African businessman arrested for ‘massive’ rapes

Douala, Cameroon:

A businessman suspected of “numerous” cases of rape or sexual assault was arrested in Cameroon on Wednesday, state broadcaster CRTV announced.

The news comes after dozens of women posted anonymous posts on social media accusing the businessman of sexual assault, with lawyers urging prosecutors to investigate.

“Herve Bopuda is suspected of raping or sexually assaulting a large number of young girls,” CRTV reported in the morning following his arrest in the Bonabéry district of the economic capital Douala.

“His arrest opens the way for legal proceedings that will be responsible for gathering evidence against him.”

The Bar Association’s human rights committee said last week it had learned of anonymous testimonies on social networks against Bopuda, alleging “indecent exposure, sexual harassment, rape, threats, unlawful confinement and violence against several victims”.

Women’s Empowerment Minister Marie Theresa Abena Ondoa on Friday urged victims to “break their silence” and expressed her willingness to “provide legal authorities with the elements required to carry out fact-finding procedures”.

The country’s Human Rights Commission took up the case on January 19 but expressed regret on Saturday that it had not been able to “properly address the incident” through a full investigation because the allegations were anonymous.

Since mid-January, a blogger has posted more than 70 anonymous testimonies on social networks accusing the businessman of sexual violence.

The “StopBopda” hashtag sparked a wave of outrage and saw thousands of tweets on X, formerly Twitter, as African artists, athletes and influencers responded to the initiative.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)