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In Douala, a moto-taxi driver beat up a police chief…

In Douala, a moto-taxi driver beat up a police chief…

Paru le samedi, 08 octobre 2016 20:16

Douala is known for being a rebellious city. A label for the Cameroonian economic capital which is mostly due to moto-taxi drivers, called here “benskineurs”. A rumour is going around saying that these “road lords” assaulted a police chief.

Indeed, early on 21 September in the morning, (around 9 A.M.) Superintendent Chief, Emmanuel Ndema Ollo, was knocked on the head before falling down surrounded by moto-taxi drivers. He was subsequently dragged by his tormentors. Later on, his colleagues took him to the ER service from where he “was released with several injuries and ten stitches on his head”, a journalist reports.

According to Marcous Mandeki, politician and witness, the uniformed man (as they are colloquially called) was flying to the rescue of two colleagues; cornered by moto-taxi drivers, in the Bonamoussadi neighbourhood precisely a place known as Rond-point Maetur. The latter refused to submit to a document check as required by their activity. Indeed, in the run-up to the African Women’s Cup of Nations (AfCON) which will take place in coming November in Cameroon, prefects and governors are taking measures for the main cities to look their best.

To clean up the urban transport sector, the city of Douala was therefore under lockdown this past Wednesday for a systematic inspection of moto-taxi drivers. The MOT and the driving licence were the main documents requested by the Police. Two police officers stationed themselves at rond point Maetur in this respect. Once on site, the check was not to the taste of a group of about one hundred benskineurs who refused any inspection and attack the two officers. The Chief of Police is alerted. He arrives on site and observes that his subordinates are under attack and that one of them drew their weapon for protection.

“Fearing the worst, the Chief managed to get closer to his subordinate and takes away the automatic pistol. This is when the demonstrators rounded up against him. The Chief of Police who was in uniform, was violently beaten by the moto-taxi drivers”, insisted the above-mentioned journalist. “The moto-taxi drivers even dared to unload a truck of the Urban Community of Douala which had impounded bikes on it”, Mr Mandeki commented with outrage.

The ringleaders afterwards were taken to the central prison of Douala and the governor of the Littoral region ordered for the checks to be immediately stopped. This to the great displeasure of those who have been pleading for years now for more disciplined moto-taxi drivers. 

Dernière modification le samedi, 08 octobre 2016 20:22

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