Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, disclosed the findings of police investigations into the matter during a press briefing on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 in Yaounde.

“Secretary General of the Ministry of Communication,

Inspector General,

Technical Advisers,

Distinguished Inspectors,

Distinguished Directors and Heads of Divisions,

Dear Collaborators,

Fellow Journalists,

Dear Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we can all certainly remember, some few months ago, on exactly January 23, 2013, in this same venue and in the presence of the Delegate General for National Security and the Secretary of State for Defence in charge of the Gendarmerie, I was informing you that following high instructions of the President of the Republic, investigations were opened to throw light on the repeating crimes committed against women in the Bafoussam and Yaounde towns as well as their neighbourhoods. Before we could throw light in these repeating crimes, they had been qualified as “ritual crimes”. 

You were equally informed during that press briefing that the first suspects were under custody within the framework of these investigations and that they were being heard by competent police services.

With the well advanced state of investigations to date, the Head of State has once more instructed that the established and proven facts be made public to the national and international community.

The so called “ritual crimes” case will therefore be the issue on ground for today’s meeting to which you have all been warmly convened. We will be dwelling on this issue whose gravity is well proven given the cold-blooded  nature of crimes committed which have left many  families in deep sorrows and pains within the national community hereby paving the way for an unprecedented trauma within our populations and has been tarnishing the image of our country worldwide.

Allow me first, before diving into the core of the matter, to wish you all a warm welcome in this conference hall of my Ministry which has become the usual venue of our meetings, despite the burning political news marked by the upcoming twin legislative and municipal elections, which logically concern you at most. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Fellow Journalists,

Allow me to first of all recall the circumstances surrounding these cases as they unfolded from August 2012 to January 2013.

It all began in a neighbouring village near Bafoussam, in the West Region, when on August 18, 2013 night, the young KENGNE Mirianne Annette, who had left for Bapi market to sell fowls, was found dead in a corn field in the Bakajou neighbourhood, in the Baleng Sub division, Mifi Division. She was raped then strangled with her own headscarf.

Two days later, on August 20, 2013 night, a thirty-seven years old lady, Mrs. FOTSO YOUMBI Anne, mother of five, with a seven (07) months old pregnancy and teacher in Lafe I Government Primary School, in the Baleng Sub-Division, was in her turn murdered under similar circumstances.

On August 28, 2012, Mrs. ZOUOZOUO Marie Noëlle, a farmer, on her way to her farm in the Ndoppé village through Bapi, Baleng Sub-Division, was raped and murdered.

On November 22, 2012, the young MAKEU FONGANG Nibelle, a form 4 student attending the Djounang Government High School in Bafoussam, was also murdered on her way to school. Her corpse was discovered two days later in the Tchipou neighbourhood. 

While the administrative authorities and the peacekeeping forces were relentlessly working day and night to fish out the authors of these awful crimes in the Bafoussam area, the phenomenon escalated to Yaoundé, notably in the Mimboman, Biteng, Nkoabang and Okoui neighbourhoods. 

Between December 2012 and January 2013, similar crimes took place in different neighbourhoods of Yaoundé with Mimboman as the epicentre.

Organs at the level of the eyes or the eyes as well as hairs were cut off from certain corpses, whereas sex organs were systematically cut-off from all these corpses.

The following were victims of these ill practices:

-          The corpse of MOMO Calice, twenty-three years old, was found completely mutilated and sprayed with a chemical product at the North second Chiefdom of Mimboman, in an uncompleted building.

-          At the Foe Complex in the Biteng Maetur neighbourhood, the corpse of the young MBALLA MVOGO Claude Michelle, seventeen years old, a lower sixth student was also found.

-          At the Okoui Maetur neighbourhood, MAJINI FEZEK Marinette was brutally assaulted, strangled and abandoned in a bush. She later on succumbed to her injuries at the Yaounde Gyneco-obstetric Hospital.

-          At Nkolo I, in the Nkoabang neighbourhood, Miss MENDJINA MBANGA Loyse Schiphra, a form four student at the Père Monti College, was murdered under similar circumstances.

-          At Nkolo II, NGA NGONO Germaine, a seventeen years old lady, was murdered on December 31, 2012 night and her corpse thrown in a river.

-          Mrs. NGEUTSOP BEASSO Delphine, who had taken a bike for Nkolgok in Odza, at the line 12 terminal, was arrested, assaulted and raped by criminals. She only survived thanks to the timely arrival of passers-by at the scene of the incident.

Similar crimes of mutilated and abandoned corpses were committed at Mimboman “petit stade”, Mimboman “école” and Mimboman “chapelle”.

Investigations carried out by the Yaounde investigation units permitted to unveil the identity of NDEAMBOU Bertrand as the prime suspect. After leaving the West Region for Yaoundé on November 24, 2012, NDEAMBOU Bertrand contacted two other criminals upon his arrival in Yaounde, notably; WAFFO Jean Thierry and KEMTA Julius alias Général, both bike drivers in the Mimboman Terminus neighbourhood, who later on turn out to be accomplices of the prime suspect.

The first victim of this devilish trio was the young MOMO Calice, who arrived from Douala on December 02, 2012 at around 11 p.m. After raping and killing her, the three criminals went away with her two mobile phones and vamoosed in the thin air.

The checking of calls from the mobile phone of the victim unveiled the identity of Joyceline NIZECH, a young girl, who had received a call from NDEAMBOU Bertrand on that fateful criminal night.

After arresting the young girl and following further investigations, investigators ended up by arresting NDEAMBOU Bertrand, who, after attempting to deny all accusations, finally confessed and acknowledged the murder of MOMO Calice. During the multiple hearings, he mentioned the name of WAFFO Jean Thierry and KEMTA Julius alias Général as his accomplices and indicated he had received the sum of fifty thousands (CFA 50 000) francs for killing MOMO Calice.

From the revelations of the criminals, the modus operandi applied in all the cases consisted in transporting their victims as mere motor bike passengers. In the meantime, other accomplices took other bikes to track them using a well premeditated itinerary. Once in an isolated and dark area, one of the tracking bikes would override and hustle the one transporting the victim. Once on the ground following the hustle, the victim would then be easily put under control, raped and murdered.

The next step was the coming into scene of KEMTA Julius whose evil mission was to butcher, mutilate and take off the eyes of the victim. Mr. NDEAMBOU was, on his own part, in charge of contacting prospective clients, who were still unknown by then.

Still from the hearings of the gang leader NDEAMBOU Bertrand, investigators succeeded in arresting two other suspects: NGUEGANG KEUMO Willy Thierry alias Doudou and TIOTSOP TSENOU Landry alias PUYOL. A third suspect, ESSAMA alias Le COQ, still on the run but actively wanted, was mentioned during the hearings.

It is at this stage of investigations that NDEAMBOU confessed and unveiled the name of his client, Mr. NONO Emmanuel, former General Manager of a famous internationally known car dealing company, whose business is today bankrupt in Cameroun. Following the bankruptcy, Mr. NONO Emmannuel changed into a businessman and decided to hence reside at “Carrefour Le Maire” in Bafoussam.

Upon further investigations carried out in Bafoussam, the residence of Mr. NONO Emmanuel was quickly localized.  Information gathered from the vigil on duty revealed that the proprietor was abroad on leave. On his absence, the household was run by a certain Mr. TAHOC MONGHO FOTSO Jean Luc.

This later was, on his turn, arrested and questioned. NDEAMBOU Bertrand explained to investigators that he had met Mr. TAHOC MONGHO FOTSO Jean Luc for the first time at travel agencies in Bafoussam when he was working as a motor bike driver. After many talks, Mr. TAHOC MONGHO proposed to Mr. NDEAMBOU to supply him with organs of young girls aged between seventeen and twenty-two. Mr. NDEAMBOU accepted the business and hired Mr. CHIGUENG Patrick, TALLA and MOUMOU to help him deliver the goods.

In this vein, Mr. TAHOC MONGHO FOTSO played the role of the middle man between Mr. NONO Emmanuel « the big boss » and Mr. NDEAMBOU Bertrand.

Just before the field trip of investigators to Bafoussam, Mr. NDEAMBOU had already accused two other persons: MBOUKAM François and TAFFO FODIOP Titus. It should be noted that TAFFO FODIOP Titus is still on the run, probably in a neighbouring country.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow journalists, this is therefore the process which has led to the final fishing out, arrest and detention, of this dangerous gang of criminals. As we speak, the arrested and accused criminals are under detention at the Yaounde-Kondengui Central Prison.

Mr. NDEAMBOU Bertrand, WAFFO Jean Thierry, KEMTA Julius, NGEGANG KEUMOE Willy Thierry, and TIOTSOP TSENOU Landry are accused of voluntary assault, killing and rape while NONO Emmanuel, the « main client », MBOUKAM François and TAHOC MONGHO FOTSO, are accused  as being accomplices in the killings and trafficking of human organs.

For the moment, the case is still under investigation and pending before competent courts. Meanwhile, there is need at this stage to rejoice over the arrest of the main authors of these devilish killings and which has helped to bring serenity within our populations.

Allow me to greatly laud the efforts of our security forces, the police officers in particular, who, in total discretion, carried out their investigations with efficiency, endurance, sensitivity and persistence, and succeeded in unmasking this evil gang, the first of its kind in our country.

Our population should also be congratulated. Their collaboration with police forces was of paramount importance in achieving the results we know today.

Regarding the prejudices and other false allegations widely disseminated here and there on this issue, going to the extent of accusing the Government of carrying out fake investigations or protecting top ranking officials in the administration allegedly accused of being the real perpetrators of these evil murders. The outcome of the conducted investigations speaks for itself. At this level, the outcome of the investigations totally contradicts the allegations of these prophets of doom, whose intended aim is to cause panic within the populations, install disorder and destabilize our country.

The Head of State, His Excellency Paul BIYA, has never relented in his efforts to strongly ensure the security of his compatriots, to promote good moral values and the emergence of an exemplary Republic in our country.

He has never hesitated to bar the road to immorality, criminality and all sorts of wayward attitudes in our society.

Through the development of this case, he has once again, made proof of his willingness to unveil the truth on this issue.  For it is under his chairmanship that our brave police forces went on with their investigations.

It is now the turn of the court to bring the case to its end.

It will do it in all independence for the truth, the whole truth, where ever it is, to emerge and the authors be brought to book in conformity with the law.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.”