Cameroon women charged over ‘homosexual acts’

Three women in Cameroon have been charged with practising homosexuality in the southern town of Ambam, a local reporter has told the BBC.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Three women in Cameroon have been charged with practising homosexuality in the southern town of Ambam, a local reporter has told the BBC.The case, involving an alleged lesbian love triangle, came to court on Monday, but has only been reported nationally now due to the remoteness of the area.Homosexual acts are illegal in the central African nation and punishable by up to five years in prison.The BBC’s Randy Joe Sa’ah says it the first known case involving women.Our reporter, based in the capital, Yaounde, says it is not that common for men to be taken to court over homosexual acts - but last year four men have been convicted on such charges.Homophobia is widespread in Cameroon, he says.Husband goes to policeRoger Takala, a journalist based in Ambam, about 220km (135 miles) south of Yaounde, told the BBC that crowds packed into the court to hear the charges against the women.He said the women were arrested in the town, on Cameroon’s border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, last week following a quarrel between two alleged lesbian lovers.