Tanzania Vows to Arrest, Deport Foreigners Fighting for Gay Rights
Individuals and organizations championing for gay rights in Tanzania will find themselves in trouble as the government has said it will arrest and deport them. The Tanzania government further warned the Human Rights Organizations protecting homosexuals that they risk being de-registered.
"I would like to remind and warn all organizations and institutions that campaign and pretend to protect homosexual interests ... we are going to arrest whoever is involved and charge them in courts of law." Interior Minister Mwigulu Nchemba said.
According to Nchemba, foreigners taking part in such campaigns would be "deported within no time ... they will not have even the time to unplug their mobile phones from the socket".
"Those who are interested in homosexuality should go and live in countries that entertain such businesses. If there's any organization in the country that supports and campaigns for homosexuality ... it shall be deregistered." The Minister said.
His threats come just days after President John Pombe Magufuli criticized NGOs campaigning for gay rights, saying that they will be dealt with even if it meant losing their foreign aid. "Those who teach such things do not like us, brothers. They brought us drugs and homosexual practices that even cows disapprove of," Magufuli said in a speech last week.
Tanzania has put a punishment of anything from 30 years to life imprisonment for gay male sex, however, there is no such ban on lesbian associations.
38 out of 54 countries in Africa have banned homosexuality, with Mauritania, Sudan and Somalia, putting a death penalty on those found culpable.
No comments:
Post a Comment