Mbankolo landslide one year on: Yaounde II mayor, Hon Djomgoue, others remember victims.

This was during an ecumenical service organised at the Nkomkana neigbourhood on Tuesday October 8, 2024, to mark the first anniversary of the tragic incident.

The Mayor of Yaounde II municipality, Yannick Martial Ayissi Eloundou, as well as the Member of Parliament, MP, for Yaounde II Constituency, Hon Paul Eric Djomgoue, joined the families of the victims during the service.

It was an initiative of the municipal authority, who rallied the population to pray for those who lost their lives in the incident and also to continue to give hope to the survivors.

Also in attendance was the Divisional Officer, DO, of Yaounde II, Ousmane Daouda, municipal councilors traditional, religious authorities as well as a cross section of the population.

It was a moment to remember how on that fateful Sunday night, runoff from heavy rains, swept across Nkol-Etam vicinity in Mbankolo, burying homes and killing at least 28 persons. 

Three other people had been declared missing following the incident. One year on, the wounds are healing but the pain persists. 

During Tuesday’s ecumenical service, candles were lit, a minute of silence observed, under a rain interpreted as a sign of the presence of those who have died. This, as if to say the dead are not dead.

Dressed mostly in black, the emotions on the faces of those who attended the event revealed nostalgia, sometimes a few tears dropped despite the desire to hide the pain.

In turns, the clergy from the Central Mosque, the Pentecostal and Catholic churches had to raise their prayers to the Heavens for the eternal rest of the souls of the deceased and the comfort of bereaved families.

Rev Paul Mbida of Christ the King Chapel in Tsinga said it was the will of God for whatever happened and asked persons of goodwill to continue to show love and support to survivors and families of the deceased.

Enter spokesperson for disaster-stricken families, mayor…

Speaking during the service, Gérard Bilogo, spokesperson for the disaster-stricken families said they will never cease to express their gratitude to the Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA and his wife, to the local authorities for their unwavering support.

“However, we have one last complaint regarding housing because, you see, until now, we have really not yet managed to rebuild ourselves. We hope that if there is an opening, you will think of us...,” Bilogo said.

The initiator of the ecumenical service, Mayor Ayissi Eloundou, did not fail to express his deep gratitude to all those who from near or far responded favorably to the call for solidarity in support of the families who had spent no less than three months at the CPDM party house in Nkomkana.

He said apart from such gifts from persons of goodwill, the Yaounde II Council provided some basic necessities to the survivors.

On his part, the Divisional Officer for Yaounde recalled that the support of the Head of State to the disaster-stricken families, amounted to 92,000,000 FCFA.

He restated that the site of the tragedy remains a non-constructible zone, adding that some work will be carried out there.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3256 of Friday October 11, 2024