By MMI
Following the death of opposition leader, Anicet Ekane, the Cameroon government said it has opened an investigation to determine what happened and who is responsible.
This announcement, made on Monday, December 1, by the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, ignited the distrust many feel toward government investigations.
Many Cameroonian social media users doubt there will be any meaningful investigation that brings justice, as Ekane’s family accused authorities barring access to much-needed treatment for the deceased politician.
The skepticism is because most government investigations take a very long time, and hardly any findings are ever published.
So, MMI takes a look at past investigations whose findings are yet to be published.
Death of the Bishop of Bafia
In May 2017, the Bishop of Bafia, in Cameroon’s Centre region, Jean Marie Benoit Balla, went missing. After a search, his car was discovered on a bridge with a note on it: “I am in the water.”
His body was later found by a fisherman. At first it appeared to be suicide, but on second thought, the government suspected a criminal act.
On May 31, 2017, the government said it had launched an investigation to determine what or who killed the Catholic Bishop. It has been almost 9 years since the incident, but the findings of the investigation into his death have never been published.
Death of Samuel Wazizi
The Buea-based journalist was summoned to a police station in Muea, Buea, headquarters of Cameroon’s South West region, on August 2, 2019.
From there, the military took over. The journalist was accused of aiding logistics for separatists in the region—accusations which his lawyer and human rights organizations denied.
From the day he entered the police station, he was not seen again. After nine months, news emerged that he had died in military custody.
After much pressure, the military said he died of severe sepsis. To this day, his body has never been handed to his family for burial.
On June 5, 2020, the French Ambassador, after a meeting with President Paul Biya, said the president had ordered an investigation to shed light on the death of Wazizi.
It has now been six years, but the findings have never been published. Last year, during a review of Cameroon’s human rights record by the UN Committee Against Torture, the Cameroon delegation said the Wazizi case has been classified, meaning the findings cannot be published unless declassified.
Eseka Train Derailment
On October 21, 2016, a train derailed in the town of Eseka in the Centre region, killing 79 people and injuring over 600.
It was one of Cameroon’s deadliest accidents in history. Camrail, Cameroon’s railway, is operated by a French company.
It is nearly a decade since the government investigation. No one has ever been held accountable. What the government did was construct a monument and some facilities in the town as a way of remembering those who died.
There were allegations of overload and that the rail tracks were old and outdated but were never replaced.
Killing of Women and Children in the Far North
In July 2018, the Cameroon government said it had arrested four soldiers for killing women and children in the Far North village of Zeleved.
According to the government, these soldiers are standing trial. But who are they? The secrecy around the identities of these soldiers raises questions as to why there was an investigation in the first place.
The women and children were killed on allegations of being members of Boko Haram fighters’ families. The Cameroon government had initially denied the killings took place in the country, attributing them to Mali.
But after the BBC revealed it happened in Cameroon, the government said an investigation had led to the arrest of seven soldiers—but this never yielded justice for the families.
Other investigations
There are other investigations, including findings into a missing 188 billion CFA francs, which was loaned by the IMF to combat COVID-19 in Cameroon.
Despite a government commission questioning some officials, the money has never been recovered, and no one has been held accountable.
That is not all; in 2022, the government ordered an investigation into the Olembe Stadium stampede that killed four people during an AFCON match. No one has been held accountable.
There are more such investigations, which many Cameroonians think are just a formality, since nobody is ever held responsible.
With the recently announced investigation into the death of Anicet Ekane, many Cameroonians hope it yields results.
