Bambui: Military Storms funeral event, kills masquerade

By David Atangana

Members of the Cameroon military have reportedly invaded a funeral event killing a masquerade.

The incident occured Saturday December 7, 2023 in Bambui, a locality in Mezam division of the North West region.

Locals say the military stormed the event and started shooting indiscriminately — before targeting and shooting to death a masquerade who was fleeing into safety.

Unconfirmed reports say, the Brigade commander of the National gendarmerie for Tubah ordered the attack described by locals as “abominable and unacceptable.”

“At about 3:35 PM at the peak of the celebration, the military marched into the celebration ground while others had taken position around the area”, an eye witness told MMI.

“Most of the masquerades unmasked themselves and abandoned their masks as they took refuge among the women and the rest of the panic-stricken population.”

According to the eyes account, a masquerade invited to animate the funeral event was shot and killed.

“After killing the masquerade, they took off the mask and all the dresses from which the extracted cowries we use for cultural events, placed on the corpse, and took pictures for their propaganda.”

The total number of casualties is not known as some people reportedly escaped with bullet wounds.

The local population is yet to come to terms with such an attack which many have termed an affront against their culture and tradition.

“You come to a death celebration where people are unarmed and are celebrating a piece of their culture and start shooting. Why open fire on them?” a Bambui resident wondered.

Many are also wondering whether it is the dialogue and negotiation of the Anglophone crisis promised by President Paul Biya during his new year wishes on January 6, 2023 at the Unity Palace.

At the time of this report, the scene of the attack was still littered with masks of jujus, other cultural items as well as the food items and drinks, that people abandoned while escaping.

Mimi Mefo Info