| ID | 185366 |
| Title Proper | Decolonization, Freemasonry and the rise of ‘homosexuality’ as a public issue in Cameroon |
| Other Title Information | the return of Dr Aujoulat |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Orock, Rogers ; Rogers Orock, Peter Geschiere ; Geschiere, Peter |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Relating to academic debates on the emergence of moral panics over homosexuality in several parts of Africa, this article examines rumours on homosexuality as a political issue that connects colonial pasts and postcolonial struggles in Cameroon. We link current struggles over homosexuality to broader debates about the question of Cameroon’s decolonization from France. The article focuses on the figure of Dr Louis Paul Aujoulat, a French colonial official in Cameroon who played a crucial role in the country’s decolonization in the 1950s. Aujoulat died in 1972, but recently, he made a ‘return’ in rumours and public debates in a new role: he is now accused of having ‘sodomized’ the emergent new elite of Cameroon, thus introducing homosexuality; moreover, he is linked to Freemasonry and occult initiation rites. Our aim was to show how a particular decolonization trajectory—very rocky in the case of Cameroon—is related to the present-day moral panic about a supposed proliferation of homosexuality. Freemasonry and its special history on the African continent—notably its role in maintaining the coherence of Françafrique between France and its former colonies—is a severely understudied topic. Its linkages to same-sex practices and illicit enrichment give the Cameroonian case a wider relevance. We argue that the new rumours on Dr Aujoulat define him as a key figure in linking Freemasonry, homosexuality and illicit enrichment to present-day issues of state governance, citizenship and elite misrule in Cameroon. |
| `In' analytical Note | African Affairs Vol. 120, No.478; Jan 2021: p.26–56 |
| Journal Source | African Affairs Vol: 120 No 478 |
| Key Words | Decolonization ; Cameroon ; Homosexuality ; Freemasonry |