Today, let us look into how outdated colonial laws continue to shape the suffering of LGBTQ+ people in Tanzania — and how Pride Month, along with 16 years of LGBT Voice Tanzania, reminds us why we must fight to heal and reclaim our future.
Colonial Laws: A Legacy of Harm
Tanzania gained independence more than six decades ago — but LGBTQ+ people are still not free.
We are still governed by laws that were never ours. Laws that were brought here by British colonial rule to police morality and enforce control. These are the very laws that criminalize LGBTQ+ lives today.
Under the Tanzanian Penal Code, Cap. 16, three specific sections are still used to persecute LGBTQ+ people:
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Section 154 – Unnatural Offences
Punishable by life imprisonment for “carnal knowledge against the order of nature.” -
Section 155 – Attempts to Commit Unnatural Offences
Punishable by up to 14 years. -
Section 157 – Indecent Practices Between Males
Punishable by up to 5 years, even for consensual private acts.
These laws — inherited from British rule — were never rooted in African traditions of diversity or community. And yet, today, they are used to:
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Expel students from school.
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Justify disownment by families.
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Deny healthcare at hospitals.
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Enable police harassment and extortion.
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Silence survivors of violence and abuse.
They have created a society where being LGBTQ+ means living in fear. And that fear is not cultural — it is colonial.
Pride Month: More Than a Celebration
Each June, the world celebrates Pride Month — a time to honor LGBTQ+ visibility, resilience, and the ongoing fight for equality.
But in Tanzania, Pride is not about parades. It is about survival. It is about finding courage in a country that calls our existence illegal. It is about affirming our humanity in the face of rejection.
Pride here means:
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Protecting each other when the state turns away.
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Rebuilding lives torn apart by law and stigma.
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Speaking out even when it is dangerous.
This month, while others celebrate, we mobilize. We tell the truth. We ask the world to see us, to stand with us, and to understand that our fight is not over — because the law still sees us as criminals.
16 Years of Resistance: LGBT Voice Tanzania
This Pride Month also marks 16 years since LGBT Voice Tanzania was founded.
For 16 years, we’ve stood on the frontlines:
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Rescuing LGBTQ+ youth from the streets.
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Offering emergency shelter and food.
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Providing mental health support and referrals.
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Advocating nationally and internationally for change.
We’ve walked alongside those who were beaten, abandoned, and afraid. We’ve buried some. We’ve helped others rise again.
We’ve done this with no government support, no grants, only the compassion of individual allies who believe that being LGBTQ+ should never mean being punished, abused, or erased.
The Path to Healing
To heal our community, we must confront the root causes of harm. That means:
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Repealing Sections 154, 155, and 157
These laws must go. Our existence should never be a crime. -
Educating the Public
We must dismantle colonial myths and affirm that queerness is not foreign — it is African, too. -
Protecting Human Rights
LGBTQ+ Tanzanians deserve safety, health, and justice like everyone else. -
Building Safe, Inclusive Communities
Healing means housing, counseling, solidarity, and support. -
Global Solidarity
The international community must not look away. This is a fight for basic human rights.
A Future Without Fear
Colonial laws may have been written long ago, but their impact is deeply felt every day in Tanzania. Pride Month reminds us that the fight for freedom is global — and ongoing. Our 16 years of work remind us that change is possible — but only if we keep going.
This is a call to all who believe in justice, equality, and dignity:
Stand with us. Speak out. Donate if you can. Share this story. Break the silence.
Because Pride in Tanzania is a protest.
Because our existence is resistance.
Because freedom cannot wait another generation.
