NAIROBI, KENYA – Politician David Kuria Mbote once took an elevator in a Nairobi building alone after a group of people he had been waiting with recognized him as a gay rights activist.
“I entered the lift without thinking then realized no one wanted to join me,” he says. “Most of the people in the group were human rights activists going to the same conference I was attending. I couldn’t help but marvel at their hypocrisy.”
The 38-year-old man says he has faced this kind of discriminaton regularly for being openly gay in the largely homophobic Kenyan society. But he has learned to brush such incidents aside. He says he doesn’t mind when men avoid talking to him in public for fear that people may think they are gay.
Save for some tiny gray patches of hair, Mbote looks much younger than his age. He could easily pass for a man in his 20s with his slight build and easygoing nature. But it is his determination that dumbfounds both his friends and foes.
He comes from Kiambu, a county bordering Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. His conservative community considers him an outcast because of his sexuality and gay rights activism, which he has done for 10 years.
But Mbote now hangs up the boots of gay rights activism to seek political office. He is running to be his county’s senator in the country’s newly established Senate. He believes he will win the seat, bigotry in his community notwithstanding.
Mbote says he aims to change the game of politics – campaigning with social media and committing himself to good governance in order to effect positive social change. If elected, he says his main priority would be creating laws to fight HIV. But he has a challenging campaign ahead, as many people here reject homosexuality on the basis of religion. Voters are giving a mixed response on whether they would vote for a gay politician.
The 2010 constitution established a Senate, which will comprise representatives from each of Kenya’s 47 counties, 16 women nominated by the political parties, four other representatives of minority groups and a speaker. The elections are set for March 2013.
Some people have dismissed his aspirations as “a long shot” and “just a dream.” But Mbote, who is riding on what he calls the “Third Wave,” a movement to usher in innovative ideas and solutions to social challenges, says winning the Kiambu county senator seat is possible.
After passing a new constitution in 2010, Kenyans are seeking a new crop of leaders to achieve their aspirations for good governance, Mbote says. Patronage and voter-buying have historically dominated Kenyan politics, often blocking young people from ascending to leadership.
“Almost every single one of exceptionally bright and gifted individuals I have asked why they do not put their great skills to serving and solving the problems of the people say one needs money – lots of it – to get the attention of the voters,” he says.
These, too, he hopes to overcome to set an example for the youth in the country.
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have, I give you,” reads a line on his website banner, which is borrowed from the Bible and translated into Swahili and Gikuyu, his native language.
The financial consultant, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in finance at Kenya College of Accountancy University in Nairobi, says he does not have the resources to crisscross the expansive county to hold political rallies. But he says he hopes to use social media to galvanize support, especially of young people. He appeals to supporters to invite him to birthday parties, barbecues and other social events so he can pitch his ideas to the people.
He says he’s in it for the opportunity to serve the people, not for the money.
“Most politicians in Kenya seek leadership positions so they can amass wealth for their families,” he says. “But as a single man who does not aspire to have a family, my sole mission will be to serve to the people.
If elected, his main agenda in the Senate would be to push for laws to fight HIV.
“I want to be called the HIV senator,” he says. “I believe it is possible to eradicate the scourge if the right laws are put in place.”
He says that the decriminalization of homosexuality will be a big step toward winning the war against the virus. He would also strive to increase public health financing, as millions of Kenyans are pushed into poverty every year because of medical problems.
But if his past experiences in the county are anything to go by, a rough road lies ahead of him. He says his mother has suffered persecution in their Mangu village in the 10 years he has been involved in gay activism. The villagers have rejected her and treated her as an outcast.
“That is one of the reasons why I decided to take a break from gay rights activism,” he says. “The pressure on my mother was too much. She needed a break.”
Mbote, a former seminarian, quit the road to priesthood when he discovered he was gay. His parents had enrolled him there at the age of 12 since he kept saying he did not want to get married when he grew up. Being staunch Catholics, his parents took this to mean that he felt a calling toward the priesthood.
“It was while at the seminary that I discovered that I was actually gay and made up my mind that priesthood was not my life,” he says. “I didn’t want to live a celibate life. My desire was to share my life with someone. I left the seminary when I was 27.”
He says he told people that the seminary expelled him in order to avoid people pestering him to go back. Then, he joined the University of Nairobi to attain his Master of Business Administration.
His family accepts his sexuality, but his former church hasn’t. He criticizes church leaders for their intolerance of gay people.
“The church would rather let you live in hypocrisy than accept you as an openly gay individual,” he says. “But I don’t want to live a lie.”
He adds that it is impossible to change the attitude of the church leaders toward gay people.
“Religious leaders have no capacity for change,” he says. “From experience, I have learned that most of them do not oppose homosexuality on moral grounds but because of other factors, such as money. They want to maintain large numbers of followers so they oppose anything that could make them unpopular.”
But he says that they are the ones in the wrong.
“I appeal to them to let God be the judge,” he says. “Most religious leaders currently play the role of the prosecutor, judge and the executioner. They need to repent.”
Kenyans are voicing mixed views on whether or not they will vote for Mbote.
Njonjo Kihuria, a journalist from Kiambu, says his faith would prevent him from considering Mbote for senator.
“Vote for a gay person?” he asks. “Absolutely not. We are a Christian community, and our religion condemns homosexuality.”
Kihuria speaks with finality.
“I don’t even want to know him,” he says. “He should go run for office in America or seek votes from his fellow homosexuals.”
David Kimani, 53, a former teacher in Kiambu, doubts Mbote has a chance to win.
“Elect a homosexual as senator?” he asks. “Not in Kenya and especially not in Kiambu.”
Kimani says he will not vote for Mbote.
“What agenda will he push for in the Senate?” he asks. “What example will he set for our children? He is free to try his luck, but to be frank, I won’t give him my vote.”
But others disagree with this stance.
Janet Gitau, a social worker, says she would vote for Mbote if he proves to be a good public leader. His sexuality is his private business, she says.
Gitau says that citizens can’t ignore homosexuality based on their personal beliefs. She says that the community pretends that homosexuality does not exist, and this hinders the war against AIDS.
“We have a big number of male sex workers here who can’t even access treatment,” she says. “Hospitals turn them away.”
She says this puts the entire population at risk, regardless of sexuality.
“This is very dangerous because research shows HIV infection among this group is quite high and that 30 percent of the men who seek services from these sex workers either have wives or girlfriends,” she says. “When they are infected, they in turn infect their partners.”
She urges the country to acknowledge homosexuality, if only to create responsible legislation in order to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.
“As long as we continue to deny the existence of homosexuality in the community, everyone is at risk,” she says.