Cameroonian migrant, Francois Bienvenu, suffers mental derangement after five years in Mozambique prison

David Herbeneze Francois Bienvenu, a Cameroonian migrant in Mozambique, has reportedly become mentally deranged after spending five years in the country’s immigration detention facility.

Mozambican immigration officers arrested him on January 8, 2018, just two days after he had come into the country from South Africa, MMI learned.

Since then, he has not received any hopes of being released or repatriated back to his home country Cameroon.

Bienvenu’s only point of contact has been Teghen Maurus, another Cameroonian who is a pharmacist in Mozambique.

“He has been in prison in this country for five good years and I’m sure the family is unaware of what is happening and that Bienvenu is mentally unstable due to stress,” Teghen told MMI.

He said Francois Bienvenu left his Yaounde-based parents, Nklonwood Raymond Bienvenu and Beyala Stimi Bernadette, 12 years ago to South Africa, before later transferring to neighbouring Mozambique where he has spent the last five years in detention.

He has been living under very lowly conditions in prison and “he got no dresses,” Teghen said.

Francois Bienvenu is among several Cameroonians who have migrated out of the country illegally in search for greener pastures abroad.

At a conference on illegal migration in Yaounde on February 5, 2021, United Nations experts said over 300,000 Cameroonians had left the country to search for greener pastures abroad.

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“Immigration experts say overpopulation, unsatisfactory economic growth, impatience and an obsession with Western life are some of the reasons why Cameroonian youths are migrating to other countries,” Cameroon’s state-owned media, CRTV, reported.

“Most youths say succeeding in Cameroon is way too difficult compared to other countries. Some of the youths leaving the country harbor fantasies of a beautiful and rosy European life,” CRTV added.

By Tata Mbunwe