A Nairobi gay couple that was evicted from their apartment was told to ‘go wait for their Obama’ by the landlord.
The two men had been suspected of being a gay couple after they lived together for eight months. Rumors persisted about the couple’s sexual orientation.
The couple reported that they felt as though they were under watch from the neighbors within the building. An agent for the building was also allegedly keeping tabs on the pair.
Anti-gay demonstrations have taken place in Nairobi, with a notable protest taking place on Monday, July 6, 2015.
Nzioka has noticed an increase in anti-gay sentiments in recent weeks ahead of the Obama visit.
Image: Huffington Post
The two men had been suspected of being a gay couple after they lived together for eight months. Rumors persisted about the couple’s sexual orientation.
The couple reported that they felt as though they were under watch from the neighbors within the building. An agent for the building was also allegedly keeping tabs on the pair.
Tuko.co.ke talked to Denis Nzioka, a gay rights activist with Watetezi about the incident, “they were getting a lot of questions about who they are and what they do.”The Kabete couple was given a notice but with out a detailed explanation.
“They kept trying to inquire about they were given an eviction notice,” explains Nzioka, “while they were moving out of the apartment and doing re-painting, the land lord made the gay remark about Obama to them.”The vitriol against gays in Kenya has reached new levels ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit to the country. Obama will be in Kenya on Saturday, July, 25, 2015 to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
Anti-gay demonstrations have taken place in Nairobi, with a notable protest taking place on Monday, July 6, 2015.
Nzioka has noticed an increase in anti-gay sentiments in recent weeks ahead of the Obama visit.
“We’ve seen it on social media on comments and how many comments there are,” explains Nzioka, “some of the remarks reflect discrimination and stigma against gay people. Recently we’ve seen everything from insults to this case of eviction.“Obama has stated his support for gay marriage. The United States Supreme Court made a landmark decision in June of 2015 to uphold gay people’s right to marry.
Image: Huffington Post