Gay rights is not a common value Kenya shares with the U.S - Kenyan President

U.S President Barack Obama | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta

The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has stated that the issue of gay rights is not one of the common values Kenya shares with the United States, after Barack Obama lectured him about his country's gay rights record. 

At a joint press conference with the Kenyan President in Nairobi, President Obama had stated that "When you start treating people differently not because of any harm they are doing to anybody, but because they are different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode and bad things happen." 

Obama further stated that "when a government gets in a habit of people treating people differently, those habits can spread. As an African-American, I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law." 

The legalized discrimination of gays, Obama said, could be equated to the legalized racism in America which was not acceptable. 

Kenyatta however told the President that "It is very difficult for us to be able to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept. This is why I repeatedly say for Kenyans today the (gay rights issue) is generally a non-issue. We want to focus on other areas." 

"The fact of the matter is Kenya and the U.S. share so many values: common love for democracy, entrepreneurship, value for families -- these are some things that we share." Kenyatta continued. "but there are some things that we must admit we don't share. Our culture, our societies don't accept." 

Under Kenyan law, sexual activity between men is illegal and punishable with a maximum imprisonment of 14 years. Many African countries, including Nigeria have also made laws against same sex marriage. 

Obama, who last visited Kenya, the country of his father's birth, in 2006 as a U.S. senator, apologized for not visiting sooner as President, saying he plans to return after leaving the White House.