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Nairobi Students Riot Against Homophobic Decree

Dozens of angry students took to the streets of Nairobi on Thursday in a peaceful protest to Kenya’s Ministry of Education. They were armed with placards that denounced a suggestion by the Cabinet secretary for education, George Magoha, that homosexual students be barred from boarding schools. In their two-page petition to the education secretary, the protesters called on him to withdraw his December remarks, and to criminalize all types of phobias they say put people’s lives at risk, including the lives of homosexual students. VOA has established that the cabinet secretary has yet to officially order boarding schools in Kenya to bar suspected gay students. A state education official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ordinarily, a formal circular would be sent to all heads of boarding schools. The LGBT community leaders who presented their petition to the Ministry of Education are expected to meet with Magoha next week. Kenya is one of many African countries that outlaw homosexuality.

SOURCE: VOA