Despite vilification, threats and humiliation in public, veteran Cameroonian lawyer Alice Nkom is determined to defend the rights of homosexuals in her country.
The government recently suspended the human rights NGO she runs, Redhac, and she is due to appear before investigators to answer allegations of money laundering and funding of terrorist groups – which she denies.
The 80-year-old says authorities are obstructing her work and believes she is being targeted because of her legal advocacy with the LGBT community.
“I will always defend homosexuals because every day they risk their freedom and are thrown in jail like dogs,” she told the BBC in a firm tone, speaking in her office in the city of Douala.
“My job is to defend people. I don’t see why I should say I’m defending everyone but homosexuals.”
Clad in a black dress, Ms. Nkom delivers her stark message in a measured voice that reflects years of thoughtful legal argument.
Under the country’s penal code, both men and women convicted of homosexual sex can be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a fine. Members of the LGBT community also face ostracism from their families and wider society.
As a result, Ms Nko is seen as a surrogate parent to some in her country who have been open about their sexuality to their family.
The legal expert has children of her own, but hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others look to her as their protector after her more than two decades of work defending those accused of homosexuality.
“She is like our father and our mother. She is the mother we find when our families give us up,” says one LGBT activist, Sébastien, not his real name.
Committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is included in Cameroon’s constitution, Ms. Nkom argues that freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation should be considered a fundamental right that supersedes criminal law.
“You shouldn’t close down fundamental rights, you shouldn’t suppress them – you should protect them,” she says.
This is the struggle that got Mrs. Nkom into trouble.
She says that she was physically threatened several times on the street, and reveals that when she first started working in this area of law, she hired bodyguards to protect her.
But her journey to become one of Cameroon’s most outspoken legal personalities began long before that.
In 1969, at the age of 24, she became the first black female lawyer in the country, after studying in France – a former colonial power – and Cameroon.
She says that her boyfriend at the time, who later became her husband, encouraged her to continue her studies.
Her earlier legal work involved representing the less affluent and the neglected, but a chance meeting in 2003 led her to become involved in the fight for the decriminalization of homosexuality.
She was in the public prosecutor’s office in Douala when she observed a group of young men handcuffed in pairs, who did not have the courage to look up.
“When I checked the court file, I realized that they had been charged with homosexuality,” she says.
‘Attempt at homosexuality’
This offended her sense of human rights and she was very clear that sexual minorities should be included among those whose rights are protected by the constitution.
“I have decided to fight to ensure that this fundamental right to freedom is respected,” added Mrs. Nkom.
Then in 2003 she founded the Association for the Defense of Homosexuality (Adefho).
Since then, she has been involved in dozens of cases. One of the most famous in recent years was her defense of transgender celebrity Shakiro and friend Patricia in 2021.
The two were arrested while eating in a restaurant and then accused of “attempted homosexuality”.
They were sentenced to five years for violating the criminal law and insulting public decency.
“It’s a hammer blow. It’s the maximum term specified in the law. The message is clear: homosexuals have no place in Cameroon,” Mrs. Nkom was quoted as saying at the time.
Shakiro, together with Patricia, was later released pending an appeal and in the meantime fled the country.
Since then, the situation for LGBT people has not improved. LGBT activist Sébastien, who runs a charity to support families with gay children, believes things have gotten worse recently.
Last year, a song based on the popular mbolé rhythm was released with a title and lyrics that encouraged people to target and kill homosexuals. It is still widely shared and regularly played at the hippest venues in the country’s major cities.
“People attack us because of this song that glorifies crime,” says Sébastien.
LGBT people have to hide their sexual identity, but “some people set traps to get close to us and attack us or report us to the police,” he says.
Ms Nkom says that when Brenda Biya, the daughter of President Paul Biya, publicly said she was a lesbian last year, she thought a change in the law might help.
Mrs Biya – who spends most of her time outside Cameroon – was states that she hopes her openness could change things at home.
Mrs. Nkom senses an opportunity. “I’m using the Brenda case as a precedent. Now I have a case where I can challenge the president,” she says.
The lawyer also asked Mrs. Biya to do more for the LGBT community in Cameroon.
– Brenda hasn’t answered me yet, since I made a statement in the media, but I know she will.
For now, however, he will continue his legal work.
She sees the latest attempt to curtail her efforts as just another obstacle – certainly not enough make her end the battle she has been fighting since 2003.
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