Commotion ensued at Ndongo, a neighborhood in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon, this evening as residents combed the locality in search of a man accused of raping an underaged girl.
The accused had escaped before the population arrived at his hostel room, prompting the mob to lynch his roommate.
After a fierce interrogation by the population, the roommate was taken to the police station for further investigations.
The prime suspect reportedly disappeared after the young girl brought people to point out the place where she was allegedly assaulted.
Concerned residents earlier found her in a distressed state, displaying evident signs of having been s£xually assaulted.
The victim led the agitated crowd to the room where she claimed the assault took place, even pointing out the bedsheet used during the alleged crime.
Reacting swiftly, the infuriated mob apprehended the roommate of the accused individual, intensifying an already volatile situation.
The incident comes amid an ongoing national outcry against rape and sexual predation, as authorities seek to uncover a purported network of serial rapists accused of assaulting over 1,000 girls and women.
Influential businessman, Herve Bopda, who is now in custody, is the suspected leader of the alleged network of sexual predators, which stretches from Yaoundé, the political capital, to Douala.
For days now, a widespread campaign has gained steam, calling for justice not only for the alleged victims of Herve Bopda, but for all victims of sexual assault in Cameroon.
“Cameroonians and especially Cameroonian women are not safe anywhere,” Tweeted Cameronian activist and politician Edith Kah Walla.
“In conflict zones we rape. In the city there is rape. The results of 41 years of the Biya Regime. All our hashtags are STOP.”
Rape and sexual assault against women and girls is a frequent in Cameroon, owing to armed conflicts, poverty and inadequate protection mechanisms for victims.
