“We reiterate that public roads must be controlled only by the police force and the Gendarme” the Senior Divisional officer for Mfoundi Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent hammered this April 17th following a road accident that occurred yesterday at the presidential avenue in Yaoundé caused by some municipal police agents claiming two lives. Eye witness said that the municipal policeman unhappy not to have received the amount of money he demanded from the bike man, tried to stop the bike as it moved away by gabbing it behind, literally caused the two occupants to fall on the tare, prompting a rushing truck to run them over, killing them both on the pot.
The incident caused the other commercial bike rider commonly called “benskin” to block the avenue that is less than 1 kilometer from the presidency of the republic in Etoudi, for hours causing traffic jam and forcing authorities of the district to rush on scene. To prevent a more serious incident, the police was forced to use teargas to disperse the growing crowd that was angrily matching to the mayor’s office.
The SDO underlined that the work of the municipal police is to keep the municipality clean and in order like the August 9th 2022 presidential decree directs them, not to do the work of the Gendarmerie and police force which is to maintain law and order. “We are not supposed to live in a capital city were incidents are created often” he frowned. Awkward situations like this were fast becoming often in the big cities in the country as municipal police were mistaking their work for that of the forces of law and order.
Just late 2023, a pregnant woman was caused by these very municipal police to fall from a bike and was crushed in a similar manner at the Grand Hangard market in the Douala 4 municipality.
Instead of maintaining order in the cities, the municipal police commonly called “awara” are out like in a scramble for money. Rushing on the bike riders in a very uncivilized manner. Unlawful ceasing of people’s bikes and other properties in the markets, extortion of money from traders, causing accidents and at times deaths.
Misunderstanding between commercial bike riders and municipal police is often because the later will not want to have all the required document for their activities.
However, like a good father the SDO Emmanuel Mariel Jikden also called on the president of the bike rider’s syndicate cushioning him to make sure his colleagues are more disciplined too. “bike riders are associated to public disorder of which you guys a doing a job that puts food on your tables”
It was about time authorities put some order before an incident that is beyond control could spark up, looking at the delicate moment that the country is presently going through.
P.T