Tanzania bans song 'promoting Aids'

Some say the song opposes forced marriages

Tanzanian authorities say they have banned a popular dance song which they claim has been promoting the spread of Aids.

Music lovers say the song is meant to educate people about the disease.

Give me Aids, give me Aids, give me Aids, so that I can suffer with it

Verse from banned song

Government officials say the song, in the national language Swahili, contains a verse that has been inciting people to go out and catch the disease.

An estimated two million of Tanzania's 32 million people are said to be infected with HIV - the virus that causes Aids.

But the BBC's John Ngahyoma in Dar es Salaam says there seems to be confusion over the true message of the song which has become popular with music lovers in the capital.

He says that residents insist the song was meant to scare people from forced marriages - a practice prevalent among the Wazaramu ethnic group living in Tanzania's coastal region.

Taarab dance

They say that young women forced into marriages have been infected with the disease by their older husbands.

The authorities say that the song is undermining the country's campaign to fight the disease.

Many Tanzanians love to sing and dance

"We believe the song contains a message that goes against efforts to fight Aids," Shogholo Chali, executive secretary of Tanzania's National Arts Council, told the AP news agency in Dar es Salaam.

Mr Chali said the song by the local group, Young Stars Modern Taraab, contains a verse that says: "Give me Aids, give me Aids, give me Aids, so that I can suffer with it."

Taraab is a popular dance style along the East African coast - sometimes with very intimate movements.

Mockery

Mr Chali said the government was not considering legal action against the group, but would do so if the group refused to accept the ban.

He said the ban meant that the three-month old song cannot be aired on radio or television stations or performed in concerts.

Its distribution and sale has also been outlawed.

However, our correspondent says the song, available on cassettes, is still being played in residential areas and at private functions like weddings.

Earlier this month, the song was mentioned in parliament for making a mockery of the fight against Aids.