Young Man in Buea Dies After Allegedly Consuming Poisoned Food Intended for Aunt

The family of Luma Frederic, a taxi driver in Buea who died Tuesday of suspected poison, has insisted that an autopsy be conducted on his body to find out exactly what killed him.

The 30-year-old was confirmed dead at the Buea Regional Hospital this morning after eating a meal of rice and beans from his aunt’s house in Bokwaongo yesterday.

Doctors who attended to the case said they could not exactly say what killed him until an autopsy was conducted. But they affirmed that his death resulted from some form of intoxication.

Unconfirmed reports say Luma Frederic ate food that his uncle had poisoned for his aunt. The couple, family members said, had serious quarrels that threatened the union.

“What happened is that Luma’s maternal aunt had serious problems with her husband. They have been fighting and insulting each other. So the uncle resolved that it was better to kill his wife. So he put ‘mocab’ into the food that his wife prepared. And he refused his children from eating the food. So that’s how Luma ate the food and could not sleep the whole night. Foam started coming out of his mouth and when they took him to the hospital it was too late,” a family member recounted.

The aunt is being hospitalised at the Buea Regional Hospital, where dozens of people gathered this morning. She reportedly tasted the food after Luma complained of a strange smell from it.

“Luma complained that the food was smelling, but the aunt could not understand what was happening because she prepared the food herself,” said the relative.

Luma’s parents, who are based in Bokova, a village on the outskirts of Buea, could not contain their grief when they were informed of his death.

His mother passed out while his father, who had spoken with him on Tuesday, could not believe the tragic news.

He was his parents’ first son.

Public Outrage

This morning, a mob invaded the house of the man who now stands accused of killing his wife’s nephew. He was seized and brutalised before the police rescued him.

Unconfirmed reports say the suspect confessed that he did not intend to poison Luma, but his wife.

Dozens of people, including taxi drivers, were at the Buea Regional Hospital this morning when they received the news.

Luma’s family has asked for an autopsy to be conducted on the body of their deceased son but the hospital authorities say this could only be done in the days ahead.

Luma Frederic was a hardworking young man with a promising future, relatives lamented. The graduate of the University of Buea leaves behind a young wife whom he married a few years ago.