Rampant cases of assault in taxis and on motorbikes have been witnessed in many cities.

Last Thursday August 2 at midday, inhabitants of the Melen neighbourhood in Yaounde witnessed a pathetic scene of a woman who held tight to a moving motor bike as the rider drove for over a km with her body brushing on the soil. From the “Sept Collines” junction passing through the busy Mini-Ferme neighbourhood to the Melen junction around the Yaounde Teaching Hospital, the woman did not unleash her grip on the motor bike rider who had just robbed her of her handbag containing hard earned money to prepare her children’s return to school next month. With the help of other motor bike riders and taxis men, the bike rider was caught while his accomplice, another woman disappeared into thin air.

Eye witness account said that the lady was from the bank and was being monitored by the bike rider. The moment she stepped out of the taxi and began moving towards her home at the Mini-Ferme neighbourhood, the bandits got hold of her handbag. Such scenes are very rampant this time around as people are busy looking for money to prepare the 2012/2013 academic year. As people prepare for the upcoming school year, so too are bandits. Bandits have not only sharpened their skills but also the bravery involved in what they are doing.

Many people visiting markets in Yaounde such as the Mokolo market say life is becoming unbearable as they purchase school items for their children. Pickpocketing is the order of the day. Rose N who visited the Mokolo market recently, said one can hardly make his way through the areas where school items are sold. The area is not only packed with buyers but pickpockets as well. According to Rose N, if one is not careful, he will discover that he has been robbed only when he is about to pay for a good but cannot trace his wallet.
Taxis, buses, among others are also fertile grounds for pickpockets.

Maureen K. a housewife in Yaounde returned to her home last Tuesday, in tears. When questioned, she said she had FCFA 200,000 in her pocket which she just took from a money transfer agency. She boarded a taxi to Nsimeyong and on her arrival, she realised that the money and her mobile phone had disappeared. She wept bitterly because the money, according to her, was expected to buy provisions for her children’s school needs.