 Owona and RDPC Secretary-General Joseph Charles Doumba had a poor relationship; by 2003 they had reportedly not been on speaking terms for years, and Biya was said to primarily work with Owona, while largely ignoring Doumba, who was in poor health.After the newspapers "L'Anecdote" and "Nouvelles d'Afrique"—as part of an effort to identify prominent individuals guilty of "deviant behavior"—reported that Owona and about 50 others were homosexuals, he filed a defamation suit in February 2006, along with two doctors who were also identified as homosexual.Although homosexuality was illegal in Cameroon, President Biya said that the newspapers involved in "outing" were acting irresponsibly by basing their reports on rumors and invading the privacy of individuals.