Kenyan Singer Chimano Comes Out As Gay: ‘No Hiding Any More’
Image: Kenyan music star Chimano. Image: Instagram
A founding member of one of Africa’s most popular bands has come out as gay.
Willis Austin Chimano, a member of the Kenyan band Sauti Sol, told Kenyan newspaper The Standard on Thursday, there was “no hiding anymore.” Chimano, 34, came out while promoting the band’s new single Friday Feeling.
“It is the first time I am expressing myself in a song. You really get to know who Chimano is and that is a heavy crown to carry. It is just a representation of the underground ballroom culture within the queer community… which I am part of,”
“So, I am just laying everything bare; from now on, hakuna kujificha jificha (there is no more hiding). Sexuality does not define you. It is just about me putting myself out there, my creativity and living my truth. Figure out what your own happiness is most importantly with yourself. Gather your own life,” Chimano said.
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Music Star Hailed For Coming Out
Chimano’s coming out is a significant and brave move as gay sex in Kenya is still criminalised and can be punished by up to 14 years imprisonment, though the law is seldom implemented. A 2019 campaign to overturn the law failed.
“Young people are saluting him and are seeing him as an icon who comes out to celebrate his life and his sexuality. It’s a good thing, it shows our diversity as a country,” Kenyan gay activist Kevin Mwachiro told the BBC.
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Sauti Sol, an Afro-pop band, which formed in 2005 and has since released five studio albums, has a massive fan following not only in Africa but also in Europe and the USA.
Sauti Sol was the winner of the Best Group award at the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards, won Best African Act and was nominated for Best Worldwide Act at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, and was also nominated as Best International Act: Africa at the 2015 BET Awards.
The band’s 2019 album Afrikan Sauce, won Album of the Year at the 2019 All Africa Music Awards.
‘I Felt Like An Awkward Child’
“As I get older, I have a bigger perspective of life and who I am supposed to be. It is not about what everybody else thinks I should be,” Chimano told The Standard.
Chimano has been open about his struggles growing up and told The Standard in a 2020 interview, “Growing up I felt like an awkward child, making friends felt like a laborious task. I felt like it was something I could do without. I just loved watching other kids play,” Chimano said.
“I try to challenge toxic masculinity which says a man should dress a certain way. Why does society have to tell you how to dress or how to behave? Be yourself,” said Chimano.
LGBTQI People Face Challenges In Kenya
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LGBTQI people who live openly in Kenya are often rejected by their family, amid the deeply conservative attitudes of the country. LGBTQI people, however, are still more accepted in Kenya than they are in neighbouring nations like Uganda and Tanzania.
The increasing acceptance has led to a number of other well-known Kenyan celebrities to publicly come out, including former BBC journalist Chris Njeri Makena.
In September, Makena said in her TED Talk, “I am happy, I am free and I am bold. For a very long time, I could never introduce myself like this but somewhere along the journey, I started to discover what it meant to live your truth. I started to discover who I was and I decided to be loyal to my authenticity.”
Chimano, also retweeted a statement by Fatima B. Derby, a Ghanian feminist writer, who said, “I want the best for queer & trans Africans. I want us to live a life free from violence, discrimination & shame. I want us to experience love that affirms who we are & who we can be. I want us to be able to unapologetically make art that reflects who we are. I want us to be free.”
