The Cameroonian Police: Forces of Law and Order or Forces of Lawlessness and Disorder?
The human rights situation in Cameroon is taking a very rapid downward trend. This is because; the systems put in place by the government to protect the rights of individuals are instead abusing them. It is not uncommon for forces of Law and Order in Cameroon to shoot to dead unarmed civilians and even at themselves over petty squabbles in both private and public places. Recently police officers fired life bullets at unarmed motor-bike riders who were publicly manifesting in Bamenda killing two and wounded several others. This incident followed barely a week after another officer of the Law shot dead a 23 year old boy in the Soa neighbourhood in Yaoundé after a quarrel over a girl. All these bring to mind the killing by police officer with life bullets of two students of the University of Buea last November during the student strike and many other isolated cases.
What is all the more puzzling is that the perpetrators of these acts usually go unpunished by the state. All investigations usually grind to a halt and the bad cops get as a reward a transfer out of the jurisdiction followed by lofty promises by the state that investigations are still going on.
One is left with no choice but to ask the question whether these forces of Law and Order are really necessary. Crime wave in Cameroon is increasing steadily while the police who are suppose to be the custodians of the people are busy extorting monies out of drivers and harassing the public. Is it that the entry qualifications into our police academies are too low? Is it that the period of police training is too short for they to grasps the basic concepts of human rights and arms management? Or it is that their pay package is too small?

Dear young African Activists, it is an affront to right thinking, natural justice and human rights to open life bullets at unarmed civilians. So let’s join hands together to do something before our own protectors become our detractors, before our security forces completely turn into sources of insecurity. Chi Tansinda Valerie.