ISEBANIA, Tanzania (RNS) — As he gulped water and sat tired in the shade of a harsh sun in this northern town of Tanzania, Joseph Omar said he was crossing the border to seek a safe haven in neighboring Kenya after the government began to arrest suspected homosexuals in his country.

“I’m fearing for my life — they don’t want us to stay here,” said Omar, 28. “The gay community is very scared because police are breaking into homes of suspected homosexuals and arresting them. I don’t want to be the next person. I’m going into hiding.”

Omar is among hundreds of gay and transgender people in this East African nation who are increasingly fleeing to neighboring countries after authorities urged the public in October to report the names of suspected homosexuals to police so they can be detained.

In early November, 10 men were arrested on the island of Zanzibar on suspicion of being gay. Police said the public reported a planned gay wedding at a resort hotel at Pongwe Beach on Africa’s east coast.

The arrests and panic within the gay community come days after Paul Makonda, governor of the economic capital Dar es Salaam, formed a police squad to hunt down gay people and urged the public to report suspected homosexuals. Read more via Religion News