A gendarme officer called Désiré Kerehoul has reportedly been beaten to death, by the population of Mbara, a locality in the North Region of Cameroon
It is alleged that the uniform officer was mobbed for killing a motorcycle rider over 500 FCFA.
The incident occurred around 10 a.m. on August 26.
The gendarme officer who was guarding a checkpoint in Mbara, reportedly stopped a biker, transporting a passenger and a bag of cereal, for routine control.
The rider resisted control and accelerated, claiming to have already paid the sum of 500 FCFA as a ‘bribe’ on his first passage at that road stretch for the day.
A source narrated that “immediately the gendarme officer grabbed his motorcycle to chase him; a few meters from the checkpoint, he caught up with the transporter evading control and violently pushed them to the side.”
Both the rider and the passenger of the runaway bike are said to have, unfortunately, been crushed into the tar, resulting in a fatal accident.
The motorcyclist reportedly died on the spot, while the passenger sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the Boula-Ibib health center.
The news about the incident quickly circulated around the village like wildfire, sparking tension between the population and the gendarme officer.
“They literally stoned him to death,” the source added.
Despite some onlookers’ best efforts to save the gendarme officer, the large crowd overwhelmed them.
Following severe beatings by the mob, he gave up the ghost before he was rushed to a nearby health center, where he was confirmed dead.
The clash between the population and the gendarme officer led to the halting of circulation on the road stretch for nearly three hours.
After the intervention of the Mayor of Bibémi, Armand Yédi, and the Divisional Officer of Bibimé, Mahamat Taher Ousman, calm was restored and traffic flow was resumed.
