March 2, 2026, marks the one-year anniversary of the Souldé-Roua tragedy, in which three Cameroonian citizens were burned alive in the village of Mbalda, Mayo-Tsanaga department. The victims were Frédéric Mounsi, a researcher at the Centre de recherches géologiques et minières of the University of Garoua, Dr. Bienvenue Bello, a part-time lecturer at the University of Garoua, and their guide, Oumarou Kabalay.
One year after the events, the victims' families are still grieving, as the government's promises regarding the organization of the funerals have not been kept. Alban Ngatchou, national president of the Syndicat national des chercheurs du Cameroun (Synac), deplores the lack of progress in the proceedings despite the decorations awarded by the President of the Republic.
According to Ngatchou, after the bodies were extracted, the government prevented relatives from organizing the funerals and offered the families sums of money that they refused because the purpose of these envelopes was unclear. The bodies were then transferred to the morgue of the Maroua military hospital on the orders of the governor of the Far North, and since then, the situation has been deadlocked.
Baissou, Frédéric Mounsi's uncle, expresses his dismay at the blocking of the bodies and implores the authorities to return at least his nephew's head so that he can be buried with his parents. Frédéric Mounsi's mother died on September 11, 2025, six months after the tragedy, as a result of psychological shock.
Synac denounces the suffering inflicted on the families, the lack of respect for human dignity, and the government's refusal to allow researchers to honor the memory of Frédéric Mounsi in his research institute. All initiatives undertaken by the researchers have been banned, and a sit-in in Garoua was repressed. The president of Synac, Alban Ngatchou, was sent back to his original administration after being seconded to the Institut de recherche agricoles pour le développement (Irad).
On March 2, 2025, the three men were mistaken for Boko Haram elements and lynched by villagers in Souldé-Roua. The gendarmerie, present at the scene, did not intervene. Investigations led to the arrest of 26 people, including the traditional chief of Mbalda. On March 26, 2025, the President of the Republic posthumously decorated the two researchers and their guide. The case is still under investigation before the Mokolo High Court.
One year after this tragedy, the victims' bodies are still in the morgue, the families are in mourning, and the researchers' initiatives to honor their colleagues are being repressed.
