Cameroon police arrest No. 1 suspect in murder of popular gay man
Probe of Paul Gérard murder produced results, which rarely happens.
By Steeves Winner
The Cameroon police investigation into the murder of 24-year-old Paul Gérard has taken a major step forward with the arrest of the main suspect, Karl Liam, in the Logpom residential neighborhood of Douala.
Gérard’s murder on the night of Aug. 11-12 triggered an outpouring of varied social media commentaries — mourning from the LGBTI community, mocking from homophobic residents.
Karl Liam’s arrest marked a sharp contrast with the frequent outcome of police investigations into murders of LGBTI Cameroonians, which often go unsolved.
On the night of August 11-12, Paul Gérard invited Karl Liam, a friend, to his home. The following morning, Paul Gérard’s body was discovered in a pool of blood. The forensic examination concluded that he died by strangulation.
Neighbors and friends in the LGBTI community said Paul Gérard was sociable, discreet, polite and helpful.
In a Facebook post, an unknown organization claimed to offer a reward of 1 million CFA francs (about US $1,784) for information leading to Karl Liam’s arrest.
Surveillance cameras in the building show a man leaving the premises around 6 a.m. That man was reportedly identified as Karl Liam. The suspect was also accused of stealing money and personal belongings, and then attempting to delete the victim’s social media accounts.
According to recent reports, Karl Liam accused Paul Gérard of being behind attempts to blackmail him, using videos of their sexual encounters. If confirmed, this hypothesis could shed light on the motive for the crime, for the deletion of social media accounts and for the suspect’s flight after the incident.
Karl Liam has been taken into custody at the police station. He remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. The investigation is ongoing in an attempt to determine the exact responsibilities and verify the blackmail allegations.
Public reactions
News of the arrest sparked multiple comments on social media, again revealing the polarization of Cameroonian society.
These remarks, often tinged with stigmatization and confusion, reflect people’s difficulty in interpreting the case: Some see it as a crime of passion, others as femicide, and still others as a tragedy linked to homosexuality.
A particularly vicious commenter stated, “If homosexuals are already starting to kill each other, then it’s a good thing.”
The author’s viewpoint
Beyond the individual tragedy, this murder highlights:
- The vulnerability of LGBTI people in Cameroon to violence and sexual blackmail.
- The persistence of stigmatizing and homophobic discourse in the public sphere.
- The lack of institutional recognition of community-based data on gender-based violence (GBV).
- The need to integrate this data into national human rights reports to ensure better protection of key populations.
Steeves Winner, the author of this article, is a Cameroonian journalist who writes under a pseudonym. Contact him at steeves.w@yahoo.com.
