Quarantine debates in Zanzibar conjure memories of colonial racial segregation

Racial segregation shaped public health policies

by

When the first case of COVID-19 was reported on March 8 in Zanzibar, East Africa, the government closed schools and banned unnecessary public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Authorities encouraged social distancing and 14-day quarantines among people who may have been exposed but did not order a full lockdown. In a show of due diligence, Second Vice President Seif Ali Iddi self-quarantined for 21 days upon his return from a diplomatic visit to Cuba. Several doctors also reportedly self-quarantined.

Yet, some members of the political opposition have questioned whether these measures are enough.

On Twitter, debates about the government's response to COVID-19 began to conjure up memories of colonial quarantining measures on the islands — which were often based on racial segregation. Zanzibar came under Omani rule in 1698, although the sultan’s power was seriously undermined when the British declared a protectorate over the isles in 1890.

On April 25, Ismail Jussa, an Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT) opposition party politician in Zanzibar’s House of Representatives, sparked a Twitter discussion about colonial quarantining measures after he condemned the government’s lackluster response to COVID-19.

Citing the British colonial administration’s successful efforts to curb the spread of the Spanish Flu in 1918 through an enforced quarantine, Jussa questioned why the government had not learned from its own history and enacted more forceful quarantining measures:

Original Quote