Gays in Kenya Protest Against Ugandan Bill

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Gays and lesbians in Kenya have joined a global effort to protest against an anti-homosexuality bill passed by Uganda's parliament and now in the hands of the country's president.

Several dozen gays, lesbians and supporters demonstrated in front of Uganda's High Commission in Nairobi on Monday. Many wore rainbow colored wigs and masks.

Eric Gitari, executive director of Kenya's National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, said the Ugandan legislation has major repercussions on human rights conditions across East Africa. Gitari said that some gays and lesbians in Uganda have fled and are living in a Kenyan refugee camp.

Small protests are being held around the globe Tuesday in hopes of pressuring Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni not to sign the bill, which calls for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts.