By Victor Ochieng’
There is a heated debate about aberrant sexual behavior assailing secondary schools. Earlier, in a knee-jerk response, one of the mandarins at the Ministry of Education (MoE) suggested that students in boarding schools who are homosexuals should transfer to day schools. On Thursday, March 9, 2023, the Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu appeared before the Senate Standing Committee. While there, he apprised legislators that through joint effort, MoE is teaming up with a section of clever clerics in the country: to tackle the problem of lesbianism, gayism, bisexual, and transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) practices encroaching into secondary schools. The Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit is ready to act as the tip of the spear in that war that borders both spirituality and morality.
As scribe that visits several schools, permit my pen to opine that there is no way we can yank students from pits of perversion by transferring them to day schools. Any sensible citizen will agree with me that this is a transfer of problems. Somehow, the time has come for schools and families to teach about Sex Education. We should stop treating sex as a taboo topic by talking about it only in low tones. Yet, it has a way it influences all and sundry in the society. Rev. Dr. Gyang Pam, the awesome author of Sexual Perversion: An Evangelical Appraisal postulates in that heroic book that there are three things that permeate, direct, dictate, dominate, control, influence, our society — power, money and sex.
Somehow, the discourse about sex and sexuality should go beyond LGBTQ+ issues and touch on other forms of perversions such as fornication, incest, bestiality, nudity, exhibitionism, voyeurism, rape, defilement, sodomy, et cetera. Then, there is the exigent need of teaching young people values of chastity and abstinence.
Again, there is this erroneous discussion revolving around sexual orientation. It is quite preponderant among some controversial pundits of Psychology and Sociology. Arguably, they are advancing the argument that some are born with the natural inclination for same sex. Of course, any thinking human being with moral, spiritual and cultural consciousness will treat that thought as end time deception. In addition, this sensitive issue has become a global concern with lots of clamour to either legalise or ban it because it is aberrant. Meaning, a departure from what is normal, usual, or unexpected, typically unwelcome one.
In Africa, for instance, two countries — Nigeria and Uganda — have enacted stringent laws to handle homosexuals. Some countries in both oriental and occidental world that support this perverse practise threaten to withdraw financial aids to nations that stand firm to condemn it in its entirety and totality. Part of the church in the Western World also finds itself trapped in this ugly goo. In the recent past, the Anglican Church of England gave a nod to same sex marriages. Albeit, the Anglican Church of Kenya, through its Archbishop, responded to that stance with rage, terming it as an abomination. The stance of that clever cleric is in line with Leviticus 20:13, “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act…”
Ostensibly, it is possible to look at gayism and lesbianism from four angles. A pious person will say it is sinful and satanic. A moralist will treat it as immorality. Likewise, seat-of-the-pants-sense will say that it is not just wicked, but weird. A cultural adherent will frown at it because it appears as an affront to our comely societal customs, beliefs and traditions. Then, even among the birds of passage, we do not see a cock following a cock. Or among animals, we do not see a bull following a bull. A practice such as sodomy is bad because even common sense acts as a good guide: No one gets into a supermarket using an exit.
In the whole scheme of things, the good book says that there is nothing new under the sun. The Bible as the best book talks about sexual sins committed in Sodom and Gomorrah in the years of yore. In Genesis 19:5, we read about how autochthonous people of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house, compelling him to produce men that visited. In their amorous craze, they longed to make love with them.
So, some of these things point out to total depravity of humankind. Romans 1:26-27 says that because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, men also abandoned natural relations with women and became inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Consequently, it is high time we admit that there is widespread misunderstanding of sex in the society. Due to hedonism, most young people do not know that the main purpose of sex is purely for procreation. It is also permissible and pleasurable only in the bed of marriage. Apparently, stolen sex can never be sweet, but somehow sour.
Therefore, what is the perfect antidote? The best thing to do is to identify the root causes, and address them to the core. Let us stop treating the signs and symptoms. Let us stop slashing the bushes, and focus on felling the tree. Various sane institutions in the society should endeavour to address the causes of aberrant sexual behaviour by searching for serious solutions. People find themselves trapped in perversion due to umpteen factors, which may include lack of sufficient sex education, general permissiveness, moral decadence, poor parenting, ubiquity of sex-charged environments, negative western influence, cultural erosion, drug abuse, negative peer influence, media malady, subliminal seduction, lack of good role models, misleading mentors, lack of life skills and lack of strong values.
In addition, the habit of keeping the same sex in one place for a long time, contributes to homosexuality and sodomy. That is why, in case schools want to curb gayism and lesbianism, they must promote healthy interaction between boys and girls. Brief breaks from school such as mid-term and end-term recess are also of essence. Ipso facto, this trail of thought also justifies the essence of inter-school activities such as sports, music, drama, exchange programmes, benchmarking and academic duels.
Unfortunately, when Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, inter-school activities halted in the bid to curb the rapid spread of that deadly disease. Of course, schools have witnessed the dire consequences of lack of socialization among students, which features in the frameworks of education as a multi-dimensional concept – affective, normative and cognitive components.
Lastly, we should address all forms of sexual perversion crawling stealthily towards young people because they lead to low self-esteem, shame, guilt, regret, obsession, early pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Instead of being swift to condemn and criticise, let us play our part. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere sagely said, “Play your part. It can be done.” This thing needs Joint effort and social-corporate responsibility. Families, schools and churches — should move with swift speed. Parents and guardians should engage in active parenting by inculcating in their children useful values. In a broader sense, schools should teach life skills. They should strengthen psycho-social and spiritual programmes. Apart from grounding people on spiritual truths and awakening their moral conscience, religious groups should come up with well-thought-out mentorship programmes for teens and youths during the holiday.
The writer rolls out talks and training services in schools.
