Cast your minds back to July this year. Spirits are high. Laughter is plentiful. Thirty thousand people are parading the streets of London under rainbow banners, led by political leaders, celebrities and influencers. Even more line the route, surrounded by endorsements and corporate sponsorships. Everyone is waving flags, painting their faces and showing off their presence on social media, and this will continue into the early hours of the morning as a societal statement by the various queer identities present.

However, while the revellers making their presence known announce their pride in the grandest ways, many countries throughout the world still suppress their queer citizens. Not one month earlier, the organisers of Kenya’s first gay pride were fearing for their lives after threats inspired by their attendance. Societal and legal consent to persecute LGBTQ+ individuals in various societies regularly drives inhabitants to seek asylum in political climates that act as a lifestyle haven. Freedom of expression is something a lot of people take for granted, but which even more seek.

Kenneth Macharia was one such person, arriving legally in 2009 under a student visa, studying as an engineer and being granted a work visa in due course. While living near his mother in Bristol, Kenneth became a member of the Bristol Bisons, the city’s LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby team. His altruism became well known among the International Gay Rugby network, as he found every opportunity to better the lives of those around him. Acting as the team’s first aider, photographer and avid supporter, he swiftly became a core member of the group. His work visa expired in 2016, leading Kenneth to seek asylum in the UK because his sexuality led him to fear persecution if he returned to Kenya.

Last week, one by one, his teammates’ phones pinged with a message saying Kenneth was in Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, awaiting removal from the country. Within a week, he had gone from excitedly planning next week’s game to sitting in a deportation centre to be swept away from his friends, family and life as a gay man in the UK. The team quickly worked together to fight his immediate removal from the country.

Alongside wider safety concerns, legislation inhibits queer lifestyles under Kenyan jurisdiction. The Kenyan penal code sections 162, 163 and 165 proscribe homosexual activity, which it classes as similar to human-animal interaction. Evidence of homosexual activity can be penalised with 14 years’ incarceration, and there have been more than 5,000 arrests annually for the past four years. Claims of asylum based on sexual orientation are frequently reported by the UK Home Office, with 20% of all claims from Kenya being based as such in the 2015-17 period. This year, the prime minister proudly announced during her Pride reception speech to have “condemned the colonial-era laws that still criminalise gay people in dozens of nations around the world” in front of government leaders – and yet only 25% of all LGBTQ-based cases are granted asylum on these grounds. The contentious issue of unjust deportation has been a source of frequent protest throughout the past year, with activists targeting airlines such as British Airways and Virgin for their role in providing transport for LGBTQ+ removals; Virgin has since stopped doing this.

Following significant public backing, Kenneth was released from detention on Monday, and the threat of imminent removal lifted, but the process is still simmering away. The huge support he has received from the public, personalities including Stephen Fry and MPs will hopefully bring him home to Bristol, but he is still no safer from removal than he was last week. Only the grant of asylum will keep Kenneth here in the UK with the multitude of people who are dependent on him, and allow him to return to work and give back to the system that has given him so many freedoms.

The fight is far from over, and his teammates, the wider public and charities will continue to support his case. With this in mind, a crowdfunder has been set up at to help with legal fees throughout the arduous process.

It’s November 2018 and people are determined. Determined to keep the man who has spent years patching us up when we’re injured. Determined not to lose our beloved teammate. Determined to keep him with his family, with his friends and with his life.

• Murray Jones plays rugby with the Bristol Bisons