Cameroon: Gendarme officers arrested for torturing man to death.

Officials of the Etoudi Gendarmerie Brigade in Yaounde, in the Center Region of Cameroon, have arrested some of their colleagues for torturing an inmate to death.

A Cameroon-based Non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as ‘Mandela Center International Foundation’ issued a joint statement with another, ‘New Human Rights’ confirming the incident.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has, since its creation, been fighting against rights violations and arbitrary arrests in the country.

Its members say the challenges of Ndongo Bilogo (the victim) started after he was arrested, tortured, and held in custody at the Etoudi Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade on June 1, 2023.

He was arrested after handing a package to a lady in a hotel in Etoudi, Yaoundé. The package came from his friend. Though it is still unclear what its content was, it is obvious his arrest, detention, and murder are not unconnected to the package he collected.

“The investigations, led by Colonel Nana of the Gendarmerie Operational Command (COG) post of the State Secretariat in Defence (SED), led to the arrest of the perpetrators,” the NGOs noted.

Little too late!

Bilogo was released, without any bail on June 5, 2023, but it seems it was already too late.

He died on July 19, 2023, in the emergency room of the Yaoundé General Hospital.

“He had numerous hematoma on the body, particularly very visible on the face, and he was immediately admitted to the emergency room of the Yaoundé General Hospital. Medical diagnosis revealed a severe Temporal intraparenchymal hematoma,” a joint statement by the NGOs revealed.

Hematoma describes an area of blood that collects outside of the larger blood vessels. Hematomas are commonly due to injuries or trauma in the area. An injury can cause blood vessel walls to break, allowing blood to make its way into the surrounding tissue.

The NGOs have announced an ongoing investigation. The case of Bilogo isn’t different from that of Samuel Wazizi, who was murdered in detention, a few days after he was arrested and tortured by security forces.

There have also been cases of inmates who died in detention because they were denied access to health care.