Kenya: Men charged for spreading ‘unnatural’ gay porn
Two men have been arrested and charged with ‘practising unnatural offenses’ – for allegedly disseminating gay porn.
The pair were formally charged by a magistrate yesterday in Kwale, following their arrest last week for involvement in a supposed ‘porn ring’ exposed by a Kenyan tabloid.
The newspaper had republished pictures of men engaging in explicit acts, sparking outcry in the deeply conservative country.
According to Buzzfeed, the men were charged with ‘practising unnatural offenses’, as well as possessing content to “corrupt morals” which was kept “for the purpose of public exhibition”.
The court reportedly uncovered 10 disks containing the images, along with 100 photographs.
The man had been ordered to undergo court-mandated ‘anal swabs’, which purportedly helped identify the men’s sexuality – but the tests have no real medical basis.
The pair are currently being kept in custody – but there are fears they will face vigilante justice if released on bail.
Stopping a ‘porn ring’ might not be much use for the government – as Google search rankings last year showed that users in Kenya were searching for more gay porn than anywhere else.
Homosexuality is criminalised in Kenya, and being gay can lead to a jail sentence of 5 to 14 years. The pair could face a longer sentence due to the charges against them.
According to reports last year, the country has taken legal action in more than 500 cases of homosexuality since its new constitution came into effect in 2010.
