Kenya: Police Blackmail LGBT Persons

An investigative report published in Identity Kenya magazine present findings that Nairobi police officers routinely target gays, bisexual and closeted married men for extortion.

Sexual acts between men are illegal under Kenyan statutes and carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.

The report reveals how several police officers stationed in, or operating from Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) police extort money from gay men under the threat of arrests and prosecution.

One example reported concerned "Nelly", an Identity Kenya contributor who runs a movie business was arrested by six plainclothes police officers who alleged he was peddling and selling gay porn.

‘They asked me for KShs 100,000 (€944, $1,187) and told me to call my friends to contribute,’ Nelly told Identity Kenya.