The African country of Tanzania has withdrawn its threat of creating a list of gay people and sharing it publically.
The list, which was threatened last week, would have outed people who are accused of selling sex online. Deputy health minister Hamisi Kigwangalla was to call a press conference on Monday to distribute the list, however, the press call was cancelled. Taking to Twitter he wrote that they were not going to name names due to a “technical reason” and said they would deal with “the issue” differently.
He wrote,
“For strategic reasons and to avoid destroying evidence we will deal with this issue differently and will keep you informed at every step.”
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Tanzania took the unusual step of banning the imports of lube last year in an effort to crackdown on anal sex. The action was seen as a move which directly targetted the gay and bisexual male community.
Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania as it is in 38 of the 54 countries in Africa. Those found guilty, in the Commonwealth country, could be handed life imprisonment. However, no arrests have been known to have been made in recent years.
Homosexual acts attract the death penalty in three African, Sudan, Somalia and Mauritania, where the legal system is based on Sharia law.
