Celebrities front justice call against alleged sexual predator, Herve Bopda

Several celebrities, including Nigerian afrobeat singer Ayra Starr, are championing an online campaign calling for the prosecution of alleged Cameroonian sexual predator Herve Bobda.

Through an online campaign dubbed #StopBopda, many are calling on Cameroonian authorities to investigate alleged acts of rape, kidnap, and sexual assault against women and young girls by the Cameroonian businessman.

The revelations were first exposed early this week by Cameroonian social media influencer Nzui Manto.

Manto’s deep revelations have kept social media abuzz for the past few days, and celebrities are now adding their voices to his to demand justice for the alleged victims.

Taking to her X, formerly Twitter, Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Ayra Starr showed solidarity by dropping the hashtag.

“#Stopbopda. The criminal shouldn’t be walking free,” the 21-year-old wrote.

Also, popular French TV host Claudy Siar has taken to social media with the hashtag “It is time for Bopda to pay because even the politicians he relies on are not more than public opinion.”

In Cameroon, celebrities like Cysol and Nabila have joined the hashtag campaign demanding that justice be done.

NETWORK OF SEXUAL PREDATORS

Nzui Manto, who first provided insights into the alleged acts, claims Bobda operates in a network of sexual predators which includes powerful people such as Mourzane, Xavier Abena and businessman Wilson Dacosta.

He alleged that the rape network extends to Buea, in the South West Region, where Wilson Dacosta, owner of the famous WDC Hotel in Buea, is being accused of using the “picking money concept” to rally girls aged 15-17 years to his hotel where they are rapped.

Nzui Manto claims Herve Bobda and his accomplices have been accused by over 200 victims, both female and male, of rape, sodomy, kidnapping and more.

Reports say the victims, mostly underage girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years, are contacted by influencers and proposed to these rich men under the guise of beauty pageants.

Herve Bopda gets hold of some of his victims and forcefully commits sexual acts with them.

Reports say the alleged sexual predator sources some of his victims from the streets of Douala, especially from Bonanjo, Bonapriso, Bonamoussadi and Bali.

On the streets, he allegedly requests for the girl’s number and when they resist, he threatens them with a gun or kidnaps them to his place with the help of his bodyguards, who at times join him in rapping the victims.

The revelations from victims are so terrifying that many are questioning who Herve Bobda is and how he succeeded in going this far unnoticed.

One of the victims claimed that she was kidnapped by Bopda for five days, rapped each day by him and his men, and later thrown out and threatened with death if she dared to tell anyone about what had happened.

Another alleged victim said she was pregnant when Bobda forcefully had sex with her. She said she lost her baby two weeks after being raped.

Several of Herve Bopda’s alleged victims, who have come out to anonymously recount their stories, claimed that they contracted HIV/AIDS after sexual activities with him.

The heartbreaking revelations have triggered increasing calls for investigations and justice to be done.

AUTHORITIES STILL ALOOF

Since information began making the rounds on the Herve Bobda issue, Cameroonian authorities have not made any official statements, prompting more calls for government action.

The alleged sex predator, reports say, still walks free, although some sources saw gendarmerie officers parading one of his residences in Shell, New Bell, Douala.

The Cameroon Bar Association’s Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms is the only organization that has taken up the Herve Bopda affair as it is now known.

In a release that surfaced on Thursday, the commission petitioned the public prosecutor at the Yaounde Court of First Instance, demanding that investigations be opened on the allegations against Herve Bobda.

Meanwhile, Nzui Manto, the journalist who first ignited discussions about Herve Bobda, has promised to follow up on the story until Bopda and his accomplices are arrested.

Mimi Mefo Info