5 arrested after Monique Koumate's death

Gendarmes in Douala arrested five suspects over the death of a pregnant woman, Monique Koumate and her twins.

The gendarmes arrested the midwife and two nurses who were on duty at the maternity ward at the time of the incident, the Chief mortuary attendant and the junior sister of Koumate. They were detained at the Akwa-South Gendarmerie Brigade.

The first version of Koumate’s demise has it that she was in a critical health situation on arrival at the hospital, accompanied by her sister Agnes.

It is alleged that though the pregnant woman was in a critical situation, the medical personnel on duty refused to attend to her because she had no money to pay for the services. Her sister Agnes reportedly pleaded in vain for the medical personnel to attend to her sister, promising that the money would be paid later.

Unfortunately, Koumate soon gave up the ghost. It was further alleged that following the death of Koumate, Agnes pleaded that she should be quickly operated upon to rescue the two babies in her womb. The medical personnel again reportedly insisted for payment first before any operation could be carried out. In desperation, therefore, Agnes split open her sister’s womb to save the twins.

Agnes reportedly removed one baby that was already dead, while the second one came out alive, but also soon passed away. The second version as told by sources at the Laquintinie Hospital says that when Koumate was taken to the hospital by her younger sister, the medical personnel discovered that she was already dead. It is alleged that it was for that reason the midwife and nurses on duty refused that she should not be taken into the ward.

They reportedly asked that her corpse should be taken to the mortuary, thereby refusing to heed to Agnes’ plea that the corpse of her sister be operated, for it was certain that the babies had also died by then.

The sources also said that Agnes ignored the advice of the medical personnel and took it upon herself to open her sister’s womb on the veranda only to find the twins already dead.

The sources also claimed that from preliminary investigations, Koumate, who lived at PK 13 Quarter in Douala V was first taken by her sister to the Nylon District Hospital in Douala III, but later rushed her to the Laquintinie Hospital, when her situation got out of hand.

Meanwhile, the death of Koumate and her infant twins sparked anger throughout Douala as many Cameroonians joined to condemn the act of the medics on duty. The reaction sent anti-riot gendarmes rushing to the hospital to protect the structure and personnel.

Wouri SDO, Naseri Paul Bea, visited Laquintinie Hospital on that fateful Saturday and announced that investigations had been opened into the matter.

A crisis meeting was announced to hold at the hospital on the afternoon of March 12, chaired by Littoral Governor, Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua. A visit to Laquintinie by the Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, was announced on March 14, 2016.

The Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, was reportedly informed about the incident. Coincidentally, the Prime Minister is expected in Douala on Tuesday, March 15, to chair the Cameroon Business Forum.

Some civil society groups had planned protest marches in Douala over the incident and the first held in front of the Laquintinie Hospital at 3:00 pm on Sunday. However, at 11:00 am, anti-riot policemen were ferried to the scene to prevent the protest from holding.