Deaf, dumb in legal battle over dead elephant

A deaf and dumb man is expected to appear before a court in Mundemba, Ndian Division, Southwest Region, after he was caught dissecting a dead elephant.

The incident happened in the heart of the Korup National Park a fort night ago.

Patrol teams of the park said they stumbled on the man busily dissecting the dead elephant.

Eco-guards are said to have been appalled by the fact that the tusk of the elephant was already removed, but could not be traced.

The officials of the park are said to have taken the matter to the court for the law governing wildlife in Cameroon to take its course.

Despite sending the matter to court, a source told The Post that the major obstacle in the judicial proceedings is the deaf and dumb nature of the suspect.

Early this week, authorities of Korup National Park are said to have launched a desperate hunt for an expert in sign language to help the court interpret the language of the deaf and dumb man.

Phone calls have been made to various towns across the Southwest Region to get a sign language expert for the case to proceed speedily. The officials are said to have tried getting an expert in sign language from the Ephata Institute in Kumba, but arrangements were still superficial.

However, The Post learnt that, until an expert in sign language is found, no one can ascertain the information from some schools of thought that the suspect, who cannot hear nor speak, was set-up. Others argued that the suspect will be able to identify the killers once his language is interpreted.