The SUN Cameroon - Homosexuals are said to be uncomfortable with section 347 of Law no. 2016/007 of July 12, 2016 relating to the New Penal Code in Cameroon. This provision of the law maintains government’s tough stance on same sex relationships.
“Whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same sex shall be punished with imprisonment for from 6 (six) months to 5 (five) years and a fine of from FCFA 20,000 (twenty thousand) to FCFA 200,000 (two hundred thousand),” Section 437 of Cameroon’s Penal Code states. This same provision is contained in the now repealed penal code which dates back to 1967.
Lobby groups had seized government to legalise gay relationships, but government failed to succumb. The enactment into law of the new law has sent many fleeing for fear of being stigmatized and to evade the inhumane treatment reserved for gays.
Derrick Tanek Gason is among the many youth who are on the police “wanted list” for the practice of homosexuality.
The whereabouts of the 24-year-old remains unknown, especially given that it has been difficult to trace anyone of his relatives. Rumour has it that Derrick Tanek Gason has since been on the run after he was caught pants down with a certain Donard. The two received snake beatings from an angry mob about 21 months ago, an event which led to Tenek Gason’s disappearance.
Derrick Tanek Gason who before his escape was a resident of Kumba in the South West Region of Cameroon is said to have been raised by a Christian family, though he lost his parents in a ghastly accident sometime in 2013.
He is said to have moved in with a certain teacher after the demise of his parents. It is believed that this male teacher who remained unmarried till death might have initiated young Tanek Gason into this act considered by the people as evil and abominable.
It is probable that Tanek Gason became intimate with Donard when his guardian teacher passed on to eternity.
Information on Tanek Gason’s whereabouts remains sketchy even as the police have intensified investigations into his alleged homosexual record.
Advocates of gay rights and their lawyers are under constant threats.
Gay rights advocates estimate that in 2011, at least a dozen men were arrested under Section 347 of the Penal Code. One of these, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, was arrested by security forces for sending SMS messages to a male acquaintance and sentenced to three years imprisonment at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde.
In November 2011, a Yaoundé court convicted two young men who had been arrested for homosexuality outside a nightclub based solely on their appearance and behaviour to five years imprison.
Priests have also hardened their position on homosexuality.
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are not only grievous ethical faults but crimes against humanity."
Christian Cardinal Tumi, Cameroon’s leading Roman Catholic cleric and has criticized in very strong terms the perverse sexual attitudes currently preached and spearheaded by western nations. He hails government for tightening the noose on gays, insisting that the fine should be increased as a deterring measure. He has however said gays have a place in God’s vineyard only if they repent.
Lobby groups had seized government to legalise gay relationships, but government failed to succumb. The enactment into law of the new law has sent many fleeing for fear of being stigmatized and to evade the inhumane treatment reserved for gays.
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Derrick Tanek Gason: for how long will he be on the run?
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The whereabouts of the 24-year-old remains unknown, especially given that it has been difficult to trace anyone of his relatives. Rumour has it that Derrick Tanek Gason has since been on the run after he was caught pants down with a certain Donard. The two received snake beatings from an angry mob about 21 months ago, an event which led to Tenek Gason’s disappearance.
Derrick Tanek Gason who before his escape was a resident of Kumba in the South West Region of Cameroon is said to have been raised by a Christian family, though he lost his parents in a ghastly accident sometime in 2013.
He is said to have moved in with a certain teacher after the demise of his parents. It is believed that this male teacher who remained unmarried till death might have initiated young Tanek Gason into this act considered by the people as evil and abominable.
It is probable that Tanek Gason became intimate with Donard when his guardian teacher passed on to eternity.
Information on Tanek Gason’s whereabouts remains sketchy even as the police have intensified investigations into his alleged homosexual record.
Advocates of gay rights and their lawyers are under constant threats.
Gay rights advocates estimate that in 2011, at least a dozen men were arrested under Section 347 of the Penal Code. One of these, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede, was arrested by security forces for sending SMS messages to a male acquaintance and sentenced to three years imprisonment at Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde.
In November 2011, a Yaoundé court convicted two young men who had been arrested for homosexuality outside a nightclub based solely on their appearance and behaviour to five years imprison.
Priests have also hardened their position on homosexuality.
“Homosexuality and lesbianism are not only grievous ethical faults but crimes against humanity."
Christian Cardinal Tumi, Cameroon’s leading Roman Catholic cleric and has criticized in very strong terms the perverse sexual attitudes currently preached and spearheaded by western nations. He hails government for tightening the noose on gays, insisting that the fine should be increased as a deterring measure. He has however said gays have a place in God’s vineyard only if they repent.
