A teacher who returned to Yaoundé from Bamunkumbit, Ndop, just four days ago has been beaten to death by her husband, MMI News learned on Tuesday, September 8.
The woman had travelled back to the capital to resume her teaching job after spending time with her husband in Bamunkumbit, in Cameroon’s North West Region.
Her husband, who previously worked as a driver and more recently operated a bar in Bamunkumbit, fled after her death and is currently being sought. A neighbour who was among the last people to see the woman alive has given MMI News a detailed account of the hours leading to her death.
He said he went to the couple’s home during the night of Monday, September 7, after becoming concerned about what was happening inside.
“When I knocked, her husband told me everything was fine,” he said.
The neighbour said he insisted that the door be opened, but the husband initially refused. “I insisted. I told him I would have to break the door. He then came and opened it,” he recounted.
Even after opening the door, the husband would not allow him to enter. The neighbour’s wife was instead permitted to go inside and check on the victim. When she entered, the woman told her she was okay.
“The deceased told my wife that she was fine, so my wife came out,” the neighbour said. He said the husband later explained that his wife had returned home after drinking and that the two had had a disagreement over alcohol.
The neighbour eventually returned home because it was already late. At about 1 am, however, the husband came knocking again. This time, he asked the neighbour’s wife to return and check on his wife. The victim was still able to speak and again told the woman that she was okay, this time speaking in their local language.
By morning, her condition had deteriorated severely. The neighbour said he was preparing to leave for work when the husband called him back to the house. “When I arrived, I saw the woman lying on the bed with her head leaning into a bucket. She was vomiting,” he said. Realising that she needed urgent medical attention, he rushed outside to find a motorcycle.
“I carried her myself. We put her on the motorcycle,” he said. The husband then left with his wife for the hospital. When the neighbour arrived shortly afterwards, he was told that she had died.
It was at the hospital that he had a clearer look at her injuries. “She had marks on her face,” he said. The neighbour described what appeared to be marks left by physical blows, including impressions resembling fingers on her face.
He said he had not immediately realised during the night that she was being beaten because he did not hear the kind of screams or disturbance that would have made him think a violent assault was taking place.
The testimony adds to accounts obtained by MMI News from people familiar with the couple, who confirmed that the woman had been beaten by her husband before her death. News of the killing has also circulated through community and quarter groups in Bamunkumbit, where the couple was well known.
They had left Bamunkumbit for Yaoundé only four days before her death because the woman needed to return to her teaching job.
What happened after their arrival in Yaoundé has now ended with her death and her husband fleeing. The killing adds another woman to Cameroon’s growing toll of femicide victims and has renewed anger over women dying at the hands of intimate partners. Efforts are underway to locate the husband and have him arrested.