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TThe European Union on Monday recalled its ambassador to Tanzania, as police planned to hunt down and jail homosexuals in the country's largest city, provoking international outrage.
A 17-member committee tasked with identifying and locating homosexual men in Dar es Salaam is expected to begin work this week after it begins collecting potential names of homosexuals from members of the general public.
The city's regional commissioner, Paul Makonda, said that he had identified more than 200 suspects after encouraging residents to inform their neighbors and search the social networking accounts of their friends for signs of homosexual behavior.
There was no immediate report of detentions on Monday, while the operation was to begin, and the Tanzanian government, perhaps responding to Western pressure, is trying to stand out from the operation.
"The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania wishes to make it clear that these are [Makonda’s] not the position of the government, "said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Everyone will not be convinced. As a regional commissioner, Mr. Makonda was directly appointed by Tanzanian President John Magufuli to a position whose legal job description is to carry out government policy.
As a close and powerful ally of the president, Makonda is unlikely to carry out his own renegade policy, observers said.
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