By James Wandera Ouma
“Justice is not merely written in law—it is measured in how the law is applied.”
In Tanzania today, a troubling contradiction persists. While public discourse often frames homosexuality as criminal, the legal reality is more nuanced. Yet, enforcement practices frequently operate as though identity itself is punishable. This disconnect between law and enforcement has created an environment where LGBTQ+ individuals are subjected to arrest, detention, and, in documented cases, torture—without a clear legal basis tied to their identity alone.
As an LGBTQ+ rights advocate, I raise a fundamental question: What justifies the use of state power against individuals who have not committed a legally defined crime?
Across the country, LGBTQ+ Tanzanians face a pattern of systemic abuse that extends far beyond the justice system. Many lose employment without recourse. Others are expelled from educational institutions, evicted from housing, or denied access to essential services. These are not isolated incidents; they form a broader structure of exclusion reinforced by fear.
“We are not asking for special rights—we are asking for the same legal protections already promised to every citizen.”
The Constitution of Tanzania guarantees fundamental rights, including dignity, equality before the law, and protection from inhuman and degrading treatment. At the international level, Tanzania is a signatory to key human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). These frameworks explicitly prohibit arbitrary detention, discrimination, and torture.
Yet, for LGBTQ+ individuals, these protections often remain theoretical.
“When enforcement ignores the law, the rule of law itself is weakened.”
Arbitrary arrests and unlawful detentions are not only violations of individual rights; they represent a broader erosion of legal integrity. The selective application of justice undermines public trust in institutions and raises serious concerns about accountability.
Even more concerning are reports of torture and other forms of state violence. Such practices are unequivocally prohibited under both domestic constitutional principles and international law. Their persistence signals not just isolated misconduct, but potential systemic failure.
“No one should have to choose between their identity and their safety.”
The human cost of this environment is profound. Living under constant threat forces individuals into silence and invisibility. It disrupts livelihoods, fractures communities, and perpetuates cycles of marginalization. Fear becomes a daily condition, rather than an occasional risk.
This is neither sustainable nor lawful.
Reform must operate on two levels. First, there is a clear need for legal clarity and reform to eliminate ambiguities that enable discriminatory enforcement. Second—and more urgently—there must be an immediate end to arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, and torture of LGBTQ+ individuals.
A state committed to the rule of law cannot afford selective justice.
“The true test of a legal system is not how it treats the powerful, but how it protects the most vulnerable.”
The question facing Tanzania is not whether these issues exist; evidence and lived experiences have already answered that. The real question is whether there is sufficient political and institutional will to address them.
Until then, LGBTQ+ Tanzanians will continue to navigate a system where their rights are recognized in principle, but denied in practice.
And that contradiction demands resolution.
