Kenya Lgbtq+ Dating App Blackmail Cases Go To Court

Nairobi,

Joe smiled nervously from behind his shades as he emerged from the cramped wood-panelled magistrate's court in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

The slim 24-year-old man, wearing black track pants and a grey hoodie, had just testified how he and his friend had been beaten and robbed by a man they had met on Facebook last year.

'The perpetrator and the three friends who attacked us thought we wouldn't go to the police because we are gay,' said Joe, who asked not to be identified by his real name, as he stood outside Milimani Law Courts last month.

'If we are one of the first to seek justice, maybe others will too,' he said.

Kenya's LGBTQ+ community has long stayed silent about blackmail and extortion on platforms like Facebook and dating apps like Grindr, afraid of being outed and jailed themselves in a country where gay sex can land you in jail for up to 14 years.

It is a pattern repeated in other countries where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous, leaving people exposed to entrapment by petty criminals, organised gangs and sometimes even police.

Now, a handful of lawyers in Kenya are helping victims counter these crimes and deliver justice to people often shunned by society.

Kenyan rights groups like the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) and Ishtar-MSM, which provide legal support to LGBTQ+ people, are currently bringing around 10 such cases before the courts.

Kennedy Murunga, a pro bono lawyer working with the two groups on seven cases, including Joe's, said he hoped for some verdicts by the end of the year.

'A positive verdict in any of these cases would be a big win,' said Murunga. 'It will say to (the LGBTQ+ community), 'look, the courts are here to serve you too.''

African countries have some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world.

Kenya is one of more than 30 African countries where same-sex relations are criminalised. Punishments across the continent range from imprisonment to death.

Homophobic rhetoric has surged in Kenya following the enactment of a strict anti-gay law in neighbouring Uganda last year. A Kenyan opposition lawmaker has proposed a similar bill.

Meeting people online through dating apps and social media is often now the only option for LGBTQ+ Kenyans. But these very platforms are being used to trap victims into a web of blackmail, extortion, and physical and sexual assault.

The NGLHRC said it had received around 100 reports of such crimes last year, while Ishtar-MSM said it received around 20 complaints every month.

'We started coming across these cases about five years ago, but it has been difficult to report them. There is a lot of mistrust in the system, including the police,' said Njeri Gateru, NGLHRC's executive director.

The modus operandi is the same, lawyers said.

Criminals pose as potential romantic partners online, gleaning the victim's personal details such as their address, and information about their family and employment.

Victims are lured to secluded locations for a date, where they are beaten, often sexually assaulted and robbed.

In many cases, criminals force the victim to perform sexual acts, taking photos and video which they threaten to use to expose them if they go to the police.

'People can be blackmailed for months before they actually seek any help,' said Murunga, adding that many have kept their sexual orientation private from family and employers.

'They have a lot to lose from being exposed.'

The reluctance of victims to report the crime is the biggest challenge to get the cases prosecuted.