LGBTQ+ in Cameroon

In May of 2005, 11 men became the victims of Cameroon’s anti-LGBT discrimination, and would soon be tragically labeled as the Yaounde 11. For a number of years the Cameroonian government and police have displayed immense violence towards innocent LGBT citizens, many of which have resulted in five years of imprisonment or death. However, on this particular Sunday at Yaounde’s Victoire Bar in 2005, none of the customers had anticipated violence to this extent. The Victoire Bar was notable for being one of Cameroon’s few spaces tht welcomed gay and bisexual men, and a multitude of the customers attended the bar weekly. As a result of a LGBT friendly environment existing in a country that is highly oppressive towards the community, the bar attendees were accustomed to frequent police raids. Although a typical raid concluded with the officers leaving after accepting a bribe from the owner, this instance resulted in the officers intensely interrogating the men, and forcing them to lie on the floor. Though many of the men had escaped during amidst the chaos, 30 men that remained at the scene were wrongfully arrested at the local police station for participating in homosexual acts.

In addition, the discrimination furthered as 11 of the arrested men could not afford or refused to bribe the police to be released from prison, and were held for a year without trial. The men were also subjected to the abuse of other inmates, and were not provided proper food. A considerable astounding factor from this event was that although Cameroon’s penal code had prohibited homosexual acts in 1972, this law had rarely been enforced until the raid at Victoire Bar. On the night of the raid, the police had reasoned that they were searching for a particular individual, but others believe that their aggression was motivated by the continuous anti-LGBT agenda expressed by religious leaders. Furthermore, the most threatening impact of this event was that their presence at the bar was worthy of arrest and interrogation, despite that they were not guilty of committing any wrongdoing.

In a society that relentlessly perpetuates a stigma surrounding sexual orientation, the importance of highlighting the stories of those heavily affected by such prejudice is vital. A further demonstration of this is conveyed in Robbie Corey-Boulet’s book titled Love Falls on Us, which depicts the conflicts between LGBT activism in Africa and the western media. Corey-Boulet also exemplifies the perspectives of LGBT citizens in the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Cameroon, in an effort to exhibit the uniqueness in each of their experiences. One of these portrayals is revealed through the lens of Marc Lambert Lamba, who was an LGBT activist and one of the victims at the Victoire Bar raid. Through his insight, it is evident that western activism can be quite performative, especially amongst public figures who utilize the issues of marginalized groups to gain popularity and amass supporters. Additionally, Corey-Boulet has also professed that he believes westerners are more likely to be attentive to the American advocacy of African LGBT rights , rather than gay people living through the oppression in Africa. Oftentimes, western activism is seemingly composed of “thoughts and prayers”, where there is momentary pity for these marginalized people, but little to no representation for them on a global scale. Due to this, it is necessary that those who strive to be allies of the LGBT community listen when queer people discuss the ways in which they have endured homophobia, as it not common that their experience is accurately reflected in the media.