The Parklands Diary

                                                                           Image by Freepik on Freepik INTRODUCTION Abortion is one of the most controversial topics in Kenya and Africa as a whole. This is because most African countries are guided and follow almost blindly two aspects that being religion and their customary traditions. This means that if an act contravenes the very specific codes of religion and tradition it will be rejected at the fullest extent. This is evidenced by a recent event where a homosexual, Edwin Chiloba, was killed and instead of being sympathetic and supportive to the deceased’s family, most Kenyans were quick to condemn the dead fellow and some even went to the extent of stating that his death was a punishment from the heavens due to...

Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik In Kenya, the month of June is one with great significance as it marks the beginning of a new financial year. This is usually characterized by the enactment of a novel finance act that is set to determine various economic factors of the country, for instance, the cost of living, for the next 12 months. This year, the finance bill that was presented to the national assembly was not received with much enthusiasm by the citizens of Kenya as well as a faction of the legislators, most of whom belong to the current opposition coalition, Azimio la Umoja.   The Constitution of Kenya 2010 under Article 37 empowers every Kenyan citizen with the right to, “peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities.” Hence, while several parties including the senator of Busia County and popular activist, Honorable Okiya Omtatah filed petitions in court challenging ...

Public opinion, which more often than not appears more nuanced, has sparked surface-level hostility in an already heated sexual orientation debate. On one side, the meritorious, high-minded, and self-proclaimed guardians of morality have adopted the Judeo-Christian approach to argue that recognition of the LGBTQI groups in Kenya will be a catalyst for moral erosion in the country.  On the other hand, liberals have embraced and pushed for LGBTQI group recognition, citing that denying them this right is tantamount to discrimination and persecution. Human dignity, as enshrined under Article 28 of our Kenyan Constitution, has also been invoked by the faction that champions the recognition of this group. These heated debates have consequently translated into gross human rights violations being reported to various human rights organizations both in Kenya and regionally. However, the common rhetoric remains "How should we perceive sex and gender; is there a distinction?" Cracking th...