With internationally acclaimed Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina coming out, Africa's embattled gay rights movement finally has a public face around which to rally support for equality. "What he has done is brilliant. He is admired and respected, and the only high-profile African to come out," said Nairobi-based gay rights activist Anthony Oluoch. "He gives a different face to gay people, breaking the stereotype that they are effeminate, that they don't have jobs, that they are completely different." Mr Wainaina's decision to reveal his sexuality, in a short essay entitled "I Am a Homosexual, Mum", comes amid growing hostility towards gay people in several African states.
Black African MSM appear twice as likely to contract HIV as other ethnic groups
(Sigma Research, 2011)
BAME MSM make up 0.1% of the total population in the UK, but 13% of MSM diagnosed with HIV.
(Nastal-3, PHE, 2013)
Black MSM are also twice as likely to report homophobic attacks in their local area compared to the white population - 13% compared to 6% respectively
(Stonewall, 2013)