Human Rights News Cameroon: Two crossdressers sentenced to 5-year imprisonment for homosexuality:
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Loic Midrel popularly known as Shakiro and Mouthe Roland known as Patricia were arrested by security forces on 8 February 2021 in Douala, Cameroon and charged with the following crimes; homosexuality, indecency and non-possession of national identity cards.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights have continuously been relegated in Africa Cameroon inclusive. Despite calls from the Western World for Africans to embraced LGBT, most African countries have maintained their stand against what is considered in Africa as unacceptable.
On 11 May 2021, Shakiro and Patricia were both sentence to 5-year imprisonment each by the Court of First Instance Bonanjo in Douala,
Shakiro and Patricia were on February 8th, 2021, arrested in Douala, Cameroon and charged with homosexuality, indecency and non-possession of national identity cards.
In addition to the 5-year jail terms, they were fine by the court to pay a sum of 200,000FCFA each. Accoriding to Cameroon Penal code, the two will have to serve 12 extra months imprisonment if the money is not paid.
This imprisonment raises serious legal questions as to whether Cameroon and Africa as a whole will ever accept LGBT rights.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
