🔅 Cameroon's First Daughter's Coming Out
Uganda's TikTok crackdown & 34,000-year-old termite mounds discovered in South Africa
This week is your last chance to shape Baobab.
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Brenda Biya's Coming Out: A Catalyst for Change in Cameroon?
In a move that's sent shockwaves through Cameroon, Brenda Biya, the 27-year-old daughter of the country's long-serving president Paul Biya, has come out as a lesbian.Â
Last week, Brenda shared an image on Instagram of herself kissing Brazilian model Layyons Valença, with the caption "I'm crazy about you & I want the world to know." The post sparked a flurry of mixed reactions in a country where same-sex relations are still criminalized.
In an interview with France's Le Parisien newspaper, Brenda revealed that she hadn't informed anyone in her family before publishing the post. "Coming out is an opportunity to send a strong message," she said, expressing hope that her story could help change the "unfair" anti-gay law that predates her father's presidency.
A Privilege or a Catalyst?
While rights groups have praised Brenda's revelation as a courageous move, some have questioned whether coming out is a privilege that only a select few in Cameroon can enjoy.Â
LGBT activist Bandy Kiki noted on Facebook that "Anti-LGBT laws in Cameroon disproportionately target the poor. Wealth and connections create a shield for some, while others face severe consequences."
Indeed, same-sex relations are punishable by up to five years in prison in Cameroon. And just days after Brenda's post, a group supporting the current laws filed a complaint against her to the public prosecutor, asserting that "no-one is above the law."
Despite the backlash, Brenda remains hopeful that her story can inspire change. She told Le Parisien that she wanted to give hope and "send love" to those suffering "because of who they are [and] help them feel less alone."
And there's no denying the power of representation. By publicly embracing her identity, Brenda has become a visible role model for LGBTQ+ Cameroonians who have long been forced to hide in the shadows.
Whether her coming out will be the catalyst for legal reform remains to be seen.
This week is your last chance to shape Baobab
Man Sentenced to Six Years for Insulting Ugandan President on TikTok
Folks, you might want to think twice before posting that scathing TikTok about the Ugandan president and his family.Â
Just ask Edward Awebwa, the 24-year-old who found himself in hot water after sharing a video that the court deemed "misleading and malicious."
The Ugandan court was not amused by Awebwa's TikTok antics, charging him with hate speech and spreading abusive information about President Yoweri Museveni, First Lady Janet Museveni, and their son Muhoozi Kainerugaba (who just happens to be the head of the military, no big deal).
Apparently, Awebwa had the audacity to suggest that taxes would increase under President Museveni's rule. The nerve!
Despite pleading guilty and asking for forgiveness, the presiding magistrate was not convinced by Awebwa's remorse, noting that the words used in the video were "really vulgar."Â
And so, Awebwa was sentenced to six years for each of the four charges against him, to be served concurrently.
But Awebwa is not alone in his plight. Rights groups have been calling out Ugandan authorities for violations of human rights and freedom of expression for years.
Take, for example, the award-winning Ugandan author Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, who was charged with "offensive communication" after making unflattering remarks about the president and his son on Twitter. He fled the country to Germany after claiming he had been tortured during his month-long stay in jail.
Or activist and writer Stella Nyanzi, who is also in exile after being jailed for publishing a critical poem about President Museveni.
It's worth noting that President Museveni has been in power since 1986 - that's 14 years before Awebwa was even born.Â
In 2022, he signed a law against speech that rights groups criticized as an attempt to suppress freedom of speech online. The constitutional court later ruled that the section penalizing "offensive communication" was unconstitutional, but Awebwa was still charged under the broader law.
Termites: The Ultimate Long-Term Tenants
Scientists in South Africa have discovered that some termite mounds in the arid region of Namaqualand are over 34,000 years old.Â
These tiny architects have been building their "apartment complexes" since before the invention of the wheel, writing, or avocado toast.
While saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths were roaming the Earth and humans were just starting to doodle on cave walls, these termites were already hard at work creating their own little kingdoms.
The research team was shocked by the discovery.Â
"We knew they were old, but not that old."
Looks like these bugs have a longer rental history than most millennials.
But these mounds aren't just impressive for their age; they also hold clues to a prehistoric climate. Namaqualand, now a dry and dusty place, was apparently much wetter when the termites first broke ground on their projects.
Plus, these little critters are secretly fighting climate change. By collecting dead wood and storing it deep underground, they're capturing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere. Who needs a carbon tax when you have an army of eco-friendly termites?
Food for Thought
“He who is unable to dance says that the yard is stony."
— Maasai Proverb