Society

The population of symbock neighbourhood in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital got up this Wednesday morning June 22 2017 in tears and sorrow as floods had swept away some homes on its way and surroundings inundated. Two houses where brought down by the floods which also carried away properties from many homes along its passage.

Many businesses around the area are seriously affected by the disaster as they can't open their doors since the entire environ is engulfed by water. One amongst the businesses severely touched is the Etok- koss touristic centre which has been shutdown for the whole day. The centre which has many fish ponds, restaurant, leisure facilities, touristic sites and a poultry has been stagnant. A spokesman for the centre, Dr Thomas Essono regretted, his enterprise will lose about 500,000 fcfa per day excluding the fish ponds destroyed and a huge quantity of fish gone into the near by river mefou which break its banks due to heavy rains.

He added that since water has entered the whole centre with everything Wet and some damaged beyond repairs, it might take them at least 4 days to get back to business if the government does not intervene fast. The situation is largely blamed on the illegal and haphazard construction of houses in swampy areas which block water passages.

Inhabitants have also point accusing fingers at the national commission on disaster management for not doing its job properly. They are to prevent catastrophes and not wait to come in only when it has happened.

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Rita Akana

23.Jun.2017

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With the advent of the holidays, students engage in holiday jobs to help reduce the budget for back to school on the part of their parents.

A father is seriously blaming himself for allowing his son to work at his construction site in the Essos Neighborhood in Yaounde. The student was buried under rubble from sliding earth at the site, the loose earth from the hillside was not supported and the boy filling the foundation below was buried alive.

The Fire Rescue Unit rushed to the scene but was not lucky as they could retrieve only the lifeless body of the boy from the rubble.

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Rita Akana

22.Jun.2017

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A bus belonging to a transport agency, collided with a trailer at the Sambo locality.

The road accident occurred on Friday 16 June, on the Yaounde-Douala highway, precisely at Sambo which is located between Pouma and Boumnyebel. The 70-seater bus coming from Douala, hit the Trailer which was coming from the opposite direction, that’s from Yaounde.

When the incident occurred, the bus rolled over ending up with its wheels facing up. It was thanks to other road users, that the victims were extracted from the 70-seater. No time had to be wasted as smoke was perceivable in the air, being produced by the bus, which could eventually end up in a fire.

It was only later on that the members of the gendarmerie brigade arrived. According to information they revealed, two passengers had died on the spot while dozens were wounded.

The surviving victims were immediately transported to Pouma and Edea health centers for medical attention.

Due to the accident, road circulation at that point, was brought to a stand still for over some hours. The other road users had to make a stop to see what was happening and even give a helping hand where needed.

This is happening when Minister Edgard Alain Me’be Ngo has launched a road safety campaign, to curb over speed and illicit road users.

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21.Jun.2017

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Four armed robbers are gnashing their teeths behind bars in Douala after haven been apprehended by the Tenth Police District.  The gang has been terrorizing the neighborhood of Makepe Mesoke for months now and several instances of armed robbery attacks have been recorded since July last year.

The police have been tracking this group for over seven months now since their first hit which earned a shop keeper a bullet hole in the leg which has rendered him immobile for some months.

The Tenth Police District finally hit the jackpot with a tipoff from a member of the public and they arrested these gang members. At the time of their arrest, they were in possession of 200 packets of marijuana, arms and some booty from their underworld operations.

These bandits are now awaiting trial and unfailingly a jail term awaits them. Meanwhile the police are encouraging such acts from members of the public to play their role as good citizens and give information which could lead to the arrest of such criminals.

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Rita Akana

20.Jun.2017

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A man of age 70 after haven taken of few bottles of beer fell in a water tank owned by a water distribution company. This man had missed his steps just next to this water tank while going back home and unfortunately for him, fell inside this water tank. There was nobody at the scene who could have rescued the age man and the cold hands of death took him away. It was until the next morning that his body was discovered inside the water tank and the fire fighting unit were called in to remove the body from the tank and taken to the Edea district hospital mortuary.

This tank had been accidentally hit by a car and it has not been repaired since then and no one saw it as a danger to the passing population since it was just next to the pedestrian path along the road.

A witness whom we got his name as Mr Nyobe says “This man’s death is just as a result of carelessness on the part of the Council, this are all issues the council would have taken action to get the company fix the water tank. But it is rather unfortunate that such issues come up only when there is a victim and that is how the authorities have made us belief it is the procedure. But we hope this will change one day”.

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Rita Akana

20.Jun.2017

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An inmate of the Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé was stabbed to death at the weekend by a fellow inmate during an uproar.
The murderer, simply identified as Pipo Dollars, reportedly stabbed his compatriot twice.
The deceased was set to gain freedom the day before the tragedy but the court clerk had declined to sign his discharge, according to Le Messager.
The same paper said on Monday that the deceased was asked to pay FCFA 5000.
Meanwhile the cause of the uproar was never stated by the newspaper, the prison is such a terrible place due, partly, to overcrowding .
Cameroon-Info.Net reports, quoting an inmate,  that the prison hosts several thousands of people.
The inmate revealed that upon arrival, inmates are held in a temporary confinement where there are at least 50 persons in one cell. Sometimes the number goes up to 200.
As a result, some people sleep while standing meanwhile others are seated. The air you breathe is terrible, the man laments.
This  overcrowded atmosphere has made the prison  a dog-eat-dog place.
"If you are jostled by someone, apologise as soon as possible otherwise it may end  badly... People stab each other for just anything,"  he disclosed.

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Rita Akana

20.Jun.2017

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