This historic trip is the first a sitting US President has made to Kenya, and personal one for President Obama whose father was a Kenyan national.
The primary purpose of this trip was for President Obama to attend the Global Entrepreneurial Summit in Nairobi, however his itinerary included an official visit with President Kenyatta.
The issue of gay and same-sex rights, including same-sex marriage, has dominated much of the conversation around President Obama’s trip from Africans who worry that the United States will impose same-sex marriage laws on African countries.
President Obama told members of the media “with respect to the rights of gays and lesbians, I’ve been consistent all across Africa on this. I believe in the principle of treating people equally under the law, and that they are deserving of equal protection under the law and that the state should not discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.”
He added, “I’m unequivocal on this. If somebody is a law-abiding citizen who is going about their business” and “not harming anybody, the idea that they are going to be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong. Full stop.”
President Kenyatta said that there are some issues which American and Kenyan societies will not agree on or accept but that “for Kenyans today, the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue. We want to focus on other areas that are day-to-day living for our people.”
There have been increasing concerns that gay and lesbian couples are being discriminated against in some African countries. However, earlier this month Mozambique announced that gay and same-sex relationships are not only decriminalized but also legal.
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