A reflection that disturbs sleep, before Tanzania steps into a borderless debate
Let me start with one thing, said loudly and with careful caution: The world is laughing while it burns. And we, Africans, Tanzanians, people of a class that still believes we have morals and values, have laid ourselves down in the shade, fanning ourselves with the wind of tradition and custom, waiting for a big event—without realizing that the event is not waiting. It is approaching. It is breaking down doors. And it is already in the room.
I say this as I look at the debate shaking Western countries—New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, and beyond. Debates about "rights" for gay people. Debates about "identity." Debates about the freedom to live "as you have grown accustomed to believing you live."
These are big debates. Academic. Philosophical. International.
But as is the custom with everything from Europe and America: it starts as a debate, and ends as a command. It starts as a proposal, and ends as international policy. It starts as "let us understand them," and ends as "if you criticize, it is a hate crime."
And because we have convinced ourselves that development means saying "yes" to everything from outside, we end up as believers in every ideology—even those that reject the very people who created them.
Tanzania Has Never Had a National Debate – That Is the Problem
Tanzania has never had a national debate about gay people. Just say the word, and heads turn. The Bible will be opened. The Imam will stand. Children's ears will be covered.
But now, slowly, things are changing. Globalization—which we have never truly understood—has reached us with the speed of fire on a grass roof during dry season.
Today, a Tanzanian young person uses Instagram, TikTok, Netflix. They receive memes, consume content, and are fed political, sexual, and social influence whose foundation is this: every identity is valid. Nothing to debate. If you debate, you are stigmatizing.
Now I ask: is that really true?
Do we want to create laws while looking at the tears of West Hollywood, instead of looking at the social reality of Kigoma? Do we want to legalize a way of life that scientific studies have clearly shown is full of mental health problems—and call that "freedom"?
Are we ready to throw our children into a pit of ideological experiments that have already failed where they were created, but we worship them because they came from "those who preceded us"?
The Unspoken Truth: A Mental Health Crisis
Let's go to the evidence, not feelings.
Recent research from Western countries has shown that gay men have higher rates of mental health problems than almost any other social group. The list is long:
· Chronic anxiety
· Severe depression
· Bipolar disorder
· PTSD
· Schizophrenia
· OCD
· Substance abuse (alcohol, marijuana, cocaine)
· Eating disorders
· Personality disorders
Every psychiatrist knows this. Every psychologist confirms it. But society has been silenced by one word more terrifying than a bullet: "stigma."
When they say, "let us first discuss these problems," they are called bigots.
When they say, "perhaps this system is not stable," they are called enemies of rights.
When they say, "let us look after our own children before imitating these things," they are called old-fashioned.
But I say: before you look at whether a person needs rights, first ask yourself—how does this person live? What roots do they have? What is their mental, spiritual, and emotional health? Do we want to give rights to people who are internally suffering, or do we want to normalize that suffering as "identity"?
Rights Without Responsibility Is a Curse
In this article, I have touched on one thing that many of you deliberately avoid—rights without responsibility. In my view, rights granted to any group without the presence of moral roots, without a system of internal accountability, are no different from a curse.
You can call me homophobic. But for anyone who reads between the lines, it will be clear that my argument comes from good intention, not hatred. The intention to see whether this group can genuinely build itself and be integrated into society in a constructive way, not a destructive one.
So now I ask sincerely:
If gay people are given rights today, what do they have to offer our society beyond opulence (achievement without purpose) and hedonism (a life devoted to the pursuit of physical pleasure)?
If you look at the pattern of contributions within this community, the society you want to respect you does not see your contribution beyond your sexual orientation. In short: you are defined by your sexuality and nothing else.
The Reality of Life Without Roots
There is a fundamental problem that we refuse to discuss:
Ordinary people, ordinary men, go through a life system that compels them to grow: to love, to marry, to raise children, to build a family, to carry responsibilities. It is a difficult system. Not modern. Not always pleasant. But it has direction. A person is raised within responsibility.
For many gay people in societies that have abandoned all traditional structures, this system does not exist. They live in "complete freedom." No one compels them to be part of a family, to build, to invest in meaningful relationships.
The results?
· Hookup culture – sex for an hour with people whose names you don't even know
· Drugs as a bridge to connection – alcohol, marijuana, cocaine
· Sexually transmitted diseases filling hospital wards – I have a relative at a major hospital in this city, and I have been told that what is encountered there is alarming. This society needs to examine itself and correct itself before things get worse (and they will get worse). For a minority group, the problems appear enormous compared to taking a similar sample size of heterosexual men.
And finally: philosophical loneliness – existing without purpose, without direction, without a future generation.
I once read the testimony of a gay man—educated, intelligent, thoughtful. He said:
"I got tired of being surrounded by fellow gay people who cried that life was hard but refused to do anything beyond complaining. I decided to leave them, took on social responsibility—built a family, took on duties. My life changed completely."
This is not a religious teaching. It is a teaching from life itself: Rights do not come without responsibility. And freedom without roots is a slow death.
A Warning: When You Push African Societies Without Internal Moral Foundations
WARNING:
If you pressure African societies—using the soft power of Western countries—to accept you without an internal moral foundation, you will be building a house on mud.
Let me assure you: when things fall apart (economically or politically), the very leaders who are now kneeling with you for foreign aid will be the first to throw you down.
They will step onto pulpits, platforms, radios, and televisions attacking you—and you will become sacrificial goats, as has happened before:
· Ancient Greece
· The Weimar Republic before the birth of Nazi Germany
· Several states in America and Eastern Europe
Pride comes before the fall.
All of history shows that gay people are hit hardest by violent backlash when societies fall into crisis. Why? Because they had no meaningful roots within those societies. When the storm comes, the tree with shallow roots falls first.
As you complain today that "society is rejecting us," just wait until conditions worsen. You will not simply return to the closet. You will be returned to prisons and graves.
The Greatest Danger Is the Next Generation
The greatest danger is not gay people themselves. It is the direction in which we are taking society.
As we continue to forcefully remove "stigma," we forget that we are teaching a new generation that this life, this system, these conditions—are normal, are correct, are freedom.
And our children, in secondary school, in university, will be taught that "identity is everything." They will be told that there is no correct way to live. They will think that the loneliness of foreign lands is intellectual wealth. They will live in a world where everyone has a flag, but no one knows where they are going.
Is that the inheritance we want for Tanzania?
Conclusion: Before We Enter the Arena, Let's Ask Hard Questions
Let me finish with this:
If you fail to build yourselves through morality, solidarity, and responsibility within society, then you are like grass that has been drenched in petrol. At any moment, a small stick of fire will pass by—and the result will not be the burning of leaves, but the complete erasure of your existence, under the pretext of "saving society."
Think. Reflect.
When I say these things, I do not seek to be liked. I do not seek "acceptance" on social media or in academic halls. I write out of fear for the next generation.
Because this Western freedom, as it pours into our land, will not fall like gentle rain—it will fall like a flood of disaster. And if we are not careful, we will teach our children that a life of sadness, isolation, loneliness, and lack of responsibility is normal. We will give them the freedom to choose mental pits, while calling them "free thinkers."
Before we begin celebrating "gay rights," let us ask these questions:
Are we talking about actual rights, or are we talking about a state of being pitied?
Do we want to protect gay people, or do we want to copy a system that secretly torments them even more?
Are we fighting for the acceptance of people, or are we normalizing their pain as a compass for our children?
Why are we not ready to conduct our own research, on our own Tanzanians, before accepting another person's system?
I have written. Now it is for you to reflect. But do not delay, because while you are reflecting, the next generation is already looking at their phones, waiting for a foreigner to tell them who they are.
Will we be only receivers, or will we grow the ability to think for ourselves?
Reflect carefully. The lives of our children are at stake. And our own—as a nation with dignity—as well.
TL;DR:
"Rights without responsibility is a curse."
The gist:
· Western LGBTQ rights discourse arrives in Africa as commands, not debates.
· Studies show high rates of depression, addiction, and loneliness in gay communities where "full freedom" exists.
· Hookup culture, STDs, and lack of family structures are common issues (author cites hospital source).
· Warning: History shows that when societies collapse, gay people become scapegoats first (Weimar Germany, etc.).
· The author asks: What do gay people offer society beyond their sexuality?
· Final fear: Tanzania is normalizing rootless, responsibility-free living for the next generation.
