Editorial: Insecurity; When Yaounde mourns....

In reaction, opposition figures, including the emblematic Mboua Massock, distributed tracts in Douala, calling for “all heads of businesses and educational and hospital establishments in the economic capital to stop all activities on April 18 and 19, so that those in power are made aware of the need to convene a national conference”.

The protest, termed "villes mortes" paralysed the country with the agony of general strikes, looting, ransacking, mass arrests and fatalities.

Yaounde did not as much as feel the excruciating pain inflicted by the "ghost towns." In response, President Paul Biya mocked the protesters that "when Yaounde breathes, the country lives".

He could not be faulted. After all, the seat of government in every country is the most protected, secured, safe and clean. 

But today, Yaounde is not only mired in mountains of refuge, mini-lakes on many streets, but alarming insecurity. 

According to the National President of the Taxi Drivers Union, Mounchirou Amadou, “in less than two months, we have lost 11 taxi drivers. Those attacking our members kill them and then use their taxis to continue working in the city”. 

Narrating their ordeal as this daily newspaper reported yesterday, he explained that the assailants often use knives to overpower their victims. Others recount that the devilish attackers oftentimes use chemical substances to incapacitate drivers before removing everything on them and escaping with the taxis.

As for solutions, the union proposed the systematic identification of all taxi drivers and the mandatory display of vehicle door numbers. They equally urged authorities to order a crackdown on illegal actors in the transportation business.

The resurgence of unidentified persons in the sector, they said, puts the lives of drivers and passengers at risk. The leaders of the taxi drivers’ union also called for the reinstatement of the city exit permit system which gives room for oversight controls.

They also recommended the need for the institution of a special task force under the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Territorial Administration, to address growing insecurity in the sector.

The government has not been indifferent to security concerns in the capital. In May last year, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, announced a series of measures aimed at curbing violence against taxi drivers.

He ordered that all vehicles used for public transportation should be identified by competent local authorities. Minister Atanga Nji had equally instructed car owners to submit the names of any driver, whether permanent or temporary, to authorities for tracking purposes.

In August 2023, the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Mfoundi, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, issued a release ordering the removal of tinted glasses from all taxis.

Despite those commendable measures, insecurity continues with the killing of as many as 11 taxi drivers within two months, more than one in a week.

The insecurity in the fortress of Yaounde is not only among taxi cab drivers. The capital has also been notorious for trafficking in human parts as three individuals were recently arrested in the Mvan area of the city in possession of a complete remains of a human being for ritual purposes.

There is no qualm that Yaounde remains the safest city in the country as the capital. If such heinous crimes are being committed in the capital, then it should be everyone's guess about the situation in other cities and even villages, which are often not in the radar of reporters.

According to the United States government, "there is risk of armed robbery and mugging throughout Cameroon, particularly in the cities of Yaounde, Douala, Ngaoundere and Bafoussam".

If Yaounde "breathed" in 1991, while the rest of the country was paralysed, it certainly cannot be said to be in a healthy mood today, on security grounds. 

The Guardian Post is aware of the various measures the government has taken to keep not only Yaounde safe, but the entire country.

But Yaounde is proof to prove that the measures are not producing the required results, despite the myriads of security services like the gendarmes, police, Rapid Intervention Brigade, Special Intervention Unit, Navy, army, private security companies and even vigilante groups.

The government needs to return to the drawing board to ameliorate its security apparatus not only to keep Yaounde safe but the entire country, which should be its preponderant priority. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3263 of Friday October 18, 2024