Regardless of being vilified, threatened and humiliated in nation, veteran Cameroonian attorney Alice Nkom is enthusiastic to conserve the rights of gay population in her nation.

A human rights NGO that she runs, Redhac, used to be just lately suspended by means of the federal government and he or she is because of seem ahead of investigators to reply to accusations of cash laundering and investment terror teams – which she denies.

The 80-year-old says the government are obstructing her paintings and believes she is being centered on account of her felony advocacy with the LGBT crowd.

“I will always defend homosexuals because they risk their freedom every day, and they are thrown into prison like dogs,” she tells the BBC in a company pitch, talking in her administrative center within the town of Douala.

“My job is to defend people. I don’t see why I would say I’m defending everyone except homosexuals.”

Wearing a unlit robe, Ms Nkom delivers her stark message in a gradual expression that displays years of considerate felony argument.

In keeping with the rustic’s penal code, each women and men discovered responsible of gay intercourse will also be sentenced to as much as 5 years in jail and made to pay a high-quality. Contributors of the LGBT crowd additionally face being ostracized by means of their households and wider crowd.

In consequence, Ms Nkom has been seen as a surrogate dad or mum to a few in her nation who’ve been detectable about their sexuality with their people.

The felony knowledgeable has youngsters of her personal, however loads, perhaps hundreds, of others glance as much as her as their protector following her paintings over greater than 20 years to preserve the ones accused of homosexuality.

“She’s like our father and our mother. She’s the mother we find when our families have abandoned us,” says one LGBT activist, Sébastien, now not his actual title.

Dedicated to the Common Declaration of Human Rights, which is incorporated in Cameroon’s charter, Ms Nkom argues that independence from discrimination at the disciplines of sexual orientation will have to be discoverable as a basic proper that supersedes the penal code.

“You shouldn’t jail fundamental rights, you shouldn’t repress them – you should protect them,” she says.

It is a aim that has landed Ms Nkom in difficulties.

She says she has been bodily threatened a number of occasions on the street, and divulges that once she first began out on this department of regulation, she rented bodyguards to aid offer protection to her.

However her progress to develop into one in every of Cameroon’s maximum outspoken felony figures started nicely ahead of that.

In 1969, elderly 24, she turned into the rustic’s first unlit feminine attorney, upcoming finding out in each France – the previous colonial energy – and Cameroon.

She says she used to be inspired to pursue her research by means of her nearest boyfriend, who after turned into her husband.

Her previous felony paintings concerned representing the fewer well-off and deprived however it used to be a prospect come upon in 2003 that led her to develop into concerned within the battle to decriminalise homosexuality.

She used to be on the nation prosecutor’s administrative center in Douala when she seen a bunch of younger population handcuffed in pairs, who didn’t have the braveness to seem up.

“When I checked the court docket, I realised that they were being prosecuted for homosexuality,” she says.

This angry her sense of human rights and he or she used to be very sunlit that sexual minorities will have to be incorporated amongst the ones whose rights have been secure by means of the charter.

“I decided to fight to ensure that this fundamental right of freedom was respected,” Ms Nkom provides.

She went directly to discovered the Affiliation for the Defence of Homosexuality (Adefho) in 2003.

Since nearest she has been eager about dozens of circumstances. One of the vital high-profile in recent times used to be her defence of transgender superstar Shakiro and a chum, Patricia, in 2021.

The 2 have been arrested date consuming in a cafe and nearest charged with “attempted homosexuality”.

They have been sentenced to 5 years for contravening the penal code and outraging nation decency.

“It’s a hammer blow. It’s the maximum term outlined in the law. The message is clear: homosexuals don’t have a place in Cameroon,” Ms Nkom used to be quoted as pronouncing on the month.

Shakiro, together with Patricia, used to be after excused pending an enchantment and has since fled the rustic.

Since nearest the condition for LGBT population has now not progressed. LGBT activist Sébastien, who runs a investmrent to aid households with gay youngsters, feels issues have were given worse just lately.

Terminating yr, a track according to the customery mbolé rhythm with a name and lyrics that inspired population to focus on and shoot homosexuals, used to be excused. It’s nonetheless being extensively shared, and is continuously performed within the trendiest parks within the nation’s main towns.

“People attack us because of this song, which glorifies crime,” says Sébastien.

LGBT population have to cover their sexual identities however “some people set traps to get close to us and attack us or report us to the police”, he says.

Ms Nkom says that once Brenda Biya, the daughter of President Paul Biya, got here out in nation to mention that she used to be a lesbian latter yr, she idea it could aid to modify the regulation.

Ms Biya – who spends maximum of her month out of doors Cameroon – has been quoted as pronouncing she was hoping that her openness may just adjust issues at house.

Ms Nkom senses a possibility. “I’m using the Brenda case as a precedent. Now I have a case on which I can challenge the president,” she says.

The attorney additionally requested Ms Biya to do extra for the reason for the LGBT crowd in Cameroon.

“Brenda hasn’t replied to me yet, since I made the statement in the media, but I know that she will.”

For now, despite the fact that, she’s going to proceed her felony paintings.

She perspectives the original aim to limit her efforts as simply some other impediment – under no circumstances plethora to create her block the fight she has been waging since 2003.