CM — Douala. A transgender-identifying male arrested and convicted of “Attempted Homosexuality” earlier this year has bitterly called for the prosecution of a female professional footballer who apparently had a romantic relationship with a woman.

On May 8, two males entered a restaurant in Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, while dressed in “women’s clothing.” Law enforcement officers took the individuals into custody.

Shakiro, a celebrity legally known as Loïc Njeukam, and friend Patricia, whose legal name is Roland Mouthe, made international headlines after they were convicted of Attempted Homosexuality, Public Indecency and Failing To Carry Identification.

The duo received the maximum sentence of five years in prison each and were fined 200,000 CFA francs (the equivalent of $370 USD).

A defense lawyer said the arrest was “a political decision” by the “Yaounde (the central government) that said these people must not bring homosexuality to Cameroon.”

Cameroon is one of over 30 African countries where same-sex relations are illegal, and Human Rights Watch has reported an “uptick in police action” against those who are suspected of same sex relations or who appear to be gender non-conforming.

“Prison is hell. It’s hellfire. Especially when they accuse you of homosexuality,” Shakiro said. According to the duo, police beat and threatened to kill them, and even chained them.

“They put chains on our legs, something that is not normal,” Shakiro stated. “That day we slept with those chains and we paid money for them to remove the chains.”

Now Shakiro, who along with the friend was released in July pending appeal, insists it is only fair that 29-year-old Gaëlle Deborah Enganamouit suffer the same fate.

Ms Enganamouit, who was deemed Africa’s best football player in 2015 and retired last June after being slowed down by repeat injuries, can allegedly be seen kissing a woman between the ages of 22 and 25 in a video that was leaked to social media networks and has since gone viral.

“My name does what in the lesbian business? I was not aware that the famous Enganamouit made the sextape,” leading Cameroonian news source Le Bled Parle reported Shakiro as saying. “It is my dear mother Alice Nkom, my lawyer who informs me of this. When it’s Shakiro, we’re going to throw it in jail. Here is a football player who must show a good example.”

Shakiro reportedly added: “Lesbianism is punished in Cameroon. I hope they will go to jail. When it’s Shakiro we will say that I am poison for the Cameroonian youth. Enganamouït is what?”

While several men are calling for Ms Enganamouit’s arrest, some like André Luther Meka are saying the former footballer must “ask forgiveness from all those who believed in her.”

Not everyone has turned on the former football star. Many Cameroonians on social media have dismissed the idea that Ms Enganamouit’s sexual orientation is an issue, with one tweeting: “The so-called scandal around Gaëlle Enganamouit’s sexual orientation is absolute nonsense and outrageous. She’s free to love whoever she wants.”

In January 2019, Ms Enganamouit helped launch the Rails Football Academy, Cameroon’s first women’s football academy, in Yaoundé. The initiative, which is named after the district in which Ms Enganamouit grew up, “aims to provide girls with opportunities for social and professional development through the practice of football.” In March, she reportedly registered to obtain her coaching diploma. She resigned as Team Manager of the Indomitable Lionesses only two days before the scandal broke.