Tragic Mob Lynching of Gay Men in Africa Surfaces Online

In Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, Africa, two men were brutally beaten to death by a mob after being accused of engaging in a homosexual act in a parked car.

Trigger Warning: This story discusses content, which might be distressing to some readers.
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The horrific incident, captured on video, adds to the increasing violence faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals across Africa, where discriminatory laws and societal prejudice continue to fuel such attacks.

According to reports, bystanders initially observed the two men, both around 40, conversing in their car after visiting a local bar.

However, upon noticing the car shaking, the crowd approached and allegedly found the men in an intimate act.

Enraged, the mob forced them out of the vehicle and attacked them. Although police intervened and briefly detained the men, they were later released, reportedly after paying a bribe, a common occurrence in Cameroon’s justice system where LGBTQI individuals are frequently extorted.

The men attempted to return to their car but were once again set upon by the mob, who stripped and beat them to death.

The violence has been widely condemned by human rights activists.

The deaths highlight Cameroon’s penal code, which criminalises same-sex relationships with penalties of up to five years in prison, and the broader hostility LGBTQI individuals face across the continent.

In Nigeria, the 2014 Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act has spurred similar acts of vigilante violence, with two men recently beaten and paraded through Port Harcourt in southern Nigeria simply on suspicion of being gay.

In Cameroon, LGBTQI advocates are also being targeted.

Authorities recently detained 13 members of Alternatives-Cameroun, a prominent LGBTQI rights organisation, during a police raid. While some detainees were later released, others remain in custody, reportedly subjected to forced and invasive “examinations.”

Activists have condemned these practices as torture, and the organisation is urgently seeking their release.