Afro Sexual Wisdom
‘Same Love Remix’- First Kenyan LGBTI video banned for being immoral
Posted By HOLAA
On Feb 28, 2016
By Kagure Mugo
The ‘first homosexual music video’ in Kenya, depicting same sex couples and relationships was banned by the Kenya Film and Classification Board. The video Same Love Remix, an African take on the popular song Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis was banned on ‘moral grounds’, an announcement which was made via the organisations twitter feed. It was also claimed that the producers of the Same Love Remix producers had not obtained a filming licence ‘as stipulated by the law’.
The KFCB, upon issuing this ban also urged Kenyans to not share the final product. The music video, which shows both a male and a female same sex couples in various scenarios including one scene where the two women are in bed, seeks to denounce homophobia and calls for the equal rights for persons of alternative sexualities within the country. A group of Kenyans within the LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex) community released the video in order to illustrate the reality faced by gay Kenyans. All this happens within the context of heightened homophobia as highlighted by the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK)’s report showing heightened amounts of violence against queer women within the country and the ‘non-issue’ elephant in the room that faces the Uhuru administration.
First published on This Is Africa.