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The daughter of Cameroon's president, Brenda Biya, has revealed that she is in a same-sex relationship with a Brazilian model.
In a post shared on Instagram, the 26-year-old showed a photo of herself kissing her girlfriend Layyons Valença on the last day of Pride Month, despite same-sex sexual activity being illegal in her home country. The caption read: “PS I am crazy about you and I want the world to know it.”
Although Biya has disabled the comments section since posting, the Cameroon News Agency noted that she responded to a comment that pointed out that her father is President Paul Biya, Cameroon's staunchly anti-LGBT+ leader.
Noting that her father has continued to criminalize homosexuality and same-sex sexual activities during his more than four decades in power, the president's daughter shared some words of hope, saying she believes the tide will eventually turn in Cameroon.
“No one will have anything to say because only love will triumph,” he replied, adding: “I do not approve of hatred, I think the mentality must change, but it will change once people are ready.”
According to international human rights group Human Dignity Trust, homosexuality has been illegal in Cameroon since 1972. The law criminalizing homosexuality also targets any form of same-sex sexual activity, and many arrests result in heavy fines or prison terms of up to five years. Over the decades, Human Rights Watch has found that violence and abuse against LGBT+ people has only increased in the country, detecting an 88% rise in cases between 2021 and 2022.
Brenda's Pride Month post has garnered support from several activists, including trans activist Shakiro, who said BBC News that Brenda's coming out was a “turning point for the LGBTQ+ community in Cameroon.”
After being imprisoned for five years in Cameroon for “attempted homosexuality,” Shakiro has since lived in Belgium, but Brenda’s message gives her hope that Cameroon will finally face a reckoning. She believes the president’s daughter has established herself as a progressive and powerful voice capable of enacting “social change in a country where taboos are deeply rooted.”
“Love this for Cameroon’s first daughter, Brenda Biya!” wrote another LGBT+ activist, Bandy Kiki, in a Facebook post. However, she noted that Brenda benefits from her position of power. She wrote that her freedom to post about her girlfriend with minimal repercussions “highlights a harsh reality: anti-LGBT laws in Cameroon disproportionately target the poor.”
He added: “Wealth and connections create a shield for some, while others face serious consequences.”
But others have pointed out that Brenda's “provocative” online presence could be a Trojan horse. According to the Concordia of CameroonShe has been accused of undermining criticism of her father's allegedly authoritarian and corrupt administration. Under President Biya, Transparency International considered Cameroon “the world champion of corruption” two years in a row, from 1998 to 1999.
