Bamesseng, a village in Batcham within the Bamboutos Division, is in shock. On Monday, October 28th, 2024, 43-year-old Chanceline Tedongmo and her three children, two of whom were adopted, died after they consumed a meal of fufu corn and okra.
The head of the family, Patrice Dzemdio, devastated by the incident, was reportedly unable to speak. A family member claimed that a relative who had visited the house started the meal preparation at first.
“The wife of one of our junior brothers came to the house and started cooking the fufu, but when her child started crying, she left it for the mother of the house to continue cooking,” recounted a family member.
Chanceline took over, completed the meal, and ate with the children. Shortly after, the children began experiencing severe pain.
“The children started crying, and even the mother also ate her own. When the children first started crying, she started shouting, and people came out and saw how the children were crying,” a witness from the family explained.
Not the First Time
Adding to the mystery, family members confirmed that the same batch of corn flour used in the meal had been cooked three times previously without any issues.
“The corn flour had been previously cooked three times and we ate, it did not have any problem. It is only yesterday that had a problem,” one relative said.
This is not the first time such an incident is happening in Cameroon. Another family of four died in similar circumstances, and till date, the cause has not been established.
Local authorities have launched an investigation to uncover the cause of the tragedy, but most people believe that this will just end as another cold case. Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased have been taken from Bamesseng to the Bafoussam Mortuary as the community mourns the irreplaceable loss.
