1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Cameroon

Crime-fighters arrest hundreds amid complaints of rights abuse

Country Map - Cameroon IRIN
Country map
Hundreds of suspects have been arrested in a crime-busting operation launched just over two weeks ago in Cameroon, but sources say police are also abusing the rights of innocent people in their effort to curb criminal activity. Operation Harmattan aims to rid Cameroon’s main cities – Yaounde, its capital, and Douala, its commercial hub – of the bandits who have made their streets unsafe. Some 2,792 persons had been held for questioning since the operation was launched early this month, the national security office reported last week. Six kilogrammes of illicit drugs were seized in the process. The authorities also announced that two people had been killed in shoot-outs with the police. "We do not set out to kill bandits, but to arrest them and hand them over to the justice authorities," a police officer told IRIN. However, he said police had been forced to shoot back "in legitimate defence" when the criminals opened fire on them. "We are going to continue our work conscientiously, even if we are criticised by people who do not always understand that our mission is a delicate one," added the police officer, who asked not to be named. The national security chief, Pierre Minlo Medjo, said recently that the cooperation of city residents was crucial to the success of the operation. He called on them to denounce suspects to the police, and to provide the law enforcers with any information that could help them. Operation Harmattan has meant sudden police raids on streets and nightclubs, house searches, and car and identity checks. Roadblocks have also been set up "to make sure that ill-intentioned drivers do not get away", as one police source put it. "Generally, anyone who does not have identification papers is carted off," said a Yaounde cab driver, Luther W. "Nowadays a taxi driver can easily be subjected to a dozen police searches on a single motorway in a single day." Some sources accuse the police of subjecting people to arbitrary arrests and humiliations. Narcisse Kouokam, a famous satirical artist, has filed suit against the police for treatment they meted out to him on the night of 14 to 15 March. "I was hauled from the taxi like a common criminal. My clothes and belongings were ripped away from me. Then I was severely molested, tortured and terrorised," he told IRIN. "I appealed to a police superintendent who was on the scene for them to respect my rights, but all I got was slaps, insults, threats and hate, for no reason at all." He added that he was "very surprised and extremely shocked by what happened", because he had "politely presented his papers to the police" when they asked to see them. "I’m not against measures to protect citizens, but I think the danger of insecurity should never justify injustice, police brutality and humiliation," he said, adding that some policemen had lost their sense of right and wrong. "They should be punished in accordance with the law, because such intimidatory and barbarous behaviour is inadmissible in a state that’s under the rule of law," Kouokam said Operation Harmattan owes its name to a hot, dry wind that blows southwards from the Sahara each year, sweeping northern Cameroon and other parts of the Sahel. The operation comes on the heels of a spate of killings, armed attacks against senior state officials, and break-ins at public offices in Yaounde and Douala. Incidents which made the news recently include the killing in December 2001 in the northwestern town of Bamenda of the commander of a mobile police unit, and that of a magistrate, Paul Nkoe, cut down in his Yaounde home on 16 February 2002. Two years ago, also in Yaounde, another magistrate, Louis Ndzie, was killed, while diplomats were attacked even as police carried out an operation, codenamed Vautour (Vulture), which was also aimed at curbing criminal activity. Around the same time, violent crimes in Douala, including the killing of a French butcher, drew a sharp response from a special crime-fighting unit called the Operational Command. Human rights groups later accused the unit of summary executions, especially after the disappearance of nine youths whom the Operational Command had arrested. Reasons for the incidence of crime in Cameroon, according to observers, include the absence of street lights in towns and the countryside, the unchecked circulation of weapons, revenge killings, poverty and unemployment. Crime has also become a political issue, with opposition leaders often issuing public calls to the government to "find a lasting solution to this worrying problem".

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join