The Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, for Meme, Chamberlin Ntou’ou Ndong, on Saturday, December 17, confronted a mixed control of security forces on the road at Yoke-Muyuka for collecting bribes from travellers.
Ntou’ou Ndong, apparently headed for a private journey to Buea, surprisingly bumped into the gendarmes and police officers extorting money from travellers in the early hours of that Saturday.
The administrator stepped out of his car and threatened to ensure that the elements on duty that morning are punished for their crime.
At the scene, the civil administrator was over-heard shouting that the forces of law and order were extorting money from travelers, instead of doing the job they were assigned at the checkpoint.
Shouting in a mix of French and English, the administrator said actions such as those of the security forces were responsible for the endemic corruption in Cameroon.
As the SDO continued expressing indignation over the situation, two police officers went on bended knees begging him not to report the issue to hierarchy.
A third element of the gendarmerie force, apparently at the centre of the problem, could not face the administrator. He was rather spotted making desperate calls to various quarters to explain the incident.
It is possible that the security forces did not make out the administrator, given that he was putting on just a T-shirt and a pair of jean trousers.
Void of the known administrative protocol that Cameroon administrators are known for; it was rather the SDO who was driving himself towards Buea that morning. It is possible the forces of law and order mistook him for a driver.
The Post Newspaper