A young student of the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) was discovered dead in a well in Yaounde Wednesday, September 6.
Akoumba Zeh Rodrigue, as he was identified, was found dead in a well at Odza neighborhood in Yaounde where he lived.
His tragic death terrified neighbors and other residents of Odza who knew him for his composed nature. They could not ascertain if he had drowned or was killed and dumped in the well.
“He’s my neighbor from the neighborhood. We’ve been speechless since yesterday,” a resident of Odzoa told MMI on Thursday.
His family members have been inconsolable as they struggle to accept that their young promising son is gone.
MMI learned that Akoumba Rodrigue was preparing for his defense in Economics at ENAM before he mysteriously died.
Commenting on the incident, Ahanda Joseph Christian, a resident of Yaounde, said Akoumba’s death could have been averted if water supply was consistent in Odzoa neighborhood. The locality, like many others in Yaounde, suffers from potable water shortages that have pushed many households into seeking alternative water supplies like wells.
“I can’t even imagine the pain of his parents. If we had drinking water flowing from our taps maybe some people would still be with us today,” he regretted.
Water-related deaths contribute notably to the total number of deaths recorded in Cameroon.
Data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 revealed that death by drowning in Cameroon reached 1,178 or 0.66 percent of total deaths that year.
In the same year, Cameroon was ranked 50th in the world in terms of the number drowning-related deaths.
The figures of persons who have died through water-related causes in the country might have increased, owing to the numerous cases of floods reported in the country this year.
By Amina Hilda
