Sitting quietly in an undisclosed location outside Monrovia, Nelly D. Kekeh a mother of four and a professional nurse, speaks in a low, steady voice, but her words carry the weight of fear, loss, and survival. Mrs. Kekeh recalls a violent mob attack that forced her family from their home in Gardnersville. She says the memories remain as vivid as the day they happened.
“That day felt like we were back in the Civil War,” Kekeh recalled in an interview. “I never imagined that my own community would turn against us with such hatred.”
According to Kekeh, the attack occurred on August 10, 2021, after rumors spread in the Gardnersville community that her son was gay. An angry crowd of residents reportedly descended on their home. The mob vandalized the property and attempted to set it ablaze, forcing the family to flee in fear for their lives.
“They were shouting, threatening to burn us alive,” she said. “We had no time to gather anything. We just ran. By the grace of God, we escaped.”
Since then, Kekeh says her family has lived in hiding, moving between communities to avoid being identified.
“We are now strangers in strange places,” she added. “My children live with fear every day.
A pattern of violence and discrimination
The Gardnersville attack is one of many incidents highlighting persistent hostility toward LGBTQ+ individuals in Liberia. Same-sex sexual activity has been criminalized since the 1976 Penal Code, which prescribes up to one year in prison for “voluntary sodomy.”
In 2012, lawmakers introduced bills aimed at further criminalizing same-sex relationships, including an Anti Same-Sex Marriage Bill passed by the Senate. These efforts drew strong condemnation from Human Rights Advocates
A 2013 Human Rights Watch report, “It’s Nature, Not Crime,” documented widespread verbal and physical abuse, family rejection, and social exclusion faced by LGBTQ+ people in Liberia
More recent incidents include the violent disruption of an HIV awareness event in November 2019, which left about ten participants injured; the June 2021 expulsion of a student, Nuchie Michael, from St. Matthew United Methodist School for cross-dressing; and a May 11, 2021 attack in Pynesville–Gobachop, where two men and a teenager were brutally assaulted by a community watch team over alleged homosexual activity.
“These people are treated as if they are not human”
For Kekeh, these incidents confirm that what happened to her family was not an isolated act of anger, but part of a broader pattern.
“They did not see us as human beings,” she said. “They saw us as something to destroy.”
Reports from Human Rights Watch and the Human Dignity Trust indicate that many victims of anti-LGBTQ violence in Liberia do not report attacks, fearing stigma, retaliation, or indifference from authorities.
“Even now, I am afraid to speak,” Kekeh admitted. “But silence will not heal us.”
A country divided
Activists argue that the Gardnersville attack illustrates how hostile community attitudes, inflammatory rhetoric from leaders, and limited police protection combine to endanger LGBTQ+ people and their families.
As Liberia continues to grapple with questions of human rights, culture, and the rule of law, Kekeh says her hope is simple:
“I want my children to live without fear,” she said. “No mother should have to run for her life because of who her child is.”
For now, she remains in hiding, a living reminder of how deeply divided the country remains on issues of sexual orientation, and how high the cost can be for those caught in the middle.
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