, an administrative step before they could collect their certificates, with hundreds expected to do so over the course of the day.
Kevin Pehthai Thanomkhet, a 31-year-old trans man, married his wife, Maple Nathnicha Klintgaworn, 39.
“So happy, like, oh my god… my heart is beating,” said Kevin.
His 65-year-old father Phornchai added: “I have always accepted (him). Whatsoever, it is OK with me.”
Reputation for tolerance
Thailand ranks highly on indexes of LGBTQ legal and living conditions, and Thursday’s milestone makes it the first country in Southeast Asia to allow equal marriage.
The kingdom’s same-sex marriage bill was passed in a historic parliamentary vote last June, the third place in Asia to do so, and the law came into effect 120 days after it was ratified by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Thai activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage rights for more than a decade, with their advocacy stalled by political turbulence in a country regularly upended by coups and mass street protests.
This photo taken on January 10, 2025 shows Apiwat “Porsch” Apiwatsayree (L) and Sappanyoo “Arm” Panatkool sharing a kiss at their unofficial wedding ceremony in Bangkok. [AFP]
Former Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who attended Wednesday’s mass wedding event, took an apparent swipe at newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump, who on Monday decreed there were only two genders.
“Recently a country’s leader said that there were only two genders, but I think we are more open-minded than that.”
More than 30 countries have legalised marriage for all since the Netherlands became the first to allow same-sex unions in 2001.
Thailand has long had an international reputation for tolerance of the LGBTQ community, and opinion polls reported in local media have shown overwhelming public support for equal marriage.
But much of the Buddhist-majority kingdom retains traditional and conservative values and LGBTQ people say they still face barriers and discrimination in everyday life.
“In the past, LGBTQ people were seen as monstrosities,” said Ploynaplus Chirasukon, who married her lesbian partner of 17 years, Kwanporn Kongpetch.
She supports the push for gender identity recognition, including the right to change forms of address.
“People who don’t identify with their biological sex are like homeless people,” she said.
“The ability to be able to change our titles would allow for true equality.”
Homabay MP Peter Kaluma and a leading anti-LGBTQ campaigner in parliament has questioned the sexual orientation of media personality Maina Kageni and Stanbic Bank CEO Joshua Oigara.
Kaluma was reacting to a suggestive photo that Maina had posted posing with Joshua who had gifted him the bank’s hamper.
“Sometimes it’s the unexpected acts of kindness that touch us the most. I’m blown away by the beautiful gifts and heartfelt thanks I received from Mr. Joshua Oigara and the team at Stanbic Bank. I’m humbled by your generosity and friendship. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!” Maina wrote.
This appears to be part of a Stanbic Bank’s marketing campaign. However, the MP could appear unconvinced, “are you guys homosexuals?” He posed.
But it was not just the MP who had a similar reaction. Curious comments came under Maina’s post on X.
The photo.
“This is the most awkward gifting posture I have ever seen.” Josh Tety commented.
“Remember both of them are not married ? This is a clear sign.” wrote Kibet.
“Y’all look amazing together❤” Josh reacted.
“Haiya…what is this now…that pose yawa.” Pius Kinuthia reacted.
The new bill proposed a ban on homosexuality, same-sex marriages and any hint of LGBTQ behaviour in the country. It also prohibits the promotion of LGBTQ in the country by clumping down on its promoters and funding by various groups.
The bill if passed will uphold the prior rights of parents and guardians to their children’s education.
It will reassert the rights of parents to be informed and to consent to sexuality education, and abortion procedures involving their children.
Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma.
According to Kaluma, the bill defines sex as the biological state of being male or female observed and assigned at birth.
The MP also wants the state to limit rights to assembly, demonstration, association, expression, belief, privacy, and employment in childcare institutions in respect of homosexual convicts.
The bill further prohibits adoption by homosexuals and proscribes sex acts on animals.
The legislator said the bill if passed will have the penalty imposed under the proposed Act ranges from the imprisonment of at least 10 years to death.
Kaluma has since maintained that homosexuals should be punished because it is illegal in Kenya.
The prosecution has closed its case in the murder of LGBTQ activist Edwin Kiptoo alias Chiloba after about one year of court hearings.
The prosecution presented 22 witnesses to testify in the matter before the High Court sitting in Eldoret.
Counsel Mark Mugun told presiding Judge Reuben Nyakundi that the prosecution was ready to pave the way for the defence team led by the accused person Jackton Odhiambo and his advocate to argue their case.
Justice Nyakundi directed Mugun and Odhiambo’s lawyer Mathai Maina to file their final submissions before he can rule on whether the accused has a case to answer or not.
During the onset of the trial, Mugun told the court how the body of the 26-year-old student was found stashed in a metallic box and how the investigating agencies pieced together the evidence.
“This is a case of circumstantial evidence. We will present 22 witnesses who will piece together a chain of events that will point unerringly to the accused person as the one behind the unlawful death of Mr Chiloba. You will hear testimonies of betrayal. The deceased was murdered in his own house, betrayed by someone he trusted the most,” the prosecution said.
Chiloba’s friends would later tell the court that the slain University of Eldoret student and Odhiambo were lovers.
Other witnesses who testified before Justice Nyakundi were the accused’s relatives who allegedly helped him load the metallic box bearing Chiloba’s body in a car and unknowingly covered up the gruesome murder.
“You will also hear testimonies of relatives of the accused person who will tell you how their trust was abused and how they inadvertently helped the accused to cover up for the crime,” Mugun said during the pre-trial conference.
Among the witnesses were experts including a Data Analyst from the DCI, who told the court the movements and the occurrences that led to the death and disposal of Chiloba’s body.
The court heard that immediately after the student’s gruesome murder, Odhiambo began spending his (Chiloba) money.
Corporal Jonathan Limo, a DCI data analyst seconded to Safaricom, tabled in court the call data records and Mpesa statements belonging to the accused and the deceased.
The court heard that Odhiambo visited various entertainment joints and hotels and even paid for massage and sex using Chiloba’s Mpesa number. Even the metallic box in which the student’s body was found stashed had been bought using his own money.
Polycarp Kweyu, principal chemist from the Government chemist in Kisumu told the court that DNA profiles generated from Chiloba’s anal swab, stains from his clothes and bed sheets matched that of the accused person.
Kweyu further revealed that the male DNA profiles generated from the bed cover matched seminal fluids that were extracted from Odhiambo.
Another witness Jane Waya, a Government Analyst from Kisumu who conducted a toxicological analysis on samples taken from the deceased’s body said that no chemical substances were detected.
Chief Inspector Julius Irungu a forensic expert based at the National Forensic Laboratory, DCI headquarters who accompanied homicide investigators to the murder scene and to the mortuary where an autopsy was conducted tabled photographs, which are exhibits in the case.
Odhiambo is accused of killing Chiloba, who was a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Apparel Fashion and Design at the University of Eldoret.
He denied killing the fashionista between December 31, 2022, and January 3, 2023, at Noble Breeze Apartments in Chebisaas area, Moiben sub-county, Uasin Gishu county.
Chiloba’s decomposing body was discovered stashed in a metallic box on January 3, 2023, along the busy Kipkenyo-Kaptinga road in Kapseret sub-county, Uasin Gishu county.
According to an autopsy report conducted by government pathologist, Johansen Oduor at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, the deceased died of asphyxiation.
Pope Francis said in an interview published on Monday that Africans were a “special case” in the opposition of homosexuality by bishops and many other people on the continent.
Speaking in the interview Francis said he was confident that, except for Africans, critics of his decision to allow blessings for same-sex couples would eventually understand it.
Blessings were allowed last month in a document titled Fiducia Supplicans (Supplicating Trust), which has caused widespread debate in the Catholic Church.
Strong resistance came from African bishops.
“Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups,” Francis told Italian newspaper La Stampa, adding, “a special case are Africans: for them homosexuality is something ‘bad’ from a cultural point of view, they don’t tolerate it.”
“But in general, I trust that gradually everyone will be reassured by the spirit of the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ declaration by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: it aims to include, not divide,” he said.
Last week, Francis appeared to acknowledge the pushback the document received, especially in Africa where bishops have effectively rejected it and in some countries where same-sex relations can lead to prison or even the death penalty.
Francis said that when the blessings are given, priests should “naturally take into account the context, the sensitivities, the places where one lives and the most appropriate ways to do it.”
In the interview with La Stampa, the pope said he was not concerned about the risk of conservatives breaking away from the Catholic Church due to his reforms, saying that talk of a schism is always led by “small groups.”
“We must leave them to it and move on…and look forward,” he said.
Turning to Israel and the Palestinians, he said “true peace” between them will not materialize until a two-state solution is implemented and lamented that their conflict was widening.
Francis confirmed he is scheduled to meet the president of his native Argentina, Javier Milei, on February 11, and that finally visiting the country – where he has not returned since becoming pope in 2013 – is a possibility.
He said his agenda for 2024 currently includes trips to Belgium, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Speaking about his health, which has taken some knocks in recent years with hospitalizations, mobility problems and cancelled trips or events, the 87-year-old said, “there are some aches and pains but it’s better now, I’m fine.”
Kaloleni Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Katana has threatened to sue three of his constituents for allegedly linking his office to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community.
Katana has filed a complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kilifi against the three; Steven Garama, Kitsao Ngowa and Maxwell Konde, alleging defamation of his name.
Kilifi County Criminal Investigation Officer David Siele confirmed that the MP filed a complaint against the three for linking him to LGBTQ which they are investigating.
“Last week, the respondents recorded a statement. We are still investigating the matter but the MP is at liberty to take other legal action against them,” said Siele.
The three who have since recorded their statements with the DCI claimed on social media that a section of the MP’s employees were members of the LGBTQ community. But the suspects insist that as constituents they have the right to question or critic the MP. They want the MP to come clean over the rumours they said were spreading in the consistuency.
In his statement with the DCI, the MP said the three were disrupting peace in his constituency by spreading unfounded rumours on social media that were likely to put his employees in danger.
He further wants them to stop associating him with LGBTQ, adding that the rumours that his office had been turned into a brothel by the gay community were untrue.
Speaking after filing a statement with the DCI in Kilifi town, Mr Garama said they asked the MP to come forward and talk about the allegation of homosexual behaviour happening in his office.
‘’We asked him to come forward and discuss the issue because it’s an act that is affecting the whole society but instead, he reported us to the DCI,” said Garama.
Katana who is serving for a second term in office has denied the allegations saying it is a smear campaign against his office. Ya
