Sheila Adhiambo Lumumba was a Kenyan hotel worker and non-binary lesbian who was found killed on 17 April 2022.[1]
Timeline edit
On 15 April, Lumumba did not show up to work. Their co-workers attempted to call their phone, but did not receive a response.[2] Their body was found two days later in their home. A post-mortem report was performed at Karatina Sub-County Hospital and found that they had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times.[3]
Lumumba's funeral service was held on 30 April.[4]
On 20 July, openDemocracy reported that a man had been arrested and charged with murder over the case, with a court hearing to take place on 15 August.[5]
Reactions edit
The murder sparked widespread outrage in the Kenyan LGBT+ community.[6] The Kenyan National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission said that the murder was "part of a pattern of attacks and violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in the country".[7] OutRight Action International said that it was part of "a series of homophobic and transphobic attacks" and that "failure to effectively respond to homophobic violence sends the message that violence against LGBTIQ individuals can be carried out with impunity".[8] The Kenya Human Rights Commission stated that "too many queer Kenyans are getting killed with no accountability for perpetrators".[9] Human Rights Watch called for the Kenyan government to repeal anti-LGBT+ laws and to include LGBT+ people in national plans against gender-based violence, saying that Lumumba was "invisible under Kenya’s current policies".[3] The Kisumu Feminists' Society started a social media campaign using the hashtag #JusticeForSheila to raise awareness of the case and to pressure police to take better action.[10][11]
References edit
- ^ "I Knew Sheila Lumumba: Here is My Story". www.mambaonline.com. 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Police 'leave lesbian's family to investigate their murder'". OpenDemocracy.
- ^ a b "Inadequate Kenyan Police Response to Brutal Killing of Non-Binary Lesbian". Human Rights Watch. 29 April 2022.
- ^ "Sheila Lumumba's father shares 1 wish concerning those who killed his daughter". www.pulselive.co.ke. May 2022.
- ^ "Family's hope for justice as man charged with lesbian's murd". OpenDemocracy.
- ^ "Who killed our daughter? Sheila Lumumba's parents speak on their daughter's murder". www.citizen.digital. 8 June 2022.
- ^ "#JusticeForSheila: Kenyan anger after lesbian's murder". BBC News. 22 April 2022.
- ^ "Statement on the Murder of Sheila Lumumba". Outright International. 26 April 2022.
- ^ "Homophobia: Africa's moral blind spot". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "Sheila Lumumba: Protests online as gay lady is discovered dead in her house". K24 TV. 22 April 2022.
- ^ "#JusticeForSheila highlights the precarious lives of queer people in Kenya". www.citizen.digital. 21 May 2022.