The daughter of the long-serving president of Cameroon has caused uproar and embarrassed her father by coming out as a lesbian and attacking the African nation’s tough law against homosexuality.
Brenda Biya, 26, an aspiring rapper who lives in Switzerland, posted on Instagram a picture of herself embracing Layyons Valença, a Brazilian model. In the now-deleted post, the caption read: “I am crazy about you, and I want the world to know.”
She said it came as a surprise to her mother, brothers and father, 91, who has led the former French central African colony with an iron hand since 1982.
Amid an outcry in Cameroon, including demands for her to be imprisoned, Biya has explained her action in Le Parisien newspaper, saying she had gone public to help lesbians and gay people who are persecuted in Cameroon and the other 26 African states with laws against same-sex couples.
Some two dozen people are in Cameroonian prisons under some of the region’s harshest anti-gay laws. These impose maximum terms of five years for actions perceived as promoting or engaging in homosexual behaviour. Beatings and murders are common, rights activists said.
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“This law existed before my father was in power. I find it unfair and I hope my story can make it change,” Biya said.
Biya, whose social media posts under her rap name King Nasty depict her posing in luxurious locations and cars, said she had been attracted to women since her teenage years but had suppressed her instincts.
“I was in denial. I knew the traditions of my country. For me, it wasn’t possible … I thought I was going to have to hide it all my life.” Her announcement had brought relief, she said.
An anti-LGBTQ group in the country has since lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor against Biya for “promoting and inciting the practice of homosexuality”.
One of her brothers called her to voice the family’s anger. Her mother, Chantal Biya, the first lady, demanded that she erase her post but since then the family has been silent.
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Biya claimed she deleted the post after the reaction “turned sour”, saying in a video on TikTiok: “I received a lot of negative comments … insults, a lot of criticism, but I also received a lot of support from LGBTQ communities, and from organisations or people who didn’t feel represented in Cameroon.”
Supporters have praised her bravery. Shakiro, a transgender activist who fled to Belgium after being convicted of “attempted homosexuality” in Cameroon, called Biya’s post a potential “turning point for the LGBTQ+ community in Cameroon”.
Biya, who was educated in Switzerland from the age of 11, denied pursuing self-publicity. “There are many people in the same situation as me who are suffering.” She wants to “give them hope, help them feel less alone”, she added.
Bandy Kiki, a 33-year-old Cameroonian blogger and LGBT activist based in Britain, was critical. “Wealth and connections create a shield for some, while others face severe consequences,” she wrote.
Hostile campaigners in Cameroon called for Biya to be prosecuted.
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Patrice Guidjol, leader of an anti-legalisation movement, called for the maximum sentence because she had “promoted and incited the practice of homosexuality”.
Human rights groups have long criticised the treatment of homosexuals in Cameroon and other undemocratic aspects of the authoritarian administration of President Biya. Thanks to an uninterrupted string of re-elections, he is the world’s oldest head of state and also the longest-serving after two European monarchs.
