Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent (photo), the senior divisional officer of Mfoundi, signed a press release, on  August 2, announcing a ban on cabs with tinted windows in Yaoundé. According to the release, the ban is effective immediately. So, the owners and drivers of such cars are invited to immediately remove the films from their windows. 

In Cameroon, it is an offense to drive a vehicle with tinted windows. Article 75 (1) of the law of September 3, 1979, regulating road traffic stipulates that "windows must be of a transparent substance that will not cause injury if broken."

The senior divisional officer also announced an operation, starting on September 15, to check cab door numbers. To this end, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent invites cab drivers and owners to contact their local communes for the necessary formalities. The press release does not specify the reasons behind these measures. However, according to the authorities, they come against a backdrop of increasing attacks on cabs in the capital.

On May 9, the Minister of Territorial Administration (Minat), Paul Atanga Nji, announced "draconian measures to eradicate the criminal activities lurking around urban and interurban transport." The aim is to reinforce security on public transport. "During some of our investigations, we put a simple question to a business operator who owns more than 40 city cabs. Do you know all your drivers? He said no. Do you know where your drivers live? He told us no. Do you know whether any of your drivers has been convicted of an offense? He told us no. It's time to clean up this sector and this task will be carried out without the slightest qualms or complacency,” the Minat said at the end of a working session with the heads of the sector's unions and confederations. 

"If, for example, there is a problem in a cab and the user is defending himself, it will be impossible to see inside the vehicle because of the tinted windows. So we support this measure. Door numbering is just a town hall policy. Of 10 users, 7 won't even look at the door number. What's reliable is the license plate," says the union of Cameroonian cab owners, Synprotaxcam (Syndicat national des propriétaires de cab du Cameroun).

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