Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region, Zanzibar is in the news and this time it is not for tourism.
The BBC is reporting that 12 women and eight men were picked up in a hotel where they were receiving training about HIV/Aids education programmes.
The Regional police commander Hassan Ali Nasri said “They are implicated in homosexuality. We arrested them and are busy interrogating them. The police cannot turn a blind eye to this practice.”
Homosexuality is a crime in Tanzania and gay male sex is punishable by up to 30 years in jail
In February, Tanzania announced it was stopping private clinics from providing HIV/AIDS services and according to an AFP report, the Deputy Health Minister Hamisi Kingwangalla vowed in parliament to “fight with all our strength against groups supporting homosexuality in our country.”
The government has also vowed to deport foreigners who “campaign for homosexuality”.
