12 south africans were arrested in tanzania last week for what their country's government calls "promoting homosexuality." south africa's high commissioner thami mseleku said they have been kept in custody without charge.
dar es salaam police head lazaro mambosasa said, "we arrested the criminals at (the hotel) peacock; they were promoting homosexuality. two are south africans, one ugandan, and nine tanzanians. tanzanian law forbids this act between people of the same sex."
the group of 12 people were arrested while preparing for a provocative case. the case challenges the tanzanian government's recent decision to ban drop-in centres who serve people at risk for contracting the hiv virus.
mseleku said, "they have not been charged with anything...and have not been told what the police are investigating. the matter that you saw in the media at the briefing by the chief of police here - saying that the people are arrested for promoting homosexuality - that is something police have said in public. but to the people they have not said that this is what we are investigating."
according to government officials, the reason the group was kept detained without charge on friday was because the matter was being investigated at a higher level. apparently, there were concerns the detainees might interfere with the investigation.
memory sosibo, public secretary for the national association of democratic lawyers (nadel) said the actions by the tanzanian law-enforcement agencies were a clear attempt to instill fear among those who wished to legally challenge the actions of the tanzanian government.
sosibo said, "members of the public should feel free to consult with a legal professional in seeking legal recourse when they feel that any of their rights are violated. it would be a sad day for justice should lawyers be unable to defend their clients. we condemn in the strongest possible form the actions of the tanzanian law enforcement in this matter."
nadel wants the tanzanian government to allow the foreign nationals whose passports have been seized to leave the country. richard lupembe, counselor to the tanzanian high commission to south afirca, said, "the high commission does not have any information of an ongoing crackdown against gays in tanzania. what we heard is they will send them to court."
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