Mob Kills Two Alleged Thieves

By Eugene Che

Two men were reportedly killed by a motley group in separate occasions in Douala, November 5.The two men, both killed through mob action, were not immediately identified. One of the men was brutally murdered by a mob of commercial motorcyclists in the Bonaberi neighbourhood, after someone raised an alarm of a thief in the vicinity.

The man, said to be a commercial motorcyclist was accused of having attempted to seize a hand bag off the hands of a passer-by.In another case, a crowd severely beat a suspected thief around the cement producing factory, CIMENCAM.The man died a few minutes later when he was being ferried to hospital, according to witnesses. 

Sources further hold that the man was allegedly caught red-handed, attempting to force open the door of a store room in the neighbourhood. Investigations are ongoing.In a related case, the corpse of a man was found around the petroleum depot, SCDP. The corpse, unidentified and already in an advanced state of decomposition was taken to the mortuary of the Laquintinie Hospital. 

The man, it is suspected, was attempting to scoop away petrol from the depot, but was suffocated.Sources say he was found lying in a train wagon, but added that it was unlikely that he was hit by a train. 

Mob action related killings have become common in the nation's economic capital, following repeated cases of banditry and the near absence of police and gendarmerie intervention.
The incident comes a week after the Government Delegate to the Douala City Council, Dr. Fritz Ntone Ntone, announced plans to station road cameras on major street junctions in Douala, to track down perpetrators of insecurity.