Tanzanian regional boss who vowed to publish names of all married men banned from entering US

By Reuters and Brian Okoth

The United States said on Friday it banned from visiting the country a Tanzanian official who announced a crackdown on homosexuality in Dar es Salaam in 2018.

The U.S. State Department said it was taking the action against Paul Makonda, administrative chief of the Tanzania capital, “due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, which include the flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of persons.”

It said Makonda, the Dar es Salaam regional commissioner, had “also been implicated in oppression of the political opposition, crack-downs on freedom of expression and association, and the targeting of marginalized individuals.”

The move bars Makonda and his immediate family members from visiting the United States.

The State Department declined say what specific action by Makonda brought about the designation, but expressed “deep concern about deteriorating respect for human rights and rule of law in Tanzania.”

Makonda announced in 2018 that a special committee would seek to identify and punish homosexuals, prostitutes and online fraudsters in the city.

The U.S. embassy in Tanzania responded at the time by warning U.S. citizens in Tanzania to be cautious and to review their social media profiles and Internet footprints.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli cracked down on homosexuality after winning power in 2015, and a conviction for having “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” could lead to a sentence of up to 30 years in jail.

Under Magufuli, Tanzania has also tightened control of the media and civil society, shutting some newspapers, arresting opposition leaders and restricting political rallies.

Magufuli’s government denies restricting media freedom and cracking down on democracy and human rights.

Married men’s names on State-owned website

On August 12, 2019, Paul Makonda, said he and the Dar es Salaam provincial top administration were mulling over an idea of publishing the identities of all married men to a website run by a State agency in a bid to stop deceitful married men from sexually preying on unsuspecting single women.

Makonda said the proposal, if adopted, will save many young women in Dar es Salaam from “unnecessary heartbreaks”.

“I have received a lot of complaints from young women. Many women from Dar es Salaam region have been deceived many times, and they have had enough. Men have been promising to marry them, then later, they [men] ditch the ladies. This is something that is humiliating,” Makonda said on August 12, 2019 at his office in the commercial capital.

“These cunning men have left many women nursing heartbreaks and emotional bruises. You’ll find a young man successfully wooing a woman, making her leave every other thing that she does, hoping that the man will marry her, not knowing that he is, indeed, conning her.

“If you look at the laws that we have in the country, there is a clause that protects women, who were promised marriages, only to be used and dumped. We want to use that clause to bring sanity in relationships.

“I cannot say I am a leader, when the people I look after are hurting.

“One of the ideas that we have is to have all the married people register their marital statuses with the region’s database agency. This will help young women promised marriages. It would be easy for them to access the database and find out whether the men who have promised to marry them are people’s husbands or not. In that database, all the marriages, including Christian, customary, Muslim, those filed at the registrar of marriages, will be registered.

“We want to reduce the cases of men conning women in the name of love and marriages.

“We are planning to meet the State agency in charge of the citizens’ database. Once that meeting is done, you, who lied to a woman that you will marry her, but ended up using and dumping her, be prepared, we are coming for you.”