Love won over Nairobi cinema-goers in September as screens were packed to the brim for a week after censors lifted the ban on Kenya’s first queer film Rafiki – a feature originally accused of ‘promoting lesbianism’ by the Kenya Film Classification Board.
Rafiki, which means ‘friend’ in Swahili, will now play for long enough to allow it to be considered for nomination at the Academy Awards. The film’s director Wanuri Kahiu, who filed the appeal, tweeted: ‘I am crying. In a French airport. In SUCH Joy! Our constitution is STRONG! Give thanks to freedom of expression!!!! WE DID IT!’
