Cameroon holding queer couple in prison. You can help.
Mojo and Asa have been in prison in Cameroon for four months
By Steeves Winner
In January, two young queer men hauling freight from the Central African Republic found to their dismay that their route took them into a Cameroonian prison.
Mojo and Asa (pseudonyms) are two of 12 innocent LGBTQ prisoners in Cameroon and Nigeria whom Project Not Alone 2025 aims to set free. Please donate to end their misery.
Originally from the Central African Republic, they have been working together for two years. One works as a courier, while the other is a driver. They transport goods between Cameroon and the Central African Republic along a route passing through the town of Bertoua, Cameroon.
Mojo is tall with a dark complexion, a medium build, and light brown eyes. Asa, on the other hand, is frail and has a slightly light complexion.
Both say they were making a decent living from their work until this incident landed us in prison.
They were arrested by gendarmerie officers on Jan 28 around 11pm while their truck was parked. According to their own statement, the two men were caught having sexual intercourse in the back of the truck.
“It was getting late, and my partner and I were desperate”, Mojo said. “Finding ourselves in the middle of the street in a remote area, we decided to do it by getting into the back of the truck. It was during the act that my partner’s moans alerted the gendarme patrol passing by. Our families and friends were not informed of our incarceration in Cameroon, and we have no way of contacting them. When we were arrested, our phones were seized, along with everything we owned.”
Under Cameroon’s Penal Code, same-sex sexual relations are illegal, with penalties ranging from six months to five years, plus a fine. The law applies to both men and women, and has been used against trans people.
The men do not have a lawyer to defend them.
They were summoned twice by the judge, who ordered them to pay 2,000,000 CFA francs (approximately US $3,200) for their release or face a five-year prison sentence.
They remain in prison awaiting their next court appearance.
Project Not Alone aims to free a dozen innocent queer people from prisons in Cameroon and Nigeria, where they are being held simply because of who they love. They are raising money to help pay the fines these people cannot afford to pay, so they can regain their freedom.
So far, Project Not Alone has won early release for 46 gay, lesbian and trans prisoners in Cameroon and Nigeria from 2019 through 2024. This year, we aim to free 12 victims of anti-LGBTQ repression, including Mojo and Asa.
Project Not Alone is hoping to raise a total of $12,861, which will pay the prisoners’ fines and related expenses and purchase hygiene supplies and supplementary food for them while they await release from unsanitary prisons where they are typically undernourished.
To help free Mojo and Asa, make a U.S. tax-deductible donation to Project Not Alone 2025 via:
