At Least 26 Women and Girls Killed or Suspected Killed in Cameroon in Six Weeks, MMI News Review Finds

At least 26 women and girls were killed, or died in cases reported as suspected killings, across Cameroon between August 1 and September 11, 2026, according to an MMI News review of police accounts, government media, local news reports and subsequent investigation updates.

The victims range from a three-year-old girl in Douala to adult women killed in their homes, on roads, in hotel rooms and other locations across the country.

Several were killed by husbands, boyfriends or other men with whom they had intimate relationships. Others died during robberies, suspected sexual attacks or in circumstances investigators are still trying to establish. At least one victim was 16. Others were 18 or 19. Some were pregnant. Several were mothers.

MMI News has also identified additional female deaths during the same period that remain suspicious but are not included in the 26-case tally because available evidence does not yet establish that the victims were killed.

The review shows why the numbers circulating on social media need careful handling. Some lists have counted the same woman twice under different names or locations. Others have assigned killings to the wrong dates. Several have described every death of a woman as a femicide, even where a gender-related motive has not been established.

But once those problems are corrected, the underlying picture remains serious: women and girls continued to die violently across Cameroon throughout August and into September, even as the government said it was stepping up its response to femicide and gender-based violence.

The cases MMI News traced

• August 6 — Philomène Ndambaki, 46, Bertoua: The fish seller was attacked while returning home in the Kpokolota area and stabbed several times. She died from her injuries. An investigation was opened to identify those responsible.
• Around August 7 — unidentified woman, Ngat, Centre Region: A young woman’s body was discovered on a road. CRTV later reported that investigators believed she may have been killed elsewhere and placed on the road to make her death appear to be a traffic accident.
• August 8 — Ekassy Samantha, 16, Bitoutouk: The teenager was reported raped and killed in Bitoutouk village in the Nyong-et-Kellé area. A man identified in reports as Pala Miguel was named as a suspect.
• August 9 — Diane Yidi Ebabi, 19, Yaoundé: Diane was strangled in Olezoa after an argument with her 22-year-old boyfriend. The National Gendarmerie says the suspect kept her body in his room for two days before burying it behind the house. He was arrested on August 17 and took part in a reconstruction on August 20. Investigators said he gave different accounts of the motive, including a dispute over CFA50,000 and questions about a pregnancy.
• Around August 10 — Daïna Tikeng, Yaoundé: Daïna was killed in Eloumdem Bangossien, near Mendong. Her husband was arrested on August 11. Reporting on the case said she had previously left the marital home amid accusations of repeated domestic violence before being found and taken to the area where she was killed.
• Around August 11 — Kenfack Fortune, Yaoundé-Nsimalen road: Fortune died after being thrown or ejected from a moving vehicle. Reporting on the precise date differs, but media reports place the case on August 11. Investigators treated the circumstances as suspicious.
• Mid-August — Valeryn N., 18, Nkoabang: Valeryn disappeared around August 14 after a family dispute. Her body was discovered several days later buried behind the family compound. In September, gendarmes arrested a teenage relative and carried out a reconstruction of the events.
• Night of August 17–18 — Irène Dorothée Ngo, 36, Mimboman, Yaoundé: The mother of four was killed at a residence known as Auberge Château. A 29-year-old man identified as her lover was later arrested. Cameroon Tribune reported serious head injuries and said investigators subsequently reconstructed the killing.
• Around August 18 — Ewana Flore, Yaoundé: Flore, who was reported to be five months pregnant, travelled from Douala to Yaoundé to meet a former partner who had returned from Libya. She was subsequently reported killed during the meeting. The exact date, location and full circumstances have not been established publicly.
• August 19 — Bronhilda Nofendo, 37, Soa: Bronhilda was killed at Nsan, near Tsinga-village, in Soa. Police later arrested her husband, Sariah Treasure Ekome. Cameroon Tribune reported that investigators said she was attacked with a machete and her body concealed under a bed. A September reconstruction fixed the date of the killing as August 19, correcting earlier reports that had placed it on August 21.
• Around August 20 — unidentified woman, Sapelli, Bélabo: A woman was reported sexually assaulted and killed in Bélabo in the East Region. The attacker had not been identified when the case was reported.
• Late August — unidentified woman travelling from Tibati to Meiganga: The woman reportedly travelled to Meiganga looking for work and disappeared after accepting help from a man. The suspect later claimed she died in a motorcycle accident and that he buried her body. Gendarmes reportedly rejected that account and were examining the possibility that she had been sexually assaulted and killed.
• Late August — Ze Ebogo Lydie, Nkolafamba: Lydie was reported beaten to death by her husband. Reports said neighbours heard her cries and that she was later taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. Her husband was reported to have fled. The precise date requires further confirmation.
• Night of August 22–23 — Modestine T., Douala: Modestine, a mother of two, was killed in her home in Logpom. Cameroon Tribune reported that her husband, a butcher, attacked her with a knife while their young children were present. Police arrested him at the scene.
• August 25 — Delphine Bih, Mbalmayo: Delphine died after eating food given to her by her partner. He was detained as investigators examined suspected poisoning. Subsequent reporting said the suspect admitted putting rat poison in the food, although the judicial investigation still had to establish the final cause of death and criminal responsibility.
• August 25 — Crescence Merline Beguel, 44, Yaoundé: Beguel was found dead in a room at Hotel Salvador in the Fouda area with her throat cut. A 22-year-old man was detained. Authorities who visited the scene said a knife was recovered and an investigation was opened.
• August 27 — Akono Ekodo Émilienne, Olembé: Émilienne, in her twenties, died after being pushed from a taxi during a confrontation and then struck by an approaching truck. The taxi fled. Investigators were seeking to identify those inside the vehicle and establish responsibility.
• August 28 — unidentified woman, Kaélé: A woman in Gouzougouï was stabbed repeatedly, reportedly by her husband, on August 27 and died at Kaélé District Hospital the following day. Her husband was reported to have fled. She left behind, among other children, a three-month-old baby.
• Early September — three-year-old girl, Makèpè, Douala: Police detained the child’s mother following her death. Reports said investigators recovered messages from the mother’s phone that they were examining in connection with claims of a purported human sacrifice. Those claims have not been judicially established.
• Early September — young girl, Mfou: A girl staying with her father during the school holidays was reported beaten to death. The father’s partner was identified in reports as the main suspect, and both adults were reported detained. The precise date of the child’s death has not been made clear in available reporting.
• September 2 — unidentified young woman, about 18, Nkoabang: The woman was found dead in a motel near Nkolfoulou. A 32-year-old man was arrested. Early accounts said she had resisted his sexual advances, was violently assaulted and died, after which her body was hidden under a bed. Investigations were continuing.
• September 7 — Tchos Blandine, Etoug-Ebe, Yaoundé: Blandine was reported beaten to death by her husband. The man was arrested and taken into gendarmerie custody.
• September 8 — Chea Géraldine, Yaoundé: The teacher was taken to a health facility in Messassi and declared dead. Injuries were reported on her body. Her husband, Amambua Aleuh Manfred, later fled Yaoundé and was arrested near Foumban. Investigations are continuing into the circumstances of her death.
• September 8 — Eyenga Konga Jamelle, East Region: The partner of Gendarme Major Essindi Protaire Junior was shot dead at about 4am. The gendarmerie hierarchy later corrected initial reports that the major had also died, saying he survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Colonel Nnoko Ngide Divine said the gendarme had left his post without authorisation before going to Eyenga’s home.
• September 8 — unidentified mother, Garoua: A man was detained after residents pursued him over the suspected killing of his mother. Reports said he had also attempted to burn the body. The motive and full circumstances remain under investigation.
• Around September 8 — seven-year-old girl, Obobogo, Yaoundé: Police detained the girl’s mother after the child’s death. Reports said investigators were examining claims made by the mother concerning a purported human sacrifice. Those claims still require verification through the investigation.

That makes at least 26 female victims whose deaths MMI News can presently trace to reported killings or suspected killings within the August 1–September 11 period.

The figure should be treated as a working minimum, not an official national statistic. Cameroon does not maintain a publicly accessible real-time database from which every female homicide can be independently checked.

Other deaths MMI News is not counting yet

Several additional cases require continued investigation.

Tina Rosalie Marlyse Tabi, 49, died at her partner’s home in Ekounou during the night of August 30–31. Her family questioned the circumstances and pointed to her partner, but an initial medical assessment cited a fall in the shower. Without further findings, MMI News cannot classify her death as a killing.

On September 4, the naked body of an unidentified 28-year-old mother was found in a pool of blood at Carrefour Pomme in Balessing. The Penka-Michel gendarmerie opened an investigation, but the cause of death had not been established when the case was reported.

A private security guard, Anyam Esther, was also found dead in a classroom in Bamenda in early September. Available reporting had not established how she died.

And on September 9, the body of a newborn girl was discovered in bushes near Lawyer Enow Street in Kumba with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached. Kumba I Council said the child had injuries to the head. Police were investigating the cause of death and attempting to identify the mother. Until investigators establish that the baby was deliberately killed, the case should remain outside the homicide tally.

MMI News is also tracking reports of decomposing female bodies discovered in places including Kribi, where neither the date nor the cause of death has yet been firmly established.

Why the number differs from figures circulating online

The review uncovered several errors in lists that went viral during August.

One of the most repeated involved Diane Yidi Ebabi. She has appeared under different names, ages and dates, sometimes as “Blandine Diane”, and some lists claimed that the man accused of killing her subsequently killed another pregnant woman.

The National Gendarmerie’s account is much clearer: Diane Yidi Ebabi was 19, she was killed on August 9, and her boyfriend was arrested on August 17.

A separate pregnant woman, Ewana Flore, was indeed reported killed in Yaoundé by a former partner who had returned from Libya. These were two different women.

Similarly, references to Mimboman and “Auberge Château” in some lists do not represent two separate killings. Both relate to the death of Irène Dorothée Ngo.

Early reporting also placed Bronhilda Nofendo’s death on August 21. Police reporting that emerged after the suspect was arrested and the crime reconstructed subsequently fixed the killing to the night of August 19 in Nsan, Soa.

Other cases have been labelled femicide before investigators established why the victim was killed.

That distinction matters.

The United Nations defines femicide as the intentional killing of women or girls with a gender-related motivation. A woman murdered during a robbery is a female homicide victim, but the killing does not automatically meet that definition. A woman found dead in unexplained circumstances cannot automatically be counted as murdered.

MMI News has therefore used the wider category of female victims of reported or suspected killings for this review and has identified intimate-partner femicides separately where the available evidence supports that description.

Cameroon had already recorded 50 femicides by April

The killings occurred against figures the government itself had already described as alarming.

Responding to lawmakers at the National Assembly on June 19, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa said 1,599 cases of gender-based violence had been recorded between January and April 2026, including 50 femicides, 166 rapes and 13 infanticides.

The minister warned that the figures represented only the “tip of the iceberg”, pointing to low reporting caused by fear of social reprisals, family pressure and stigma. Government figures cited in Parliament put recorded femicides at 56 in 2023, 67 in 2024 and about 77 in 2025.

Those numbers mean the state had recorded 50 femicides in the first four months of 2026 before the wave of killings documented in August and September.

On June 1, the government had already convened a joint press conference involving the Ministries of Communication, Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Social Affairs and other state institutions in response to what it described as an upsurge in femicides, violence and rape of children.

Days later, the United Nations system in Cameroon called for an end to impunity for perpetrators of femicide, infanticide, sexual violence and physical abuse, while offering support to strengthen prevention, reporting and access to medical, psychosocial and judicial services.

Yet by August, the killings were again making national headlines.

Human Rights Watch said on August 28 that several women had been killed by current or former partners between August 6 and 26, some in front of their children. The organisation said violence against women remained widespread and that accountability was limited.

A gap between promises and protection

Cameroon adopted a national strategy against gender-based violence in 2022, and government institutions have gender desks, reporting mechanisms and programmes intended to support survivors.

But major gaps remain.

A Human Rights Watch assessment published in June found that Cameroon still does not treat domestic violence as a distinct category of crime. Physical abuse can be prosecuted under general assault provisions of the Penal Code, but there is no comprehensive domestic violence law governing prevention, protection and response.

In June, Abena Ondoa told lawmakers that her ministry was finalising legislation that would create a standalone offence of gender-based violence and strengthen legal protection for women. Human Rights Watch said in August that a national security meeting had also discussed the rise in femicides, but argued that these processes had not yet produced clear immediate measures capable of protecting women at risk.

The government’s own figures and the cases documented since August therefore raise questions that go beyond public condemnation.

How many of the women killed this year had previously reported violence?

How many protection requests were made, and what happened after them?

How quickly can a woman facing an immediate threat from a partner be moved somewhere safe?

How many shelters are actually operating and accessible across all ten regions?

How many femicide and intimate-partner killing cases have reached trial?

How many have resulted in convictions?

And when someone reports repeated threats, beatings or stalking, which institution is responsible for ensuring that the threat does not end in death?

These questions matter because several of the cases documented in this review involved reported histories of domestic abuse, attempts to leave relationships, or disputes with intimate partners.

Daïna Tikeng was reported to have left her marital home because of violence before she was killed. Several other women died inside relationships in which the man now suspected of killing them was already close enough to control access to the home, their movements or their safety.

A system centred on prosecution after death cannot substitute for prevention before the killing.

Girls are part of this story too

The national conversation is often described as a crisis of violence against women. The cases show that girls must be part of it.

Ekassy Samantha was 16.

Valeryn was 18.

Diane Yidi Ebabi was 19.

A three-year-old girl in Douala and a seven-year-old in Yaoundé died in cases now under investigation.

Another girl in Mfou was reported beaten to death while staying with her father during the school holidays.

And the death of a newborn girl in Kumba remains under investigation.

In June, government figures already showed 13 infanticides recorded between January and April. The United Nations specifically warned at the time about violence directed against children.

Treating these deaths solely as isolated crime stories risks missing the protection failures connecting them.

The real number may be higher

MMI News cannot state that the 26 cases identified in this review represent every woman or girl killed in Cameroon during the six-week period.

Some killings in rural communities never reach national media. Others are reported only after arrests weeks later. The death may initially be described as an accident before evidence of violence emerges. In some cases, families bury victims before an investigation gains public attention.

Human Rights Watch has said Cameroon lacks a comprehensive, coordinated system for collecting and disaggregating gender-based violence data, making the true scale of domestic violence and femicide difficult to establish.

That makes accurate documentation itself part of the problem.

Names should not disappear into changing statistics. Dates should not be duplicated. One victim should not become two because different reports use different neighbourhoods. A suspicious death should not be labelled murder before evidence supports it, but neither should a killing disappear simply because nobody maintains a reliable national register.

From Philomène Ndambaki in Bertoua on August 6 to Eyenga Konga Jamelle in the East Region on September 8, the cases documented over these six weeks cross age, region and circumstance.

Some are clear intimate-partner killings. Some involve suspected sexual violence. Some appear connected to robbery or other crimes. Others are still being investigated.

What connects them is simpler: at least 26 female lives ended in reported or suspected killings in just over six weeks, while several more deaths remain unexplained.

Cameroon’s government has already acknowledged that violence against women and children is a national problem.

The question after August and the first eleven days of September is no longer whether the problem exists.

It is what happens before the next woman or girl becomes another name on the list.

Zera Nambu contributed to this report