Willis Austin Chimano, a member of Sauti Sol band, had never considered coming out as gay.
In an interview with The Guardian, Chimano said he “wore a mask” to work from when the band was formed in 2005 to 2018, where he had to be careful how he acted, spoke, and dressed.
“I had to do everything in my power to keep my sexuality hidden,” he said.
Chimano added that althought his band mates knew and supported him, he still thought coming out would affect the growth of the band.
“I just wanted to keep a clean representation of me. My queerness would have been a scandal.”
His sexuality was not made public until 2018, when a photo of him and his partner was posted on social media and mainstream media.
Being the first pop star in Kenya who came out as gay, Chimano recalled the criticism he faced from the public.
“There was vitriol, oh my God, so much. People were saying ‘you’re a sinner’, ‘it goes against the laws of nature’, ‘it’s against African culture’. There’s a larger societal belief that what [queer people] are doing is wrong. People don’t understand.”
He then publicly came out as a member of the queer community for the first time in 2021.
He recounted the resistance he got performing as a solo artist when he released his EP ‘Heavy is the Crown’ in 2022, at a time when Sauti Sol was considering a break to allow its members to pursue solo projects.
However, before its release, he was to attend a festival he had organised called ‘Love and Harmony’, but it was shut down.
“The cops were just like, ‘Oh, you’re coming here to do a gay event in my jurisdiction and we’re not going to allow that to ever happen.’”
He wrote on his X account, “Bullies never win! You may have gotten your way this time. You’ve only made my resolve stronger…. The show that I’ve been working so hard on will be seen. That is a fact!….”
Since then, Chimano released his EP, performing it across Europe and Australia, London, Cardiff, and Paris. He is also working on a memoir and a debut solo album set to be released in 2026.
Additionally, the British Council spotlighted him as part of the UK-Kenya Season of Culture, solidifying his place as a cultural ambassador.
