simple as people think. Perhaps we are not doing enough to raise awareness with members in sharing information on how we get funding, for instance proposal development.” – GALZ Staff Member. The effect of this speculation is dire for the organisation as it leads to staff members being isolated from the community they seek to serve. Some members in the community assume that the staff is already ‘out’ there, and because they are already known, they have nothing to lose but will be risking others. This has created mistrust within the community and some members vent their anger on staff that they do not like. A respondent in an in-depth interview had this to say: “But some personal relationships have been strained. We have people at the office who are also part of the community, and when something bad happens and people throw tantrums, it strains relationships. Some say that GALZ organized the raids and when the staff try to defend themselves, relations become strained. You end up with situations where some members point out certain individuals at GALZ they don’t want to be there.” – Member. The other dominant speculation within the LGBTI community points to infiltration by state security agencies at all levels, starting with staff members, the GALZ board and then the members themselves. The board and staff members are accused of being part of the state machinery that seeks to suppress the LGBTI community in Zimbabwe and thus provide 44 An Assessment of the impact of state sanctioned and unsanctioned raids on GALZ premises and gatherings