New Report Details Horrors LGBTQ+ Refugees, Including Many Catholics, Face in Kenya

A new article from a Catholic media outlet has highlighted the plight of LGBTQ+ refugees, for whom each day is “difficult and full of challenges.” In one refugee camp, a majority of these LGBTQ+ refugees are Catholic. 

Doreen Ajiambo, the Africa/Middle East correspondent for Global Sisters Report, a publication of the National Catholic Reporter detailed the experience of such refugees living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, a camp in northwest Kenya that hosts more than 200,000 refugees from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.

Hundreds of LGBTQ+ residents in the camp face persistent discrimination and violence. For Nardi Niyongabo, a gay refugee from Burundi, there is “constant fear” surrounding his sexual identity. Niyongabo fled to Uganda back in 2013 after family and friends physically attacked him for being intimate with his partner. In 2017, he relocated to Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp after the Ugandan government escalated its campaign against LGBTQ+ rights.

According to Niyongabo, many of the LGBTQ+ refugees identify as Catholic, yet most of the camp’s Christian residents are not tolerant of LGBTQ+ individuals. Earlier in the year, a group of refugees physically attacked Niyongabo during evening prayers, leaving him unconscious and with a broken leg. The attack occurred after the catechist preached about the “demonic” nature of homosexuality. Niyongabo described the experience:

“‘I thought here would be my safest place, but those hopes have been dashed after I was recently attacked in a church by Christians. LGBTQ refugees are living in constant fear of being attacked or even killed. Many people call us names; they mock us and say a demon and evil spirit of homosexuality possess us.’

“‘We are afraid of going to church or meeting some religious leaders here since most encourage people to attack us. They say we are not living the normal way God made us; what we are is a sin.'”

Niyongabo’s story is but one of many from LGBTQ+ people in the camp. A lesbian refugee who remained anonymous stated:

“‘We face more problems than other refugees. We are discriminated against and even denied food sometimes. We are constantly attacked, and if we report to the police or UNHCR [United Nations High Commission on Refugees] officials, we are ignored. Some lesbians have been raped, but when they reported it, the police told them to go and look for the perpetrators themselves.'”

Currently, 32 out of 54 nations in Africa criminalize homosexuality. Yesterday, Bondings 2.0 reported on harsh actions taken by the bishops in Malawi and Cote d’Ivoire. Particularly harsh and discriminatory laws are found in East Africa. For example, those “practicing or promoting homosexuality” in Kenya can be jailed up to 14 years. In Uganda, a new law allows those convicted of “aggravated homosexuality” to face the death penalty. 

While many in Africa support these discriminatory laws, Pope Francis has outwardly supported the LGBTQ+ community, even stating that “being homosexual is not a crime” earlier this year. Fr. Jose Padinjareparampil, director of Don Bosco Kakuma, a Salesian social services agency, has been working on spreading Pope Francis’ mission throughout the camp, saying:

“‘We welcome everyone to church no matter how they identify themselves. I am talking to other leaders to ensure they don’t discriminate against LGBTQ people. We always encourage everyone to embrace each other and live in unity because the church is the unity in the body of Christ.'”

Fr. Padinjareparampil’s work should be a model to all Catholic leaders in that area. No individual should be living a life of “constant fear,” since all Catholics have a duty to oppose human rights abuses wherever they are, especially in a situation like a refugee camp.

—Sarah Cassidy (she/her), New Ways Ministry, August 17, 2023