Zanzibar lawmakers outlaw gay sex

Zanzibar, Tanzania

Lawmakers in Zanzibar have overwhelmingly passed a Bill that outlaws homosexual sex in the semiautonomous Indian Ocean archipelago.

Legislators approved the Bill late on Tuesday, amending Zanzibar's 70-year-old penal code to make gay sex punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

The Bill has to be signed by Zanzibar's President Amani Karume before it becomes law.

Under Zanzibar's 1934 penal code, sodomy and "unnatural acts" were offences, but the government wanted to update the law to specifically deal with homosexual acts.

"We want to be very specific that this sort of thing is not acceptable in Zanzibar ... people tend to think why now, Zanzibar is predominantly Muslim country and in Islam homosexuality is strictly prohibited," said Adam Mwakanjuki, Zanzibar's Constitutional Affairs Minister.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=34144

Gee i've been scuba diving there twice the only way this island survives is through tourism. This will end up diverting tourist dollars to the Kenyan coast instead.

The Pubs will flock to the place now that it's a Gay Free Zone! Hell, maybe they'll even move there.

Oooh...suddenly I'm in my warm, happy place...