Senegal adds 35 arrests to its ongoing anti-gay repression
13 Senegal arrestees are HIV+ but only 3 are getting treatment.
Police in Tambacounda, eastern Senegal, continued the nation’s wave of anti-LGBT repression with the arrest of 35 people on homosexuality charges, Senegal media reported on Oct. 12.
Police said the group included a wide range of citizens — four school-age students, two university students, two high school teachers, four healthcare workers, a businessman, a development worker and a tailor.
Senenews stated, “This diversity intrigues investigators, who are trying to understand how this network was formed and operated”.
Consistent with the common belief among Senegal media and law enforcement that LGBT people conspire to involve others in their sexual practices, Seneweb reported.that the group were an “organized criminal network specializing in acts against nature”.
The arrests are the latest in an ongoing wave of hundreds of anti-LGBT arrests that have occurred both before and after Senegal enacted a harsher anti-homosexuality law on March 31, 2026.
Police in Tambacounda said they were investigating several arrestees’ statements that they had sexual relations with a uniformed officer, who was not arrested.
Police apparently had all 35 arrestees tested for HIV, with the result that 13 of them tested HIV-positive. Of those, investigators reported, only three of them are currently receiving medical care and antiretroviral treatment.
Many in Senegal apparently believe the nation’s anti-LGBT crackdown will result in improved public health. As Senenews reported: The investigation is continuing actively under the supervision of the relevant authorities to identify any accomplices and trace contacts, in order to prevent any further spread of the disease.
