France: Cameroon embassy refutes Colonel’s allegations of rape
By Nchendzengang Tatah
A Cameroonian colonel on diplomatic mission to France is reported by the French daily newspaper Le Parisien, on June 5, 2024 to have raped his 16 year old daughter. The Cameroon Embassy in France has said the report was inaccurate.
In an article on it’s website, the French paper stated that “…it’s an embarrassment of protocol. For the French judiciary, it’s a slap in the face. And for the presumed victim, a rape.”
The paper further lamented that the alleged perpetrator risk going unpunished, based on his diplomatic coverage though investigations have been opened.
“The police weren’t even able to arrest him. On first contact with the police, the suspect brandished his diplomatic immunity. A totem which completely blocked the investigation,” Le Parisien read.
The Cameroon Embassy in a release on June 7, following the publication said the reports of Le Parisien, were derailed and highlighted unscrupulously the use of the diplomat’s status to avoid prosecution.
“The Cameroonian Embassy in France denounces the lightness of this article, whose accusatory wording seems biased and one-sided in relation to practices commonly applied to such situations in which a diplomat is presumed to be involved,” the press statement stated.
The Embassy further noted that the said diplomats house was searched in his absence and without authorisation from the Cameroon Embassy to France. The release opined that this act “can undoubtedly hamper the uncovering of the truth and the smooth running of justice.”
The statement of the Cameroon Embassy emphasized that the two states were govern by the rule of law and respect for international conventions of which the actions of the press must take cognisance.
