Kenyan Man Gets 30 Years in Jail for Lesbian’s Murder

metroweekly.com:

Human Rights Watch, Lumumba had been sexually assaulted, hit on the head with a blunt object, and stabbed in the chest, face, neck, and eyes.From the start of the investigation into Lumumba’s murder, their family was critical of police response, accusing investigators of dragging their feet due to anti-LGBTQ animus.Lumumba’s cousin, Brenda Akinyi, told Human Rights Watch that the family began investigating the murder themselves after police failed to update the family on case developments.

Additionally, after police claimed to have searched the crime scene, family members found a knife and razor blade in Lumumba’s bedroom.

A family friend found CCTV footage of Lumumba leaving a bar with three men on the last night they were seen alive. Following criticism of the investigation, lesbian, bisexual, and queer activists started a campaign for justice, circulating a photo of Lumumba and sharing the hashtag #JusticeForSheila on social media.

By the start of Lesbian Visibility Week, which ran from April 25 to May 1, #JusticeForSheila was trending in Kenya.LGBTQ activists criticized Kenya’s laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations with up to 14 years in jail, and overall hostile attitudes towards homosexuality, for hampering the investigation into Lumumba’s murder, specifically, and efforts to combat anti-LGBTQ violence, more broadly.They called on police to conduct a more transparent investigation into the murder, asking for those responsible to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.Activists urged national lawmakers to repeal Kennya’s colonial-era anti-LGBTQ laws, two of which were upheld by the country’s highest court as recently as 2019.