On March 31, 2026, the Urban Community of Bafoussam is organizing a public auction on its esplanade, an initiative that highlights a controversial municipal practice: the seizure and sale of goods from small traders. This action, presented as a hygiene operation and a fight against urban disorder, raises questions about its impact on the most vulnerable populations. Families risk seeing their tools and personal belongings sold at auction.
The sale notice, signed by the municipal receiver, details a motley list of items for sale: clothing, school bags, thrift store shoes, sewing equipment, bicycles, loudspeakers, and even gas bottles. Far from being luxury items, these goods often represent the essential working tool for street vendors, seamstresses, hairdressers and other small artisans who earn their living in the streets of Bafoussam.
While the Urban Community, led by Mayor Roger Tafam, justifies this operation by the need to clean up public space, many voices are rising to denounce the lack of transparency and the social consequences of such practices. A central question remains: were the people concerned duly notified of the seizure of their property and did they have the opportunity to recover it before the auction? The sale notice remains silent on this crucial point.
In Cameroon, municipalities regularly resort to seizing goods from informal traders in the name of maintaining urban order. However, the public auction of these goods, without a guarantee of a fair restitution procedure, poses a major ethical problem. For many families, a wheelbarrow or a sewing machine represents the sole source of income. The seizure and sale of these work tools can have disastrous consequences on their ability to meet their needs.
As the date of the sale approaches, uncertainty and concern reign among the populations concerned. They are still waiting for answers as to the possibility of recovering their property and thus avoiding a net loss that could plunge them further into precariousness. The auction scheduled for March 31 highlights the economic fragility of many Bafoussam residents and raises questions about possible alternatives to reconcile urban order and the protection of the most vulnerable.
