Lionel Girezha, Gay Zimbabwe Man, Faces Anti-Gay Nightmare

He walks with a sturdy strut. Oblivious that this cold winter afternoon thrusts its devilish chill onto his skin, much of it bare. He cannot afford a jersey to warm himself. In fact, he can afford precious little. It has been nearly two years since he was declared persona non grata in his own country and blacklisted by several employers.

Those who sympathise with him are not brave enough to offer him a job that will put food on his lap. The food can never be on his table. He doesn’t own a table.

The grey clouds on this winter’s day seem to epitomise his life — a gloomy existence.

Ever since Lionel Girezha was attacked, arrested, harassed, imprisoned and dragged before the courts for having consensual sex with a partner he had met at a party, the young Zimbabwean man has been facing persecution as he waits for his legal nightmare to end. He doesn’t seem likely to wake up from that horror anytime soon.

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