Alarming: Eleven women brutally killed by partners in 10 days.

The reported killings were recorded in Yaounde and Mbalmayo in the Centre Region; Douala, Littoral Region; Belabo in the East Region and Meiganga in the Adamawa Region. 

The victims included a teacher, a student preparing to continue her studies abroad, a pregnant woman, a jobseeker and a bar attendant.

Some suspects have been arrested and placed in custody. Others were still being sought as at press time, while security services continue investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding each death.

The chilling incidents

Two bodies were discovered in Belabo and Awae on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, barely a day after the killings of a teacher, Beguel Crescence Merline, in Yaounde and Delphine Bih in Mbalmayo, were reported. 

In Belabo, a young woman, employed at a bar, was reportedly found dead inside her home. Reports hold that she had also been sexually assaulted by one or more assailants.

In Awae on the outskirts of Yaounde, the body of another woman was discovered on a road after being repeatedly run over by vehicles. 

The condition of the body, sources said, initially pointed to a road accident. Gendarmes, however, reportedly opened an investigation after noticing aspects which raised questions about that account.

Investigations are said to have led security officers to the victim’s partner. He is said to have initially claimed that the woman had run into the road during an argument and was struck by passing vehicles.

Reports said the man later admitted during questioning that he had killed the woman, removed her clothes and placed her body on the road to make her death appear like a traffic accident. He was taken into custody as investigations continue.

Woman allegedly poisoned in Mbalmayo

In Mbalmayo, a woman, identified as Delphine Bih, died after reportedly consuming poisoned pork, given to her by her husband. The suspect, identified as Kpwe Julius, is said to have put rat poison in pieces of roasted pork before giving them to his wife. 

The husband, currently in custody, has admitted to the crime. He has cited insults from his late wife and his in-laws, as well as a 100,000 FCFA loan the wife contracted from him, but later refused to reimburse, as motives for the decision he took to end her life on earth.

Teacher killed during hotel meeting

Bih’s death was reported barely 24 hours after Beguel Crescence Merline was killed inside Hotel Salvador VIP in Yaounde.

The 44-year-old teacher was found dead in a room at the hotel in the Fouda neighbourhood of Yaounde, on August 25, 2026. 

Merline had gone to the hotel to meet a 22-year-old man with whom she had been communicating on social media.

Reports indicate that the suspect had arrived the hotel a day before the meeting. An argument allegedly broke out after the pair met in person. 

The suspect had reportedly demanded the reimbursement of money he had previously sent to Merline, citing her old age. He had reportedly expressed surprise that the supposed young lady he was chatting with on social media, was not the one who showed up to satisfy his sexual desires. The disagreement allegedly escalated into a physical attack during which she suffered fatal knife wounds.

The suspect in this case is said to have attempted to escape by jumping over the hotel fence. Young people in the neighbourhood pursued and caught him and handed to security officers. 

Mfoundi Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, Emmanuel Djikdent, later visited the scene. The identity cards of two women, a rope and clothes were reportedly found among the suspect’s belongings.

Investigators have not publicly established why he possessed the items or whether they were connected to other cases. Yaounde V Divisional Officer, DO, subsequently ordered the temporary closure of Hotel Salvador VIP.

Mothers killed in Douala, Yaounde

Another woman, identified as Modestine Maffo, was allegedly killed by her husband in the Logpom neighbourhood of Douala V. The 34-year-old mother was reportedly attacked at the family home during the night of August 22, 2026.

Her children are said to have been inside the house when the incident occurred. The suspect, identified as Hervé Tezembong, is a butcher by profession. He was arrested and placed in custody. Details on the reasons for her husband’s action are short in supply.

In Yaounde, another woman was found dead in the Tsinga neighbourhood, on August 21, 2026. Her body was reportedly discovered in an advanced state of decomposition inside the family home. 

Her husband, identified as Ekome Treasure, allegedly concealed her remains under a bed before taking their three children to their maternal grandmother in Kumba, Meme Division in the South West Region. The suspect was later arrested in Kumba while allegedly preparing to cross into Nigeria. 

Jobseeker buried near house

In the Adamawa Region, a woman, who travelled from Tibati to Meiganga, in search of employment, disappeared after accepting an offer of assistance from a man. 

The man had reportedly promised to introduce her to someone who could help her secure a job. She was not seen again after leaving with him. 

Gendarmes later arrested the man and questioned him about the disappearance. He allegedly claimed that the woman died in a motorcycle accident while travelling with him.

The suspect reportedly told investigators that he buried her near a house because he feared being accused of causing her death. 

Security officers reportedly questioned his version of events and opened investigations into possible sexual assault and murder. The victim’s identity has not been disclosed.

In another case reported in Belabo on August 20, 2026, a woman was found dead in the Sapelli neighbourhood. It is alleged that she was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Teenager killed over FCFA 50,000 dispute

Meanwhile, a 19-year-old, Blandine Diane, was reportedly killed by her 22-year-old boyfriend in Yaounde, following a dispute over the sum of FCFA50,000. 

The suspect, identified as Enock Yvan Osée, allegedly killed the young woman inside his residence after she demanded the money. 

He is said to have spent two days with the corpse before burying it in a makeshift grave behind the residence. Gendarmes subsequently arrested Enock following a search.

In another incident, Ewana Flore, who was five months pregnant, was reportedly killed after travelling from Douala to Yaounde, at the request of a former partner who had returned from Libya. 

Reports alleged that the man called her to Yaounde after discovering she was pregnant and living with another man in Douala. Ewane was allegedly killed after arriving the capital city. The suspect reportedly fled following the incident.

Student thrown from moving vehicle

There is also the case of a student, Kenfack Fortune, who died after she was allegedly thrown from a speeding vehicle along a major road in Yaounde. 

Gendarmes reportedly saw the occupants of the vehicle threw what appeared to be an object through the car window. They did not immediately realise it was a person, locals indicated.

Fortune’s body was later recovered from the roadside. It remained unclear whether she died before being thrown from the vehicle or after hitting the road. 

A member of her family alleged that the student had also been sexually assaulted.  Kenfack was reportedly preparing to travel to Germany to continue her studies.

Gov’t announces proposed special law

Reacting to the killings in an interview with State broadcaster, CRTV, the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, said the number and frequency of the reported deaths have reached a disturbing level.

She revealed that the ministry had previously joined other government departments, civil society organisations and development partners in denouncing violence against women and supporting affected families.

The minister disclosed that a proposed law, specifically targeting violence against women and girls, had advanced to the level of the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Prof Abena Ondoa said several meetings had already been held to agree on the content of the draft legislation. The proposed law is expected to provide a specific framework for prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of violence against women and girls, she stated.

Government had earlier announced measures, including the opening of about 100 temporary shelters for victims of violence and abuse. 

Other measures included legal assistance, socioeconomic reintegration programmes and the gradual creation of Gender Desks in police stations and gendarmerie brigades.

The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family also operates the toll-free number 116 for reporting cases and directing victims and witnesses to available assistance.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo, also raised the alarm over the killings, during a special security meeting, convened ahead of the resumption of schools. The meeting held in Yaounde on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. 

“During our sessions, we will also examine the increasingly tragic phenomena of infanticide and femicide, particularly in our cities. Scarcely a day goes by without reports of attacks on the lives of women and children here and there,” Beti Assomo told top brass of the military during the meeting. 

Politicians, others wade in, condemn killings 

On his part, the leader of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation, PCRN, Hon Cabral Libii, has called for tougher punishment for perpetrators. 

The lawmaker said anger, jealousy, humiliation or domestic disputes did not provide justification for assaulting or killing women.

For Sociologist, Prof Christian Bios, domestic violence can be linked to a combination of sociocultural and socioeconomic factors. 

He cited among others persistent patriarchal practices, household debt, social insecurity and the absence of family, traditional or religious mediators during disputes.

He said education on non-violence should promote mutual respect, justice and shared responsibility among young people. Such education, he added, should be supported by a specific and sufficiently dissuasive legal framework.

Beyond the 11 killings recorded within the latest 10-day period, other female deaths and attacks were reported earlier in August this year. They included the August 7, 2026, killing of a fish seller returning home in Bertoua, the death of a woman whose body was abandoned on a road in Ngat and the killing of 16-year-old Ekassy Samantha in Bitoutouk. A pregnant woman also died during a Caesarean section at the Bokito hospital on August 6, 2026.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3895 of Monday August 31, 2026