Cameroon police arrest and imprison 5 men for suspected homosexuality
Police tracked them down by using a detainee’s telephone without a warrant
Police in Yaoundé, Cameroon, have charged five men with homosexual activity on the basis of texts and social media links they discovered on one man’s telephone, which they seized and searched without a warrant. All five are currently in Yaoundé-Kondengui Central Prison awaiting a Nov. 3 court hearing.
As described by local LGBTQI advocates, the Cameroon police action began on Sept. 30, when officers from the Éfoulan Brigade in Yaoundé arrested Ndjonguoe Alexandre Dilan, 25, on suspicion of committing homosexual acts.
At first, they offered to release him if he paid a bribe of 100,000 CFA francs (about U.S. $177). When he couldn’t pay, they took his phone and questioned him about his private life with no lawyer present.
While police searched his phone, they held Ndjonguoe in custody. Then, between Oct. 3 and 6, police arrested four other men:
- Manga Akini, 36;
- Souley Babanya Bachirou, 29;
- Tchatchou Liverin, 41; and
- Bachimbe Fidel, 33 (a Congolese national who was a part-time teacher at the Victory Education Center, Mimboman Château.).
All five men were then transferred to the Yaoundé Central Prison. On Oct. 7, the men appeared before the prosecutor of the Central Court, but no trial was held. A hearing was postponed to Nov. 3, pending negotiations.
In the meantime, they remain in prison.
Under Cameroonian law, homosexual activity is punishable by prison terms of six months to five years.
One of the imprisoned men is married and each of them previously had a job that allowed him to support his family, . Before the arrests, none of their families knew their sexual orientations.
LGBTQI advocates say that police and court officials committed serious breaches of privacy and fundamental rights, including illegal surveillance, misuse of personal data, and judicial proceedings in violation of legal guarantees such as the right to a lawyer. These abuses threaten individuals’ dignity, liberty, and security, the advocates say..
A legal clinic run by the LGBTQI advocacy group SOS Solidarity would have provided an attorney for the imprisoned men, but funding for that clinic recently ended.
