Anti-LGBTQ+ Group Storms Bars in Mombasa, threatens violence
A group of demonstrators calling themselves the “Anti-LGBTQ Movement” stormed several bars in Bamburi area, Mombasa on 2nd September 2023, shortly after 1:00 pm. The group, which was accompanied by riotous youths, harassed workers and patrons, and made speeches calling for the elimination of the LGBTQ community in Kenya.
The group also hoisted tyres outside S-Lounge Club and promised to lynch LGBTQ+ persons and burn down the businesses for serving LGBTQ+ persons. The group also declared that its members would be conducting house-to-house searches for LGBTQ+ persons starting this week.
The attacks came only a day after the Centre for Minority Rights and Strategic Litigation (CMRSL) warned the police of the impending attacks by the group disguised as demonstrations, and after the Kenya Human Rights Commission warned the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) of the activities of the same group.
It is not clear whether the organisers of the demonstrations had been granted permission by the police to hold the march a huge traffic snarl up on the busy Bmaburi-Mtambo Road. The group calling itself the Anti-LGBTQ Movement has been carrying out a spirited campaign of hate and violence against the LGBTQ+ community in Kenya since the Supreme Court affirmed the right of the LGBTQ+ to register organisations in February. The enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda in March also did not help matters and seems to have emboldened the group.
In communications forwarded to the police by CMRSL, the group is seen collecting funds and discussing strategies to unleash violence upon the LGBTQ+ community.
The attacks on businesses in Mombasa are part of a wider pattern of violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Kenya. Following the group’s activities, especially in February 2023, there has been an increase in the number of cases of LGBTQ+ people being attacked, threatened, or discriminated against. Many LGBTQ+ people have been forced to go into hiding, abandon their jobs, flee their homes, and forgo critical services.
On 16th March 2023, the Star Newspaper reported that more than 80 LGBTQ+ people had fled Mombasa fearing for their lives following the group’s activities. In that month and following months, CMRSL had to relocate 10 LGBTQ+ people whose lives were in danger in the counties of Lamu, Mombasa, Kwale, and Taita Taveta.
In the three months from February to May 2023, CMRSL in partnership with other LGBTQ+ serving organisations, documented over 300 cases of violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
The government must take urgent action to protect LGBTQ+ people from violence and discrimination, and to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.
A report of the incident was made at Kadzandani Mwatamba Police Station. The police are investigating the incident and have not yet made any arrests.
The attacks have been condemned by human rights activists, who have called on the government to take action to protect LGBTQ+ people.
“These attacks are a clear violation of the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Kenya,” said John Mathenge, a human rights activist. “The government must take urgent action to protect the LGBTQ+ community from violence and discrimination.”, he added.
Since the attacks, the LGBTQ community in Mombasa and the larger Coastal area has been living in fear, while institutions offering critical services to the LGBTQ+ and vulnerable populations are bracing themselves for the backlash.
The attacks are also a setback for the progress that has been made in recent years to improve the rights of LGBTQ+ and vulnerable populations in Kenya with the violence already impacting the strides already made in the fights against HIV and TB.
In February, 2023 the Supreme Court affirmed the right of the LGBTQ+ persons to form associations. This was a major victory for the LGBTQ+ community, but the ensuing attacks and hate campaign against the LGBTQ+ community in the country show that there is still a long way to go.
The government must take concrete steps to protect LGBTQ+ people from violence and discrimination, including passing legislation that explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and ensuring that the police are adequately trained and equipped to deal with cases of hate crimes.
The government must also send a clear message that violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people will not be tolerated. This can be done by publicly condemning the attacks in Mombasa and by taking action to bring the perpetrators to justice.