Generous readers helped free two imprisoned LGBTQ truck drivers
Project Not Alone finds and frees innocent LGBTQ victims of African homophobia
On Jan. 28, 2025, at around 11 p.m., two long-distance truck drivers were arrested by members of the Cameroonian gendarmerie while their truck was parked in a rest area near Bertoua, Cameroon. According to law enforcement, the two men were caught having sex in the back of the vehicle.
The two men (identified here with pseudonyms for the safety) were the main driver, Mojo, age 30, and his assistant, Asa, age 29.
Both were from the Central African Republic and had no family support in Cameroon. After their arrest, they were incarcerated in Bertoua prison — without a trial, without a lawyer, and without visitors.
They were charged with homosexual activity, which is punishable by up to five years in prison under Article 347-1 of the Cameroonian Penal Code.
They came to the attention of an Erasing 76 Crimes journalist / LGBTQ rights activist who traveled to Maroua and Bertoua prisons in the spring to deliver food and hygiene supplies and to interview LGBTQ detainees there. Mojo and Asa met the requirements of this news site’s Project Not Alone, which raises money from readers to help innocent prisoners who have been incarcerated for nothing other than their sexual orientation.
Project Not Alone got in touch with attorney Roger Galima, who agreed to work pro bono on behalf of Mojo and Asa.
He learned that the Bertoua-based judge demanded a payment of 2 million CFA francs (about US $3,200) for their release.
Project Not Alone began raising money on behalf of Mojo, Asa and 10 other innocent LGBTQ prisoners in Cameroon and Nigeria. Readers donated $6,048, which was supplemented by $2,611 from the Grand Camp Maisie Fund,.a U.K. charity that focuses on LGBTQ rights, The total raised for freeing those 12 prisoners was $8,659.
Prison life
During their detention, Mouteka and Ali lived in precarious conditions: overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, a lack of health care, and rejection by other inmates, who were not only homophobic but also unfriendly to foreigners.
“We didn’t understand what they were accusing us of,” Mojo told attorney Galima during a brief visit. “We slept in the truck, as usual. We didn’t even have time to defend ourselves.”
Asa described their lives in prison: “They treat us like criminals, but we didn’t do anything. We just wanted to go home.”
Freedom
As Project Not Alone raised money, Galima got back in touch with the Bertoua court. Friends of Mojo and Asa had raised 500,000 CFA francs (about US $800), which was used to reduce the amount needed to set them free.
After informal negotiations between Galima and the court, Project Not Alone contributed the remaining $2,400.
On Oct. 9, the two men were quietly released. Galima met them at the prison, but was unable to take their picture because they were immediately heading to the bus station.
As Asa prepared to board a bus to the border, he exclaimed, “We’ve come out alive! We’ve come out with dignity! Thank you to those who thought of us!”
“May God protect us!” said Mojo, his eyes welling up.
Mojo and Asa then headed home, more than eight months after that fateful January night.
Please help
- PayPal (for U.S. dollar contributions). For other currencies, send PayPal donations to stpaulsfdr@gmail.com
- Alternatively, you could send a check to St. Paul’s Foundation, c/o Colin Stewart, 5517 Paseo del Lago East Unit 1B, Laguna Woods CA 92637 USA. Please write “Project Not Alone” on the memo line and send an email to stpaulsfdr@gmail.com to let us know it’s coming.
