Mob justice against Researchers in Far North: SYNAC urges government accountability
By Synthia Lateu
The National Trade Union of Researchers known by it’s French acronym, SYNAC has strongly condemned the mob justice meted out to two researchers in the Far North region. In a press release dated March 6, they called on the government to open an investigation to identify and hold accountable the perpetrators of this crime under the law.
The document indicated that the scientific research community learned of the incident through social media. Mr Mounsi Frédéric, a researcher at the Geological and Mining Research Center in Garoua, was “bound, beaten to death, and then cremated.” He was on an eight-day mission to Souledé-Roua, a locality in Mayo Tsanaga, accompanied by a guide and his friend, Dr. Bello Bienvenue, a lecturer at the University of Maroua, who suffered the same fate. The research mission aimed to collect supplementary data in structural geology to finalise Mr. Mounsi’s doctoral thesis.
The release denounced the act, asserting that it is not merely a misjudgment, as the young researcher had the opportunity to present himself before a deaf audience. Instead, it constitutes public injustice.
SYNAC emphasised that without sincere social dialogue with the government, they will mobilise the entire research community to express their disapproval of the acts which exposes Cameroonian researchers to public wrath. They also called for a genuine discussion with the government to address the risks associated with research missions and to revisit the issue of research funding.
