Gay and transgender people in Tanzania have gone into hiding in fear of their lives after a senior government official called on the public to report suspected homosexuals so that they could be arrested from early next week.
Paul Makonda, regional commissioner for Tanzania’s main city of Dar es Salaam, announced the crackdown on Monday. He said a team would be set up to identify and arrest the “many homosexuals”, who could face up to 30 years in jail.
“Since Monday, I have left my place and have been moving here and there. I am always looking over my shoulder in case they coming for me,” Nathan, 24, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Dar es Salaam.
“There’s so much tension within the gay community at the moment. Not just in Dar, but all over the country. We are really scared. We don’t know what to do and where to go.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania, however it is a law that has been rarely enforced. Homophobic attacks and arrests on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT+) have however been on the rise since President John Magufuli was elected into power in 2015, activists say.
The clampdown is set to begin on Monday, however some homes have already been raided in the port city and a number of gay people arrested. This is yet to be confirmed.
Most African countries are known to prohibit homosexuality in the world. Same-sex relationships are seen as taboo and a crime across most of the continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death. Additionally, persecution, discrimination and exploitation of Africa’s sexual minorities has been common.
Tanzania was initially more tolerant than its neighbour Uganda but, since Magufuli came to power three years ago, campaigners say the little protection, representation and freedom LGBT+ people have is being slowly eroded.
-Reuters
