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A small group of gay rights activists amandla.mobi demonstrated on Friday in front of the Tanzanian High Commission, reported Rekord East.
The protesters called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to publicly condemn what they called "the Dar es Salaam attack on the civil liberties of queer Tanzanians".
They also called Ramaphosa to offer asylum to "those who risk being arrested because they are just what they are".
Faith Mathole, spokeswoman for amandla.mobi, said, "Paul Makonda [the regional commissioner of Dar es Salaam] had deployed a surveillance team to find queer people on social media. "
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Homosexuality is illegal in Tanzania and anti-gay action has intensified since the inauguration of President John Magufuli in 2015, she said.
"Queer people have been forced to hide their identity and their sexuality."
Makonda recently said in a statement, "I would rather upset these countries than God," in response to protests from other countries against the record of gay rights in Tanzania.
Mathole said: "Reports that 18,000 people were reported to the Tanzanian government have recently been reported.
"They even went so far as to close HIV clinics for their so-called promotion of homosexuality."
Clio Koopman, a member of the amandla.mobi campaign, said: "The situation in Tanzania has reached a critical point. Queers fear for their freedom.
"The South Africans could not sit back and let this anti-queer witch hunt continue.
"President Ramaphosa has recognized that the LGBTI community is one of the most vulnerable and marginalized people."
She was referring to Ramaphosa's November 2017 remarks at the Feather Awards "on the need to end the suffering, discrimination, violence and abuse of the queer community."
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"We must hold the president accountable for his commitments to the rights of homosexuals by demanding that he stand in solidarity with homosexuals in Tanzania.
"We understand the pain of not being able to be ourselves. We are telling the South African government that it is their responsibility to fight against blatant violations of human dignity. "
Koopman urged South Africans to add their name to the amandla.mobi mobisite campaign using this link.
Protesters say that there is enough homosexual mistreatment at the High Commission of Tanzania. Photo: Reitumetse Mahope
Protesters say that there is enough homosexual mistreatment at the High Commission of Tanzania. Photo: Reitumetse Mahope
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