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Between the Cell and the Grave: A Season of Fear for Cameroon’s Sexual Minorities

Douala, Cameroon’s largest city and economic capital, has become the epicenter of a crisis unfolding on two fronts at once. In recent weeks, sweeping arrests by state security forces have swept up dozens of residents based on perceived sexual orientation, while a string of unresolved killings has left the city’s minority community in mourning. Together, these events reveal a community caught between institutional hostility and the absence of protection.

A Mass Arrest in the Night

On the night of 23 August 2026, gendarmerie units carried out a large-scale operation across several Douala neighbourhoods, including Makepe and Bourramoussadi. More than sixty individuals identified or perceived as homosexual were apprehended and taken into custody. While many were released after paying informal “bail” sums, a smaller group remained detained for over a week at the Ndongbong gendarmerie unit, held in conditions marked by uncertainty, limited outside contact, and, according to civil society monitors, visible psychological distress.

Working For Our Wellbeing has tracked the case since its earliest hours, engaged directly with gendarmerie leadership to advocate for release, proposing accompaniment and social reintegration in place of prosecution. Those efforts met resistance. On 31 August, nine individuals, including one person presented as a minor, were formally referred to the Douala Military Tribunal. A prosecutor initially found the case file lacking sufficient evidence, yet rather than being released, the group was returned to custody pending further proceedings.

A Community Already in Mourning

The arrests unfolded against a backdrop of grief that has shaken the community for weeks. In mid-August, a well-known and well-liked young resident of Douala’s Logpom neighbourhood, Paul Gérard, was found dead in his home, having been beaten and strangled. Police later arrested the case’s main suspect, an outcome civil society observers noted stood in contrast to the fate of many such cases in Cameroon, which frequently go unresolved.

Gérard’s death followed another killing that had already drawn national attention: in May 2026, a transgender woman named Doloresse was killed in the Emombo neighbourhood of Yaoundé. Rights advocates have since called for thorough investigations into both cases. Human rights defender Ebenezer Munkan urged Cameroonian authorities to pursue those investigations to completion, insisting that every citizen, regardless of identity, deserves protection and justice under the law.

Nkwain Hamlet, a human rights advocate and Executive Director of Working For Our Wellbeing, echoed this call on his social media pages, urging Cameroonian authorities to conduct a proper and impartial investigation into Gérard’s killing and to ensure that those responsible are held fully accountable before the law. His appeal reflected a broader concern shared across the community: that without consistent follow-through by law enforcement and the judiciary, cases involving LGBTQI victims risk being treated with less urgency than they deserve.

A Pattern That Demands Attention

Taken together, the events of the past month reveal a pattern extending beyond any single case: a legal environment where sexual and gender minorities remain criminalised, a security apparatus willing to conduct sweeping arrests with minimal evidentiary basis, and a justice system that has historically struggled to hold perpetrators of anti-LGBTQI violence accountable. For organisations like ours, this dual reality defending the wrongly detained while mourning the unprotected has become the daily texture of our work.

The nine individuals currently before the Douala Military Tribunal, including a minor whose age and welfare urgently require protection, remain in a precarious legal position. Their case, alongside the memory of those recently lost, underscores a broader and urgent appeal: that Cameroonian authorities extend the same standard of protection and due process to all citizens, and that both the detained and the deceased be afforded the justice the law promises but has yet to deliver.

A Call for Accountability

What emerges from these events is not a call for retribution. Still, for consistency, the same protections and due process that Cameroon’s laws promise every citizen should be extended without exception to those most often left without recourse. The nine individuals awaiting resolution before the Douala Military Tribunal, the memory of Paul Gérard, and the memory of Doloresse each represent a test of whether the country’s institutions can meet their own stated commitments to justice. Civil society organisations, legal advocates, and international partners continue to stand ready to support a process rooted in fairness, transparency, and respect for the dignity of every person involved. Cameroon has the opportunity, in each of these cases, to demonstrate that no citizen stands outside the protection of the law and that opportunity should not be allowed to pass unanswered.

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HUMAN RIGHTS IN CAMEROON: BETWEEN COMMITMENT AND REALITY

COMMITMENT

Human rights violations are a global scourge that particularly affects LGBTQ communities, women and children. According to the OHCHR, LGBT people are at risk of arrest, blackmail, extortion, stigmatization, discrimination, violence and in some cases, the death penalty. The figures are alarming: 70 Countries have discriminatory laws that criminalize same sex relationships.

As a signatory and ratifier of several international human rights instruments, Cameroon is required to respect and implement these texts in its national legislation. In particular, the country has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which commits it to protecting the human rights of all individuals on its territory without discrimination. This means that Cameroon must take concrete measures to prevent and combat human rights violations, particularly those targeting vulnerable groups such as women, children and minorities.

REALITY

In Cameroon, human rights violations are numerous and alarming. According to Amnesty International, armed groups and security forces are accused of committing acts of torture, summary executions, enforced disappearances and sexual violence on a large scale, particularly in the Far North, Northwest, and Southwest regions. More than 580,000 people have been displaced by armed violence in the Northwest and Southwest Regions and dozens of people are being arbitrarily detained, including journalists, political opponents and human rights activists.

The consequences of these violations are devastating. LGBT people are often deprived of their fundamental rights, such as the right to life, liberty and security. Women and children are often victims of violence, trafficking and exploitation, which can lead to long term physical and psychological consequences. Privileged social classes may abuse their position to oppress the less powerful, thereby perpetuating inequality and discrimination.

It is essential to take action to end these violations and promote human rights. The UN, international organizations, governments and local communities must work together to protect the rights of LGBT people, women and children. Civil society organizations play a crucial role in promoting human rights and protecting vulnerable groups by providing essential support and services to victims of violence and discrimination.

OUTLOOK

How can the human rights situation in Cameroon be improved? Should the Cameroonian government repeal discriminatory laws, including Article 347/1 of the Penal Code and adopt laws that explicitly protect the rights of LGBTQ people? Should human rights protection mechanisms, such as the National Human Rights Commission, be strengthened and their independence guaranteed? Should civil society and human rights organizations be supported and protected in their advocacy and awareness raising work? And ultimately, can the international community play an important role by exerting diplomatic pressure and providing technical and financial assistance to help Cameroon improve its human rights situation?

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Cameroon at a Crossroads: When Justice Must Stand Above Power.



Cameroon stands once again at a defining juncture in its modern history. The recent presidential election was declared in favour of President Paul Biya, now 92 years old and the world’s oldest serving head of state has intensified national and international scrutiny over the integrity of the country’s democratic institutions. Official results granting Biya another term have been swiftly rejected by opposition parties, who allege electoral fraud, intimidation and manipulation. Protests erupted across major cities, met with heavy police deployment and reports of violence.  But beyond the headlines and statistics lies a deeper crisis: a crisis of justice, equality, and institutional morality.


The Long Shadow of Power

Paul Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982 a tenure spanning generations. While some hail his leadership for maintaining relative stability in a volatile region, others argue that this stability has been purchased at the expense of freedom, fairness and accountability. Over the decades, key state institutions the judiciary, electoral bodies, and security apparatus have been steadily aligned to preserve power rather than protect people.

In such an environment, justice becomes elastic stretched and bent to fit political convenience. The result is predictable: a loss of public trust, growing resentment among marginalised communities, and a political culture where the rule of law is often overshadowed by the rule of loyalty.



The Forgotten Voices: Minorities and Marginalised Groups

The erosion of justice is most painfully felt by those already on society’s margins. The Anglophone regions in the Northwest and Southwest have endured years of unrest, driven by long-standing grievances of exclusion and linguistic discrimination. Similarly, the Mbororo pastoralists, an ethnic minority, continue to face systemic neglect and vulnerability over land rights and access to basic services.

These are not isolated issues they are symptoms of a system where equality is conditional and justice is selective. When a government bends the principles of fairness to favour its own continuity, it doesn’t merely silence opposition; it fractures the very social fabric of the nation.



Institutions at the Heart of the Crisis

At this moment, Cameroon’s institutions not its politicians hold the key to the nation’s future. The Constitutional Council, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), and the judiciary must act as the guardians of legitimacy, not the instruments of power. The security forces must protect citizens’ rights to peaceful expression, not suppress them. And the media, often operating under pressure, must be allowed to inform without fear of censorship or reprisal.

History shows that no nation can thrive where its institutions serve men instead of laws. Cameroon’s political stability will depend not on how long its rulers stay, but on how faithfully its systems of governance uphold truth, fairness and accountability. 


A Call to Moral Leadership

Cameroon does not merely need political reforms; it needs moral renewal.
Justice must once again become the moral compass of governance. It must not be a privilege reserved for the powerful, but a birthright guaranteed to every citizen Anglophone or Francophone, farmer or herder, supporter or critic.

The time has come for Cameroon’s institutions to rise above partisanship and demonstrate integrity that transcends political allegiance. This is not a call for rebellion, but for responsibility for the restoration of a principle older and greater than any regime: no one is above the law.


The Path Forward

The international community, regional partners and civil society all have a role to play in urging transparency and dialogue. Yet, the true change must come from within. Cameroonians deserves institutions they can trust — courts that protect them, ballots that count honestly, and laws that apply equally to all.

Until that vision becomes reality, the country will remain caught in a cycle of crisis and compromise, stability and silence. But the spirit of the Cameroonian people resilient, hopeful and courageous continues to demand something better.

Justice must stand above power. Only then will Cameroon finally move from endurance to empowerment from silence to citizenship and from managed peace to true democracy.

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Strengthening Human Rights in Cameroon: Nkwain Hamlet, Our Executive Director, at the Heart of the IVLProgram.

We are proud to announce that our Executive Director, Nkwain Hamlet, was selected to participate in the prestigious International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), organized by the U.S. Department of State. This program brings together international leaders, providing them with opportunities to enhance their skills in key areas such as human rights advocacy.

During his time in the United States, Hamlet engaged with experts and explored innovative strategies to combat stigma and discrimination, particularly against sexual and gender minorities in Cameroon. This experience is especially crucial as Cameroon approaches the 2025 elections, a pivotal moment where human rights must be at the forefront of political discussions.

The current environment in Cameroon, marked by increasing challenges for sexual and gender minorities such as stigma, violence, and discrimination calls for coordinated action. Recent events, including regional homophobic movements that have led to violence, have jeopardized the fundamental rights of these citizens. However, the 2025 elections present a unique opportunity to amplify the voices of these communities and advocate for a more inclusive society.

With the skills gained through the IVLP, Hamlet is now better equipped to mobilize and advocate for the rights of sexual and gender minorities, fostering dialogue with political actors and offering concrete recommendations to integrate these rights into electoral platforms. We firmly believe that this mobilization could contribute to a positive shift in the perception and treatment of sexual and gender minorities in Cameroon.

In 2025, it is essential that the voices of minority communities are heard, and thanks to Hamlet’s IVLP experience, Working For Our Wellbeing will continue its commitment to an inclusive future where the human rights of all individuals are respected.

Follow our page to stay updated on our initiatives and the future actions we will take to defend these vital causes.