The Cameroonian president finally expressed his condolences via Twitter to the victims of the massacre on Saturday, October 24, which took place at a school in Kumba, in the English-speaking southwest, in which seven students aged 9 to 12 were killed.
as reported from Yaoundé,Polycarp Essomba
His silence was more than shrunk. It had become heavy and heavy, even incomprehensible to many Cameroonians. More than 48 hours after the Kumba massacre, Paul Biya finally broke it. On Monday afternoon, the Cameroonian president delivered for the first time through a series of tweets, four in all, his feelings about this tragedy: “I learned with great sadness the horrific murder of several students in the city of Kumba,” wrote Paul Biya. In another tweet, he said “condemn with the greatest firmness this barbaric and sweeping crime against the innocent”.
► To read also: English-speaking Cameroon: several children killed in attack on a school
He sent his condolences to the bereaved families as well as to the educational environment. Finally, he concluded by indicating that he had already instructed that “appropriate measures be taken with care so that the perpetrators of these acts are arrested and brought to justice”.
These presidential tweets did not dampen criticism and even ridicule on social networks. “You’re finally waking up, Mr. President!” we could read here and there. Some even ask him to personally return to Kumba and bring his sympathy with the victims.
On Monday, small solidarity rallies were held in various cities across the country to pay tribute to the seven children killed and the dozens others injured in Saturday’s attack.
▪A crisis that weighs heavily on the country
Beginning in 2016, the crisis continues to devastate the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, where populations live between fears of abuse by separatist militias, armed gangs and sometimes brutal military operations. At the end of September, there were more than 710,000 displaced persons, according to the High Commissioner for Refugees’ Office. Among the consequences of this crisis, the economic structure is falsified, companies in these regions are plagued, and this has consequences for all of Cameroon’s society.
According to the latest survey conducted by GICAM, Cameroon’s employer group on the business environment in the country, more than 88% of Cameroonian companies say they are affected by this situation. They would have lost more than 785 billion CFA francs (1.2 billion euros) in three years’ turnover.
The situation is completely out of control: there are the secessionists, but also all the militias that have developed and are carrying out organized crime. And suddenly you never know where the battle is coming from.
Alain-Blaise Batongue, Executive Secretary of GICAM
Alain-Blaise Batongué also recalls that his organization made proposals to support companies during the national dialogue last year, but that the health crisis prevented any implementation.
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