The Kenyan singer, part of the wildly popular Sauti Sol, faced hatred and threats but it made him determined to push for change in a country where being gay is still illegal
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oming out as gay was not something Willis Austin Chimano, a member of the Kenyan Afropop band Sauti Sol, had ever considered. From about 2005, when the group – widely considered to be Africa’s biggest boyband – was formed, to 2018, Chimano says he “wore a mask” at work, careful how he acted, spoke and dressed.
At the same time, he embraced his queer identity in his private life.
“I had to do everything in my power to keep my sexuality hidden,” he says. His band mates knew, and supported him, but Chimano thought he would not be accepted by the wider public. “I was scared that it could ruin our chances at becoming bigger.
