CAMEROON: Chinese mining company on trial for murder and pollution
A case pending in the court of Batouri, in the eastern region of Cameroon, involves Mencheng Wang Woping. The Chinese mining company is accused by four families of being responsible for the death of their son through non-compliance with environmental measures stipulated in the specifications. According to a study by the Centre for Environment and Development, more than 200 deaths have been recorded in the mines of Eastern Cameroon in six years. The mining companies are being denounced for not closing the mining holes after exploitation.
A hearing was held on 23 August 2022 at the Batouri magistrate’s court in the East region of Cameroon, in the case of four families who lost their children in the mining sites (in May 2021) against the Chinese company Mencheng Wang Woping, for “violation of the prescriptions related to the specifications”. At the opening of the debates, Kinda, the judge of the court of first instance of Batouri granted the request of the counsel for the victims constituted in July 2021 by the Centre for Environment and Development (CED).
Me Dieudonné Tedjisse requested and obtained a judicial transport to the mining sites of Kambélé 3 by Batouri in order to establish the materiality of the facts of excavation of the unclosed holes as well as the appearance of Mrs Lu, the promoter Mencheng Wang Woping. This legal procedure is something the DEC is trying to do. “We’re trying to get a victory over a small number so that we can trigger a bigger action in the future,” says Samuel Nguiffo, CED’s secretary general.
“When mining companies excavate for gold, they are obliged to close up to prevent cave-ins. However, the fact that this company organises what the population calls Sassayé (irregular entry into mining sites) once a week leads to accidents. A mining site must be secured to avoid the presence of unauthorised people,” said Dieudonné Tedjisse, the lawyer of the civil parties. According to him, this is a strong message that, from a symbolic point of view, is sent to all expatriates and locals, so that their actions do not go unpunished.
From a legal point of view, the CED believes that the provisions of the Cameroonian Mining Code of 14 December 2016 must be respected. “Wherever there are mining activities, there are significant risks for the survival and health of the population and the environment. We need to change the practice of mining in our country, especially gold mining,” explains Samuel Nguiffo.
More than 200 deaths recorded in eastern mines in six years, according to the CED
On 31 May 2021, several deaths were recorded in the mines of Kambélé 3, including those of Constantin Barka (34 years old) who left three children, Wilfried Mekonda Wilfried (28 years old) and Youssouf Tahar (16 years old), a Central African expatriate and student at the bilingual high school of Batouri. According to the CED, 200 deaths have been recorded in the mines of the eastern region over the past six years.
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On 27 July 2022, the divisional officer of the Kadey Division, Djadaï Yakouba, decided to close down all mining companies operating in Kambélé until further notice. The decision was motivated by the recurrent deaths of people by drowning due to the non-closure of mining holes after exploitation, or by landslides due to the non-respect of mining norms and the threat of the degradation of the national road number 10.
