zimbabwe arrests man uk granted asylum as gay

By 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff

April 30, 2005: A Zimbabwean man who was granted asylum in Britain after he told authorities he would be persecuted in his homeland because he is gay has been jailed after reentering the African nation.

Zimbabwe state radio reported Saturday that Samson Chifamba, 27, had been arrested and faces trial for re-entering the country illegally.

Chifamba appeared in court in the town of Karoi, 200 miles northwest of the capital Harare, according to the broadcast, and was remanded in custody until May 10.
The report said that Chifamba had been traveling on a British passport, but, as in the case of all people granted asylum in the UK the passport had an exclusion for his home country.

Prosecutors claim that Chifamba had made a false claim when he told UK authorities on March 18, 2003 that his "human rights were threatened in Zimbabwe by being denied his right to practice as a gay."

They also claim, according to the broadcast reports, that under police interrogation Chifamba admitted he only wanted to gain employment in Britain and had a wife and child there.

According to prosecutors Chifamba returned to Zimbabwe to visit family and inspect investments he had made.

Whether his "confession" is true or not cannot be independently verified. Nor is it known if it had been given voluntarily or had been coerced.

Zimbabwe police have a long history of beating prisoners to exact the confession the government wants. Gay are routinely rounded up and jailed.

In 1996 President Robert Mugabe ordered the arrest of homosexuals saying they were "lower than pigs or dogs" and "had no rights at all."

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change believes up to 400,000 Zimbabweans are living in Britain, many of them illegally after going there in the guise of tourists.

Last year, British LGBT rights advocate Peter Tatchell attempted to get an arrest warrant for Mugabe on charges of crimes against humanity. (story) A judge refused citing international law which denies prosecuting leaders of foreign countries while they are still in office.