If homosexuality existed at all, it existed on the fringe and was not encouraged. That is the kind of heritage we still want today. A recent fund-raiser for Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe, or GALZ, the country's only politically oriented gay rights organization, was canceled after an organizer was beaten up at a nightclub where the event was to be held. We are very much in the Dark Ages here. Extortion Attempts Members of GALZ also report a spate of extortion attempts, with both strangers and casual acquaintances threatening to report sodomy charges to the police if they are not paid to keep silent.
Sodomy is illegal and can carry a penalty of two years in prison.
Goddard says he never shared an intimate relationship with his accuser, Siphephile Vuma, who has been charged with extortion. Vuma alleges that Goddard sodomized him three times at gunpoint. People are desperately frightened. They are now worried even about their sexuality becoming known. The growing public intolerance has led to disagreements within GALZ, with many members unhappy about its high political profile.