Nkoteng : Calm returns after deadly protest by Sosucam workers
By Synthia Lateu
Order has been restored in Mbanjock and Nkoteng in the Haute-Sanaga Division of the Center Region, where workers of the Cameroon Sugar Company (Sosucam) carried out a violent protest on Tuesday, February 4, leaving one person dead and 11 others injured.
The Governor of the Center Region Naseri Paul Bea, in a statement on Wednesday, February 5, indicated that the civilian who lost his life was shot while attempting to attack a police officer with a machete. He added that 10 law enforcement officers were injured, with two severely affected and transferred to Yaoundé for medical care.
About 150 hectares of sugarcane were consumed by fire, with schools and businesses closed.
This followed a tense situation that had persisted for several days between the top management of Sosucam and it’s agricultural workers in Mbandjock (since January 27) and Nkoteng (since January 29).
The violent confrontation erupted at a gathering point where workers, on strike for eight days, were holding a sit-in in Nkoteng as part of the “Champs Morts” operation. The initiative was launched to demand, in addition to the restoration of their ranks after the company downgraded them “without explanation” during the 2022-2023 sugar campaign, the return of the previous payment system. They also denounced managerial shortcomings from the new general director, particularly significant delays in the payment of biweekly salaries.
In their fury, the workers stormed the sites in Mbandjock and Nkoteng, with the demonstration escalating into violent confrontations with law enforcement officers deployed at the request of the company’s management.
“The national road was damaged as they barricaded it, blocking and setting fire to it with tires. One vehicle transporting workers was destroyed, and the window of the Nkoteng police station’s public secretary was broken,” Governor Naseri Paul Bea said.
Amid the confrontations, other acts of vandalism not related to the protest were also recorded, affecting private properties. Local authorities visited the sites and held crisis meetings in an attempt to calm tensions.
The violent confrontations by the factory’s approximately 3000 agricultural workers paralyzed operations and jeopardised thousands of jobs.
