Kenya: President legalises straight polygamy, gay sex still illegal
The president of Kenya has signed a law legalising heterosexual polygamy, while maintaining a ban on gay sex.
According to AFP, President Uhuru Kenyatta today signed a law which allows Kenyan men to marry as many women as they want.
Kenyatta, who refuses to repeal a law which punishes same-sex sexual acts with between 5 to 14 years’ imprisonment, said: “Marriage is the voluntary union of a man and a woman whether in a monogamous or polygamous union.”
“All marriages registered under the Act have the same legal status.”
The polygamy law has received criticism from the Federation of Women Lawyers, as men will not require the permission of their first wife to enter into further marriages, and the law does not permit the wives to have more than one husband.
He said: “We need to go on and address this issue the way we want to address terrorism.
“It’s as serious as terrorism. It’s as serious as any other social evil.”
Kenya’s penal code states: “Any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private, is guilty of a felony.”
