Governor Of Tanzania's Capital Announces Plan To Round Up Everyone Who Was Too Gay On Social Media

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the tanzanian-devil dept

There has been an unfortunate trend in far too many African nations in which governments there look at the internet as either a source of evil in their countries or purely as a source for tax revenue, or both. The end result in many cases is a speech tax of sorts being placed on citizens in these countries, with traffic being taxed, bloggers being forced to register with the federal government, and populations that could otherwise benefit from a free and open internet being essentially priced out of the benefit altogether.

But things have taken a different and far worse turn in Tanzania, where the governor of the country’s capital city, Dodoma, has announced his plan to round up anyone who is perceived as being gay on the internet and chucking them in prison.

He announced his plans for sweeping arrests of gay citizens in an interview on Monday that was shared on social media, reports CNN Africa. “I have received reports that there are so many homosexuals in our city, and these homosexuals, are advertising and selling their services on the internet,” said Governor Paul Makonda. “Therefore, I am announcing this to every citizen of Dar es Salaam. If you know any gays…report them to me.”

“These homosexuals boast on social networks,” he added.

This, of course, is horrific on many levels, from the blatant homophobia, to the inciting a mob mentality against the LGBTQ community, to the bizarre focus on their internet usage and silly claims of “advertising and selling their services” online. When called on all of this, Magufuli hid behind antiquated religious beliefs, which suggest the talk about “advertising and selling their services” is just part of the moral panic because he’s homophobic:

When asked about the international backlash that the decision will undoubtedly draw, Makonda, described as a pious Christian and a loyal supporter of president John Magufuli stated “I prefer to anger those countries than to anger God,” adding that same-sex relationships “trample on the moral values of Tanzanians and our two Christian and Muslim religions,” as quoted in News 24.

In which case anything to do with “selling services” is complete bullshit and this is entirely about hating gay people. And, importantly, it’s about using people’s speech on social media platforms as the basis for rounding up those “gay” people and throwing them in jail for no other crime than being gay on the internet.

And if anything were anathema to the very concept of a free and open internet, it surely must be this. The chief benefit of a communications platform like the internet is to allow for expression and the introduction of new ideas and personas to a wider populace. Turning that very platform into a weaponized platform for building hit lists should be sending up all kinds of red flags across the world.

If this indeed goes forward, the international moral outrage had better be swift and massive, or we’ll have confirmation that the world has lost its way.

Filed Under: dodoma, lgbtq, paul makonda, social media, tanzania