The gay Kenyan boyband star who refused to be defeated
Singer Willis Chimano found fame with the popular Kenyan boyband Sauti Sol, but it was when he was outed as gay that his career and his personal life stood its biggest test.
Willis Chimano is one of Kenya’s biggest pop stars. With the boyband Sauti Sol, he’s won a string of awards and even danced with President Barack Obama. But behind the success, Chimano had a secret: being gay in a country where gay sex is criminalised and people who identify as LGBT+ can experience violence and harassment. Since his childhood, Chimano had been hiding his sexuality but then in 2018 he was outed. Suddenly his career stood its toughest test as he was caught in a media frenzy and dealing with exposure that threatened to derail his entire life - and his relationship with his conservative family. But Chimano emerged from the storm as role model for LGBT+ people, becoming Kenya’s most famous openly gay singer.
His memoir Heavy is the Crown will be released in 2026.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producers: Maryam Maruf and June Christie
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Chimano stands in an outdoor space with trees in the background. He is wearing a shiny pink suit with matching eyeshadow and a yellow shirt. Credit: Rogers Ouma)
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- Mon 1 Dec 202512:06GMTBBC World Service
- Mon 1 Dec 202518:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Mon 1 Dec 202523:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
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