Bamenda’s First Deputy City Mayor, Chi David Ndoh, escaped unharmed after gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in Mulang on Friday, October 9, 2026.
According to local sources, Ndoh was travelling towards the Bamenda City Council offices along a deteriorated road when the shooting occurred. Several bullets struck the vehicle, leaving damage to its windows and bodywork.
The attackers’ identities and motives remain unknown. The available reports do not establish who was responsible for the shooting.
Vehicle previously used by the city mayor
Local accounts indicate that the vehicle had previously been used by the Bamenda City Mayor before being handed over to Ndoh. That history does not establish whether the attackers intended to target Ndoh or associated the vehicle with its previous occupant.
Bamenda City Council has two deputy mayors. Ndoh, the first deputy, is affiliated with the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), while the second deputy belongs to the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF).
It remains unclear whether both deputies have official service vehicles or whether the car involved in the attack was the only one assigned to a deputy mayor.
Shooting follows Atanga Nji’s security assurances
The reported attack occurred four days after Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji chaired a security meeting in Bamenda on October 5.
Speaking after the meeting, Atanga Nji said the security situation in the North-West Region was generally under control. He nevertheless acknowledged remaining pockets of armed separatist resistance and called for continued vigilance and cooperation with the security forces.
The shooting exposes the limits of those assurances: a senior municipal official reportedly came under gunfire while travelling towards council offices, despite the minister’s assessment that security was largely under control.
However, the attackers have not been identified, and the incident cannot be attributed to separatist fighters on the basis of the available information.
Insecurity and damaged roads in Bamenda
Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s North-West Region, has been affected by the Anglophone crisis for nearly a decade. Armed violence continues to threaten civilians and local officials.
For residents, the reported attack adds to concerns about travelling through a city where insecurity and damaged roads complicate daily journeys. The deteriorated route described in accounts of the shooting also points to the infrastructure problems facing those seeking access to municipal services.
Questions remain about who carried out the attack, why the vehicle was targeted and what measures will follow to protect people using the route to the council offices.