Richard Quest says he is unapologetic on being gay on Kenya visit

CNN’s Richard Quest says he is unapologetic about being gay and advocates for decriminalisation of same-sex unions.

“I am obviously going to be advancing an agenda that says there should be at least the decriminalisation of same sexual activity. It is straight forward, I am not gonna mess around with that one. That is obviously my belief,” The Quest Means Business presenter, who spoke in Nairobi during an interview on Capital In the Morning, said on Tuesday morning.

Quest, said he lives in London and New York because there are no restrictions in those cities on anyone’s sexual orientation, and is urging other countries to emulate the same.

“They are both cities that people in this country can admire, would aspire to be in and would look forward to visiting. There is a reason why I live in those cities,” he said, adding that, “There is a reason why those cities attract the talent and wherever because we can live our lives as we wish. We can love who we wish.”

In New York and London, he said, “there is nobody telling us that is wrong… that is not correct; that is against the law.”

He told Capital In the Morning show host Maqbul Mohammed, that he however, respects the views of anyone opposed to his position on his own sexual orientation.

“I do not for a moment, doubt the sincerity of those people who are against me on this issue. And I can respect their point of view, I merely say that in this day and age, if you want to suceed, if you want Kenya to be a thriving, vibrant modern economy, you are going to look at this in a different way and ask yourself what is it about these very successful places that we need to at least try to attract,” he said, “That is the way you do it. You let people live their lives, love who they want, and the way they wish.”

Being gay is illegal in Kenya and President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed that he will not legalize same-sex marriages to attract foreign funding.

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“We must ensure that our development is what we want and not that brought from outside. We should not be told that if we want money, we must legislate that a man can marry another,” the President said on Sunday in Nandi County. “Is there anything of the sort in the Bible? Wouldn’t we rather stay poor?”