Tanzania police announce creation of a surveillance squad whose job will be to identify gay people on social media and arrest them

Tanzanian police have announced the creation of a surveillance squad whose job will be to monitor people on social media, identify those that are gay, and arrest them.

Paul Makonda, the police regional commissioner for the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, said the 17-member team would comprise of state officials from the Tanzania Communications Authority, the police and media practitioners.

Their mandate would be to scrutinise social media platforms to identify people who engage in same-sex relationships.

At a news conference, Mr Makonda also appealed to city residents to delete any nude pictures from their phones, warning that strict measures would be taken against pornography.

He warned human rights groups that homosexuality was illegal in Tanzania.