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2019 RLLR 126

Citation: 2019 RLLR 126
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: March 21, 2019
Panel: S. Charow
Counsel for the Claimant(s): Micheal Brodzky
Country: Tanzania
RPD Number: TB8-08387
ATIP Number: A-2021-00256
ATIP Pages: 000054-000057


[1]       MEMBER: This is the decision for [XXX], file TB8-08387.

[2]       I’ve considered our testimony and the other evidence in this case and I’m ready to render my decision orally. In making this decision I’ve considered the guidelines for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

[3]       You’re claiming to be a citizen of Tanzania and are claiming refugee protection pursuant to Sections 96 and 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[4]       I find that you are Convention refugee for the following reasons.

[5]       The allegations of your claim can be found in your basis of claim form at Exhibit 2. In short, you allege persecution as a member of a particular social group, namely that you’re in danger of being harmed because of your identity as a bisexual Tanzanian man. A same sex sexual activity is illegal in Tanzania. You fear the police, as you’ve alleged that you had previously been attacked, kidnapped, and imprisoned for three months without facing any charges before your parents had arranged for your escape.

[6]       Your personal identity as a citizen of Tanzania has been established by your testimony about yourself and your family and the supporting documents filed in Exhibit 1 and 5, namely your birth certificate and your membership in the Zanzibar Football Association card.

[7]       In considering that with your otherwise or overall credible testimony, I find that you have established, on a balance of probabilities, your identity and country of reference.

[8]       Now, in terms of your general credibility, I have found you to be a very credible witness and I therefore accept what you’ve alleged in your oral testimony and in your basis of claim form. You testified in a straightforward manner about your fears without embellishment and there were no inconsistencies that went to the core of the claim that were not explained. Your testimony was spontaneous and you comfortably answered questions about events or emotions not described in your basis of claim form.

[9]       You also were able to describe in detail your previous same sex sexual experience in Tanzania, including how you met your partner, how the relationship progressed, and what you liked about your partner, as well as the struggles you faced while keeping your relationship secret and the subsequent negative interactions you had when people in your community suspected that you were gay and told your parents.

[10]     You were also able to give detailed testimony about being attacked, kidnapped, and imprisoned because of your sexual orientation. The evidence you gave was consistent with your previous description but added more detail in a way that I found to be very credible.

[11]     You also provided a letter from your mother who wrote about how you cannot come back to Tanzania and about your sexual orientation, and this letter can be found in Exhibit 5.

[12]     However, one of the things that I must consider is your delay in leaving Tanzania. You said that you had been released from prison in [XXX] 2016 but you did not leave for Canada until [XXX] 2017. When I asked you about this delay you explained that it had been your father who had been making the arrangements for you. I have considered this explanation in the context of your age, which is very young, you are 19 at this time, and your relative lack of sophistication, as you had not completed high school and had not travelled outside of the country before. When considering all of these factors together, I find that you’ve provided a reasonable explanation for this delay and I will not draw any negative inference about your credibility accordingly.

[13]     In consideration of all of that, I am therefore satisfied that you’ve established your sexual orientation as a bisexual man and that you would face persecution at the hands of either the Tanzanian government or your community should you return to Tanzania. I find that you’ve established your subjective fear.

[14]     I find that there is a link between what you fear and one of the five Convention grounds specifically that as a Tanzanian bisexual man you are a member of a particular social group because of your sexual orientation and therefore your claim has been assessed under Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

[15]     I further find that you have an objective basis for your fear because of the documented conditions for a Tanzanian. I refer to the national documentation package for Tanzania in Exhibit 3 specifically Section 6.1 and 6.3 which state that sexual acts between same sex couples are illegal in Tanzania.

[16]     Sources indicate that LGBT people in Tanzania have been subject to violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and that LGBTI people in Tanzania are vulnerable to various human rights violations, including but not limited to physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, and are denied access to justice, there’s eviction from housing and unfair dismissal from places of employment.

[17]     I further find that state protection would not be reasonably forthcoming in your case as same sex sexual activity is illegal in Tanzania. There is clear and convincing evidence that you could not access such state protection, nor would it be reasonable for you to request such state protection.

[18]     As well, given these conditions and the circumstances you’ve described in your claim, I further find that as homosexuality or same sex sexual activity is criminalized throughout the country there would be no safe place for you to be considering your sexual orientation.

[19]     As the test for an internal flight alternative fails on the first prong I find that there is no viable internal flight alternative for you anywhere in Tanzania based on the serious possibility of persecution anywhere in Tanzania.

[20]     Based on the totality of the evidence, I find the claimant to be a Convention refugee. Your claim is therefore accepted.

— DECISION CONCLUDED —