CODE OF FEAR

By Appolain Siewe

In 2013, the young journalist Eric Lembembe was murdered in Cameroon. He was tortured and beaten to death because he was gay and had fought for gay rights. Shocked by this gruesome murder in his home country, film-maker Appolain Siewe sets off for Cameroon to find out more about the situation of LGBTQ people there. He soon realises that Lembembe's murder is no isolated case. Homosexuality is still a criminal offence in Cameroon, as it is in almost all African countries. Siewe examines his own homophobic upbringing. Since living in Europe, his outlook has changed. For his father, on the other hand, making a film on the subject is enough for him to break off all contact. Why is homophobia so firmly anchored in Cameroon society? What role does colonisation have to play in this?