Sexual Orientation in Tanzania: Same sex marriage ‘is repulsive’

Written by ORTON KIISHWEKO 

THE issue of same sex marriage has been rejected by citizens contributing their views in the on-going collection exercise by the Constitution Review Commission here.

Speaking at various meetings in Kiloboi, Uleno, Kaselya in Iramba district and in Nduguti, Gumanga, Kinampanda and Mwangeza in Mkalama district over the weekend, the subject of same sex marriage received the wrath from contributors who said that the next constitution should put it clear that same sex marriage is a crime.

First on line was Jackson Sifaeli, a 43-year-old pastor at Kaselya Village, in Iramba District, who said that the constitution should be explicit about same sex marriage as a top crime should be clear about that without ambiguities. “It is true we want a more democratic constitution, but we can’t live in a democracy that does not fit in our cultural values,” he said, adding: “Let the government be careful about this.

The foundations of our cultural values should be enshrined in the constitution.” He said he was not making the constitution captive to his own religious beliefs, but according to the cultural framework where Tanzanians generally come from. Tatu Juma Senge, a 50-year-old farmer at Kaselya, said the next constitution should be against same sex marriages, because they are not a part of what it means to be Tanzanian.

“We shall not like what the next generation shall turn out to be if we do not clearly state that those acts are criminal. This is not apart of us and should be criminal in the constitution,” he said. Another farmer at Gumanga Vil lage in Mkalama district, Godwin Mkumbo, 57 also said that same sex marriage should be highlighted by the constitution as one of the worst crimes, because the act would turn around moral values of the Tanzanian society if not highlighted as criminal right from the constitution.

For Juma Issa, 73, a farmer in Kaselya village, said their community was against same sex marriage and therefore, the Constitution should criminalize this. Edward Silas, a 45-year-old farmer at Kinampanda, was concerned about the next generation, noting that same sex marriages should not be allowed in their communities and raised an alarm that the fresh generation was under threat by such acts.

The unity in rejecting the practice went on with 82-year-old Iga Mpozi, a farmer at Kinampanda in Iramba District, who said that same sex marriages should be rejected. Fanuel Kumla, a 54-year-old farmer at Nkungu Village in Gumanga Ward, said that it is not part of Tanzanian culture to embrace same sex marriages and that the constitution should be critical on the practice.

Source: Daily News (15/10/2012): http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/10520-same-sex-marriage-is-repulsive