Homosexuality lands Tanzania in hot soup: Denmark withhold aids

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Ulla Tørnæs

Denmark is withholding US$9.8m (K7.1billion) in aid to Tanzania following anti-gay comments that Dar es Salaam governor made last month.

Ulla Tørnæs
Ulla Tornaes

Danish Development minister Ulla Tornaes, quoted by the BBC, said she was “very concerned” by what she described as the “unacceptable homophobic comments” by a government official.

Last month, Paul Makonda, commissioner for the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, called on the public to report suspected gay men to the police.

Makonda promised to set up anti-gay surveillance squad to track down and arrest any person suspected of being gay.

While the Tanzanian government said, at the time, that Makonda was expressing his personal opinion and not that of government policy, homosexuality remains illegal in Tanzania and punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Correspondents say statements against gay people have increased since President John Magufuli’s election in 2015. There was a government threat to publish a list of gay people known to the law enforcers.

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One Comment

  1. I guess we have no trust in Africa being ruled by African.we need to respect the laws of any country. We don’t attack Trump in his madness of making America great either.

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