By Mike Klaus
Inhabitants of Buea, in the South West Region of Cameroon, have said police harassment has tripled in the town. The policemen take advantage of the traditionally unannounced neighborhood checks popularly known as “Cale Cale” to extort exorbitant amounts from civilians.
Hundreds of innocent civilians are usually picked into police trucks, even if they show proof of identification. The illegally arrested civilians are then forced to pay huge sums before being let go.
“The police give no reason why they are holding you. They just say we are doing Cale Cale and that’s all. They will hold you even when you have presented your Identity card and write down your information as if you are a criminal or something I don’t understand,” a victim in Buea who was picked up on Friday told MMI.
Images of youth harassed and arrested in Muea, South West region of Cameroon taken with hidden camera
These frequent neighborhood checks are seen by many as nothing more than the police scheme to illegally squeeze money out of civilians’ pockets.
“When I was arrested, I thought a crime had been committed in the area and people were taken in for questioning. But If you hold me up for no reason just to disrupt my day, schedule then this is really bad of this law enforcement officer,” our source lamented.
Just like in Yaoundé, police harassment in other towns is a major cause for concern. In Yaoundé, anglophone-dominated neighborhoods have often been targets of these spontaneous invasions.
Administrative authorities have often justified the need for these checks and claimed they are necessary to maintain peace and order despite the several illegal acts done by the law enforcement officers on duty.
