By Talla aghaa Christopher
Two suspected homosexuals are said to be at large following a clash between separatist fighters and the Cameroon defence forces along the Njikwa-Mbengwi highway in Momo Division of Cameroon’s North West Region last May 3, 2019.
Reports hold that Kengo Hardison and Sande Akalambi were taken from the hands of an angry mob by the defence forces after they were caught in a same sex act.
Sources say they were detained along with some other separatist fighters in the local detention facility in the area. A family source hinted that while they were being whisked off by the military to Mbengwi, chief town of Momo Division for prosecution.
The SUN understands that heavily armed separatist fighters attacked the military truck transporting them, leaving severe casualties on both sides. Two police officers and one detainee on board the military truck were seriously injured. The two officers later on died in Acha-Tugi Hospital while the alleged homosexuals and other separatist fighters managed to escape. A serious man hunt has been launched by the state to track down these individuals. Soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), accompanied by gendarmes, police and soldiers went down into Njikwa and other surrounding localities to apprehend the individuals who escaped and those involved in the attack. Report holds that the two homosexuals were very close friends living together.
This is the same scenario that forced Ngwa Ambe Desmond to flee the country and seek asylum in Germany. Homosexuals are among those who have been abused as a result of their sexual orientation as the Anglophone crisis digs in.
The whereabouts of a certain Buea-based gay couple, Elvis Njie and Agbor Stanley remains in doubts after they were taken into custody by soldiers during a routine raid.
Cardinal Tumi holds that homosexuality is a crime against humanity, urging government to take deterrent measures to kill the “social ill.”
It should be noted that homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and culprits can be punished with jail terms ranging from six months to five years with a fine from 20,000 to 200,000 FCFA, according to section 347 of the Penal Code.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 28 people in Cameroon have been charged, under the Country anti-gay laws in the past three years, more than any other African Nation. But homosexual activities are on the rise in the country and police and gendarmes have stepped up efforts to clamp down on this.
This was the case in May 2005 when 11 men were arrested at a night club in Yaoundé on suspicion of sodomy and the government threatened to conduct medical examinations to ‘prove’ their homosexual activity. Many other alleged homosexuals have been arrested and detained under section 347 of the Penal Code.
In July 2013 a prominent Cameroonian gay rights activist and Journalist, Eric Lembembe, was found murdered in his house in Yaounde. Lembembe’s neck and feet appeared to have been broken and his face, hands and feet burned with an iron, Human Rights Watch had said.
Barrister Alice Nkom who has been fighting for rights of homosexuals said: “I accuse the state. If there had not been criminalization of homosexuality, he would not have gone to prison and his life would not be over. His life was finished as soon as he went to prison”.
It should be recalled that the office of a Human Rights activist who fights for homosexuals rights Barrister Alice Nkom, have also been ransacked by unknown assailants. Most homosexuals believe their lives are constantly in danger as they continuously being persecuted not only by security operatives but also by the public.
Barrister Atoh Walters Tchemi, a Kumba based Legal Practitioner and Head of the Time Law Firm, a gay rights activist, was recently attacked, molested and tortured by unknown individuals, for defending a homosexual Fonya Cornelius who unfortunately was jailed by the Limbe Court of First Instance.