Former US President Barack Obama Rebukes Kenya for Criminalizing Homosexuality

Former United States President Barack Obama has castigated Kenya and other African countries that have criminalized homosexuality.

In his speech to mark Mandela Day in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, Obama  called for "resistance" on those discriminating people based on sexual orientation.

The former US leader particularly mentioned his father's homeland, Kenya as one of the African nations belittling “basic human rights” on sexuality.

“We’ve to actively resist this notion. This is important particularly in some African countries like my own…my father’s homeland (Kenya),” he said in his speech honoring the late South African leader.

“I have made this point before that we’ve to resist the notion of beating up and jailing people because of their sexual orientation.”

In an interview with CNN's Christian Amonpour in London, United Kingdom in April, President Uhuru termed homosexuality as a “non-issue” in Kenya. Kenyatta said gay rights is not a burning issue for Kenya.

Obama urged African leaders to stop dismissing gay rights as ‘Western ideas.’ “We’ve to be careful to say somehow that these issues don’t apply to us,” he said to a rousing applause.

This is not the first time the 44th US President is rebuking Kenya for discriminating against gays. In his visit to Kenya in July 2015, Obama said the government had no right to punish people because of “who they love”.

"I would have thought we would have figured that out by now. I thought that basic notion was well-established, turns out in this recent drift in reactionary politics, the struggle for basic justice is never truly finished," Obama said in South Africa on Tuesday.

He added: “I believe we have no choice but to move forward, that those of us who believe in democracy and civil rights have a better story to tell.”