to be a paramilitary wing used during political campaigns to forcibly advance the interests of the ruling party. One such incident occurred when the youth militia raided the GALZ centre. They threatened the security guard and took advantage of a car that was going out of the premises to force their way in disturb a meeting that was going on. They took laptops, mobile phones and other valuable property they could carry. However, when such incidents happen, GALZ officers call the nearby police station who at times responds quickly to arrest the culprits. However, when they start handling the issue and discover that the complainant is GALZ, the matter dies a natural death. The accused are also often released without having their day in court. There have also been incidences were unidentified people call, threaten and shout from outside the GALZ premises, threatening to close the place, burn it down or other heinous activities. The most recent attack by unidentified people happened in December 2014, when GALZ was having an end of year party and Miss Diversity pageant. A group of about twelve unidentified men came in armed with logs and other objects, and started assaulting the patrons for no reason. The attackers also searched and took away valuable items from the patrons. The assailants have never been caught or identified. Some speculate that since the attack had been well timed and coordinated, it could have been state security officials who took advantage of the prevailing homophobic environment to perpetrate violence on GALZ and its members. Others seem to believe that it was the youth militia. Figure 5 15 An Assessment of the impact of state sanctioned and unsanctioned raids on GALZ premises and gatherings