A Kenyan woman who is seeking asylum in Canada has left many Kenyans in shock after alleging that Kenyans might stone her to death if she comes back. She further alleged that if she comes back, she might get flogged naked in the streets!
Theresa Makumi claims that she is a member of the LGBTQ community. She alleges that she ran to Canada on a visit visa after people realized that she is a lesbian.
“The reason why I am here is because I was caught back home with my partner,” Theresa told the press at the 129 St Peter Street in Toronto Canada.
She added that members of the LGBTQ community cannot live openly in Kenya. “You have to be an outcast, you have to be stoned to death, you have to be flogged naked, you have to be humiliated,” she claimed.
Theresa is one of a number of Africans who have traveled to Canada on a visit visa to seek asylum or convert their status to work permit visa.
Although sexual relationships between members of the same sex are not recognized under the Kenyan law, Kenya has been seen as tolerant to members of the queer community, with several local celebrities having come out openly as gay.
I quit my bank job in Kenya to go to Canada; now am homeless in streets
This is however not the same situation in the neighbouring Uganda where strict laws have been instituted to prohibit and punish people who are caught practicing homosexuality.