Douala: Security forces begin house-to-house search after Bepanda ‘bomb’ explosion

Defense and security forces in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, are searching some houses in the Bepanda neighbourhood, Douala 5 Municipality.

“Someone knocked our door by 4:30 am Tuesday, February 2nd. He identified himself as a police officer. He came alongside about 15 of his colleagues. They entered and checked the house and equally checked our national identity cards. After that they left,” a Bepanda resident recounted.

The unannounced search of houses in the neighbourhood follows the explosion of a locally made bomb in the quarter on Sunday, January 31st, 2021.

The incident left 26-year-old Eugene Afili, student in the faculty of economic sciences at the University of Douala dead while his friend, Ndua Tangeh Valentine, 39, is still receiving medical attention at the Douala General Hospital.

According to investigations carried out by the police, the two boys fabricated a local bomb in their room and following wrong manipulation, it exploded.

Police found over 20 motorcycle batteries, alarms and other objects believe to be raw materials for the production of explosives.

The incident has further instilled fear in the minds of locals, with people from the North West and South West regions saying they will further be victimised by security forces given that the two supposed local bomb engineers are from Balikumbat in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Mbatho Ntan.