Activists and film producers have criticised a decision by the Kenya Film Classification Board to ban a documentary that tells the story of a Kenyan man struggling with his sexuality.
They said banning the 52-minute film, I Am Samuel, amounted to “discrimination and persecution” of LGBTQ+ people.
The film – which was shot over five years and took two years to edit – follows the life of a young man tormented by his sexuality while growing up in rural Kenya, who finds acceptance after moving to the capital, Nairobi.
“The ongoing criminalisation of LGBTQ+ persons in Kenya is a sad trend bordering on discrimination and persecution of individuals perceived to have a minority orientation. The move is dictated by very intolerant and intrusive religious and cultural beliefs,” said Kamau Ngugi, the executive director of Defenders Coalition, an umbrella group of rights organisations and activists.
The film classification body said last week that the film “blatantly” violated the country’s laws that penalise all forms of homosexuality or same-sex marriage, and that the storyline was a “clear and deliberate attempt by the producer to promote same-sex marriage as an acceptable way of life”. » | Peter Muiruri in Nairobi | Wednesday, September 29, 2021
