Punishing the Innocent: We Did Not Choose This — So Why Are We Punished?

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community in Tanzania, I want to speak honestly — not just as an advocate, but as a human being who has lived this truth.

In the story of our lives, we had no say in how we were created. None of us chose our skin, our heartbeat, or the truth within us. We did not choose to be LGBTQ+ — creation chose for us.

🌍 We are not a mistake. We are not a crime. We are not guilty.

And yet, in Tanzania, we are treated as if we are.

I’ve witnessed friends arrested for simply loving who they love. I’ve seen people beaten, rejected, and forced into hiding — not because they did anything wrong, but because they were born different. I have lived with the fear of being discovered, exposed, punished — all for something I never asked for.

🌈 We Were Born This Way — Just Like Everyone Else

No one is asked before birth what body they will inhabit, what love will live in their heart, or what gender will feel like home. LGBTQ+ people are no different.

We were not consulted.

We did not choose this.

We simply woke up into ourselves — the same way everyone does.

But while others are allowed to grow and live freely, we are punished for our existence.

• Arrested for who we love
• Rejected by our families
• Shamed by our communities
• Abused, threatened, and forced into hiding

And all for what? For something we never chose, and can never change.

🛑 This Is Not Justice — It Is Cruelty

What kind of justice punishes people for how they were created?

What kind of law treats love and identity as crimes?

If we had no power in becoming who we are, why are we held responsible for it?

It is like blaming a tree for the shape of its branches. Like hating a bird for the song it sings. Like arresting the rain because it fell.

We are nature’s children — not criminals.

📣 Our Message Is Simple: We Are Innocent

We are not guilty of any wrongdoing.

We are not asking to be special.

We are asking to live without fear. To walk in daylight. To love without hiding. To exist without apology.

Because we were born this way. Because creation did not ask us first. Because being LGBTQ+ is not a choice — it’s a truth.

✊🏽 A Call to Conscience and Leadership

To our leaders, families, faith communities, and neighbors:

Stop punishing us for something we did not and could not choose.

We deserve protection, not persecution. We deserve rights, not rejection. We deserve freedom, not fear.

Tanzania can be a nation where all people — in all their diversity — are treated with dignity.

Let us make space for justice that recognizes the innocence of creation.

We did not choose to be LGBTQ+ — but we do choose to live. And we ask you to choose humanity, justice, and love.