Researchers Killed in Far North Were Working on Water Crisis — Minister

The Minister of Scientific Research and Innovations, Madeline Tchuinte, has firmly condemned the mob killing of two researchers and their guide in the Far North, stating that they were researching on water crisis when villagers in Souledé-Roua mistook them for Boko Haram fighters.

The Minister revealed in a statement that the researchers were on mission in Mayo Tsanaga Division to find solutions for water crisis in the Mandara mountains.

The minister, while condemning the mob action, drew the attention of president Paul Biya to the barbaric act. She called for justice, reiterating a recent view from opposition leader, Prof Maurice Kamto, who called for investigations into the issue.

Minister Tchuinte recounted how the researchers ended up losing their lives to a reckless mob.

“On Sunday, March 2, 2025, three of our compatriots were flogged, lynched and burned alive by a popular mob in Souledé-Roua.”

The victims included Mr. Mounsi Frédéric, Research Officer working at the Geological and Mining Research Center (CRGM) in Garoua, Dr. Bello Bienvenue, Part-time lecturer of Structural Geology at the Universities of Garoua and Ngaoundéré and Mr. Oumarou, Kabalay, Prince of Meri, guide and motorcycle transporter of the two researchers.

Research to Stem Water Crisis

The researchers Killed at Souledé-Roua village were out to gain scientific insights on water crisis in the locality and other parts of the Far North.

The area, which is part of the Lake Chad Basin, has witnessed episodes of drought, caused by changing temperatures, and water sources have been drying up.

“The deceased went to the above-mentioned locality to carry out, as usual, a research mission aimed at resolving the problem of access to drinking water for the populations of the Mandara Mountains,” the minister said.

The researchers, she added, followed due process of identifying themselves to the villagers and they were harmless.

Minister Tchuinte noted that they “carried neither weapons nor sharp objects” during the research mission. Yet, they did not escape the mob violence.

The minister also called for an urgent action against those who masterminded the “tragic” and “painful” event.

“These heinous crime are inevitably one of the consequences of the savagery of our society and the dissemination within it of hatred by some of our compatriots, without faith or law,” she added.

She expressed concern that the mob action could deter other researchers from venturing out to conduct research.

While calling on researchers to remain calm and resilient, the Minister has asked them to calmly continue their missions, “the importance of which for the development and emergence of our country is no longer in doubt.”

Call for Biya’s Intervention for Justice

Since the incident occurred on March 2, authorities have announced no actions to bring the perpetrators to book.

The reaction of the minister did not lose sight of the need for justice to prevail.

Calling on President Paul Biya to take action she, “appealed to the benevolent concern of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA, so that light may be shed on this tragedy and justice rendered”.

Amid government’s silence, opinion leaders have however, been raising concerns.

On Sunday, March 9, Prof Maurice Kamto, Leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party, called for an independent investigation into the atrocity and the prosecution of perpetrators.