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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Sarah Johnson

‘There was so much vitriol’: Willis Chimano on being outed while in Africa’s biggest boy band

Two men in bright 70s-style suits in different shades of pink perform on a stage
Chimano, right, and Polycarp Otieno of Sauti Sol perform at Sol Fest in Nairobi in 2022. He has since developed a solo career. Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

Coming 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.

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