We Want Ruto & Rachel- MP Mohammed Ali Leads Protests In Nairobi [VIDEO]

Nyali Member of Parliament Mohammed Ali alias Jicho Pevu led hundreds of Kenyans in demonstrating along the streets of Nairobi over the Supreme Court of Kenya ruling that allowed LGBTQ+ members to register an NGO in Kenya.

The demonstrations, which saw the UDA MP and other politicians lead the protests, were held at the same time another group demonstrated in Mombasa on Friday, October, all calling for the ruling to be invalidated.

The demonstration began in both towns after the midday Jumu’ah prayers, with the Christian faithful joining in later on.

In one video seen by Viral Tea, a group of Muslim women during the protests chanted "Hatutaki Ruto na Ruto, tunataka Ruto na Rachel (We don't want Ruto and Ruto...we want Ruto and Rachel)" in reference to President William Ruto and his wife, First Lady Rachel Ruto.

Here's the video courtesy of SPM Buzz:

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This was one of their ways of dissenting the ruling which gave an impetus to same-sex relationships and marriages.

"We won’t tolerate Western ideologies. Remember brothers, it’s a peaceful walk," Jamia Mosque in Nairobi posted on social media images of MP Mohammed leading the peaceful demonstrations.

The protests however had a twist compared to previous editions as no police officers were spotted manning the streets nor dispersing the protesters who ground traffic and normal operations across Nairobi and Mombasa to a halt.

According to the videos circulated widely, protesters assembled at the Supreme Court buildings at the intersection of Taifa Road and City Hall Way, next to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to voice their concerns.

Some also chanted Islamic phrases, the Quran, and anti-LGBTQ slogans, while another section condemned Ruto's government for its silence on the matter. 

Others slammed the five-judge bench that upheld the right of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) to register in February 2023 while others called for the Supreme Court judges to either trash the ruling or resign, failure to which they would mobilise efforts to remove them from office.

The highest court in the land on Friday, February 24 dismissed an appeal by the government to bar registration of a gays and lesbians lobby groups, ending an 11-year legal battle by activists seeking the official registration of an LGBTQ+ organisation in Kenya.

According to the five-judge bench's ruling, the Court observed that neither the NGO Coordination Act nor the NGO Regulations provide for any internal dispute resolution mechanism for the administrative action concerned.

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Justices Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung'u ruled on the majority side of the issue, which the Court was emphatic that an Act of Parliament must clearly provide for an internal dispute resolution mechanism before an aggrieved party can be bound by such a mechanism.

In addition, the refusal by the NGOs Coordination Board to register the lobby group would violate human rights based on sexual orientation. However, the court held that the country’s law - Section 162 of the Penal Code  -that prohibits “unnatural offences” (defined as having carnal knowledge with any man, woman or animal against the order of nature) is binding.

"The Court determined that the use of the word “sex” under Article 27(4) does not connote the act of sex per se but refers to the sexual orientation of any gender, whether heterosexual, lesbian, gay, intersex, or otherwise. It was of the view that the word “including” under the same Article is not exhaustive, but only illustrative and would also comprise “freedom from discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation," the apex court ruled in part.

The court also stood firm on its decision in September, dismissing a petition by Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Kaluma that had sought to overturn its ruling.

The ruling came amidst Kaluma's plans to criminalize homosexuality in Kenya through proposed legislation.

Photo of protesters holding demonstrations over Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ on October 6, 2023, in Nairobi. /JAMIA MOSQUE