By Raymond Dingana
In Bamenda, chief town of the volatile English speaking North West region, tongues have been wagging with city dwellers expressing their apprehension over the cemetery silence of authorities since a member of the defence and security forces stabbed a civilian to death last week.
Witnesses recount that an unidentified plainclothes gendarme officer in the region stabbed a young man, identified as Junior Awazi to death following a beer parlour altercation. The victim we learned was a student of the University of Bamenda, (UBa).
The unfortunate incident occurred in the night of Wednesday breaking Thursday, April 4, 2024 at a drinking spot at the Up Station neighborhood in the Bamenda I municipality.
It’s been days since a uniform officer in civilian attire stabbed to death Junior Awazi popularly known as BJ at a drinking spot at Up Station, Bamenda I council area, breaking Thursday April 4, 2024.
According to eyewitness accounts, Junior Awazi who is popularly known in the neighborhood as BJ met his demise while trying to defend a lady from being harassed by the plainclothes uniform officer.
The story goes that the said member of the defence and security forces made romantic advances to the lady and when the advanced were rejected, the officer’s behavior towards the lady turned aggressive. At this moment and in an attempt to protect the lady, Awazi intervened and tried to calm the man. Unfortunately, the plainclothes uniform officer transferred his anger to Awazi, fatally stabbing him three times. Witnesses said unlucky Awazi died on the spot while the alleged killer immediately vanished from the scene, averting mob justice.
Population demands justice
The death of the young man triggered a huge protest as the population of the Bamenda I municipality came out massively on Thursday, April 4, 2024 morning to protest Awazi’s brutal killing and demand for justice.
From all walks of life and of different ages, the population flooded the streets of the gateway municipality into the North West capital city, obstructing traffic flow and businesses as they demanded justice and accountability for friend.
It took the intervention of law enforcement officers to calm the irate protesters, though they have continued grumbling since then with many questioning the silence of authorities over the tragic incident.
“We live in a region where some lives don’t really matter to the authorities. How can a young man be stabbed to death by a member of the forces of law and order, yet the administration is behaving as if nothing has happened”? questioned an inhabitant of the Bamenda I municipality who took part in the protest demanding justice for Awazi.
Other inhabitants of the municipality think even if the administrative authorities elected to be silent over such tragic incident, municipal authorities should at least communicate to the population as part of confidence building.
“The administration should always make the population have the feeling that they care. Now, if appointed officials cannot communicate on such incidents like the killing of BJ, elected officials should clarify the population. It is even more painful because the Mayor [of the Bamenda I municipality] who has the mandate of the population is also behaving like appointed officials. This child was killed in his municipality, reason why he should be talking,” said one of the protesters who only identified herself as Florence.
The population of Bamenda I municipality in particular and the city of Bamenda in general has since been waiting for an official statement from authorities that will certainly clarify public opinion on what actually happened and the fate of the alleged killer of Awazi.
