Joe smiled nervously from behind his shades as he emerged from the cramped wood-panelled magistrate’s court in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.
Now, a handful of lawyers in Kenya are helping victims counter these crimes and deliver justice to people often shunned by society. Kenya is one of more than 30 African countries where same-sex relations are criminalised. Punishments across the continent range from imprisonment to death. “We started coming across these cases about five years ago, but it has been difficult to report them. There is a lot of mistrust in the system, including the police,” said Njeri Gateru, NGLHRC’s executive director.Criminals pose as potential romantic partners online, gleaning the victim’s personal details such as their address, and information about their family and employment.
Victims can become disillusioned, unable to spend the time and money to attend court hearings and end up losing hope. “It’s been really difficult,” said Joe, who was left with a broken jaw in the attack and robbed of his clothes, phone, several pairs of shoes that he was selling, and more than 6,000 Kenyan Shillings .Murunga, Gateru and Ishtar-MSM director Peter Njane said the same perpetrators often targeted different LGBTQ+ clients, and despite victims reporting offenders to the app companies, their profiles often remained active.