Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi Faults President Ruto Over Lack of LGBTQ Representation in His Gov’t

Senior counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi has faulted President Ruto for failing to include members of the LGBTQ community in his government.

Through Twitter on Friday, Abdullahi claimed Ruto’s predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta had five LGBTQ individuals in his cabinet and over 12 senior staff in State House and office of the president.

“H.E William Ruto must be called out for excluding members of the LBGTQ from his govt. Contrast this with Uhuru’s commendable policy. Uhuru’s cabinet had 5 LBGTQ members & over 12 senior staff in State House/Office of the President. President Ruto has ZER0…YES ZERO!” he tweeted.

The attorney, who backed President Ruto in the August elections, did not name the people, and his claims cannot be verified.

In an interview with CNN in September, Ruto said he respects everyone and what they believe in, adding that the same should be extended to those of contrary belief.

"We have Kenyan law, Constitution, traditions and our customs. We will continue to respect other people's customs as they respect our customs and our tradition. We also have what we believe in and we expect to be respected for that too,” he said when asked about his stand on homosexuality.

He added: "We do not want to create a mountain out of a molehill. This is not a big issue for the people of Kenya. When it becomes a big issue for the people of Kenya, the people of Kenya will make a choice."

In 2020, former President Uhuru Kenyatta told CNN that homosexuality was not agreeable and that gay rights is not a major issue in Kenya.

"This is an issue of society, of our own base as a culture, as a people, regardless of which community you come from, this is not acceptable, this is not agreeable," Uhuru said.