In a host of African countries, homosexuality is a crime. From Nigeria to Uganda, politicians seem to believe persecuting gays is a vote-winning strategy. As part of the BBCs Freedom season, Hardtalk speaks to Kenyan writer Binyavanaga Wainaina. He knew it would be big news when he publically revealed his homosexuality earlier this year. Sure enough he is now at the centre of a debate about freedom, identity and culture that's raging across the African continent. Is his stand changing minds?

(Photo: Kenyan author Binyavanga Wainaina during an interview with the AFP on January 27, 2014. Credit: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)