There Was So Much Vitriol: Willis Chimano On Being Outed While In Africas Biggest Boy Band

The Kenyan singer, part of the wildly popular Sauti Sol, faced hatred and threats but it made him determined to push for change in a country where being gay is still illegal Coming out as gay was not something Willis Austin Chimano, a member of the Kenyan Afropop band , had ever considered. From about 2005, when the group widely considered to be Africas biggest boyband was formed, to 2018, Chimano says he wore a mask at work, careful how he acted, spoke and dressed. At the same time, he embraced his queer identity in his private life.