NAIROBI , Kenya ( CNN ) -- In a downtown Nairobi salon , tucked away in nondescript office building , women sit under hair dryers and gossip . They have their hair trimmed and their feet and hands pampered . Jackson Irungu is quitting Kenya after being targeted for being gay . But there is one patron that draws the eye . In his Bermuda shorts , orange shirt , and cravat , Jackson Irungu is getting a manicure . He is among a tiny minority of openly gay men in Kenya who face a constant barrage of verbal abuse on the street and even occasional physical attacks . `` We live in fear , '' says Irungu , `` There is a perception that being gay is wrong so it is a bit tricky being gay when you live in Kenya . '' Irungu says a friend of his was beaten so badly outside a nightclub in Nairobi that he had to be taken to hospital . There is no way to corroborate such incidents with the police because homosexual Kenyans are just too afraid to report them . The law books help create the ambivalence . Two separate penal codes relate to the gays in Kenya and the archaic laws can lead to a 5 to 14 year jail term . They are rarely enforced , but penal code 162 and 165 are an effective threat hanging over the gay community . `` They have a weapon to which they defend themselves , '' says Pauline Kimani , a leader of an umbrella organization for gays in Kenya . She says that gay Kenyans are arrested on charges like 'loitering ' and `` disturbing the peace . '' Watch report on treatment of gays in Kenya » . `` Ending the sodomy laws would be up to members of parliament , '' says Kenyan government spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua , `` and they represent the people . '' Gay rights is a non-starter for Kenyan politicians and attempts to repeal the laws have ended practically before they began . The Kenyans who elect the MPs are mostly on their side . A few people defend gay rights on the streets of Nairobi . But many say that gays should n't have rights , are `` un-African , '' and not good Christians . Kenya is a country of faithful people and religion plays a defining role in homophobia in Kenya . Seventy percent of the country is Christian and there is a sizeable Muslim and Hindu population . `` This is an abomination that is totally unacceptable by God who formed us not to function in that way , '' says Patrick Kuchio , a popular preacher at Parklands Pentecostal Church . More traditional denominations in Africa are also conservative , leading the charge to stop gay pastors from being ordained . Though the Pentecostal church made major inroads to Kenya only in the 1950s , many of its supporters , and other faithful in the continent , consider homosexuality a Western concept . `` Amongst traditional Kenyan people , it was unheard of , '' says Pastor Kuchio . He believes the practice must have been imported into Kenya . As a result , most homosexuals in the country have to hide their sexual preference for fear of social stigma , say gay activists in Kenya . `` They say , 'look , you are evil , the law also disagrees with you , ' '' says Kimani , `` You are not supposed to exist within our community . '' By their own admission , gay rights groups have been under funded and disorganized . But since forming an umbrella organization , their leaders say there is a slow thawing of attitudes towards gays in Kenya . Their monthly party now gets police protection . But mention something as fundamental as a gay pride march and it is met with laughs . It would be utterly inconceivable , they say . But for an openly gay man Kenyan like Irungu , progress is too slow in Kenya .
Gay Kenyans face verbal abuse and even physical attacks . Law states gays can face up to 14 years in jail if convicted under penal codes . Gay Kenyans usually arrested on charges like 'loitering ' , 'disturbing the peace ' Pastor : Practice is unheard of among Kenyans and must have been imported .