LGBT crackdowns: Dar es Salaam Governor vows mass arrests

In increasing crackdowns on the LGBT community in Tanzania, Paul Makonda, the Governor of Dar es Salaam vowed to arrest citizens belonging to the community by next week.

"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," CNN quoted the Governor as saying.

He further asked Tanzanians to report members of the community in a video where he was heard speaking in Swahili. "Therefore, I am announcing this to every citizen of Dar es Salaam. If you know any gays ... report them to me," he said at a news conference.

Makonda has a history of ordering anti-gay clampdowns in a country which has other government officials supporting the anti-gay narrative.

People from the LGBT community face a 30-year jail sentence according to Tanzanian laws, while homosexual acts attract the death penalty in other African nations like Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania.

Tanzania's health ministry had previously discontinued HIV/AIDS services in about 40 clinics last year, citing that the establishments had promoted homosexuality.