Alice Nkom: Cameroonian lawyer risks everything to defend LGBT rights

Despite being insulted, threatened and humiliated in public, veteran Cameroonian lawyer Alice Nkom is determined to defend the rights of gay people. in his own country.

The human rights NGO he leads, Redhac, was recently suspended by the government and he is due to appear before investigators to answer charges of money laundering and financing terrorist groups – which he denies.

The 80-year-old says authorities are blocking her work and believes she is being targeted for legal advocacy with the LGBT community.

“I will always defend homosexuals because every day they risk their freedom and are thrown into prison like dogs,” he told the BBC in a stern tone, speaking from his office in Douala.

“My job is to defend people. I don’t understand why I say I defend everyone except homosexuals.”

Dressed in a black gown, Ms. Nkom delivers her poignant message in a measured voice that reflects years of thought-out legal argument.

According to the country’s criminal code, both men and women found guilty of homosexual acts can be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and fines. Members of the LGBT community also face ostracism from their families and wider society.

As a result, Ms. Nkom is seen as a surrogate parent for some in her home country who are open about her sexuality with her family.

The legal expert has children of his own, but hundreds, if not thousands, of others look up to him after more than two decades of work defending those accused of homosexuality.

“She is like our father and mother. She is the mother we find when our families abandon us,” said one LGBT activist, Sebastien, not his real name.

Adhering to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined in Cameroon’s constitution, Ms. Nkom argues that freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation should be recognized as a fundamental right that replaces the penal code.

“You should not imprison fundamental rights, you should not repress them – you should protect them,” he says.

This is a struggle that has plagued Mrs. Nkomu.