Student arrested over murder of ex-minister's secretary

A college student has been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of an ex-minister's private secretary.

Victor Muvandimwe, 21, a Rwandan student at Vogt College, in Yaoundé, was found in possession of the phone that belonged to the deceased, Mrs Christiane Soppo Mbango, who was beaten to death at her home in January.

The arrest of Muvandimwe, an only child, has come as a great shock to his parents and the Rwandan community living in Cameroon. Police arrived at the defendant’s house last Monday after the missing mobile had been traced back to him.

After being held in custody for four days at the Regional Directorate of the Judicial Police Centre, where inquiries have been ongoing since the death of Mrs. Soppo, he was put before prosecution on Friday and transferred to the Central Prison in Yaoundé, where he still remains.

Muvandimwe had allegedly acquired the infamous phone at Kennedy Avenue, a commercial centre of Yaoundé, after a visiting uncle had given him $100 to buy a new phone to replace a lost handset.

Remanded in Kondengui, the college student was unable to take part in his end of year ceremony, on Saturday, with all his classmates whom he had studied with since second grade.

Yesterday his father had to pick up his report card from the principal of the school. He is an average student who teachers describe as a child without a bad history, who speaks very little and is very reserved.

When the news broke of Muvandimwe’s arrest, it sent the staff into turmoil. In his three years at the school, the head of discipline does not remember having to give a single warning to Muvandimwe and says he wishes justice went a little bit faster and that nothing should prevent him from getting the exam results he deserves.

In the absence of a diplomatic representation in Cameroon, the Executive Office of the Rwandan community prefers not to discuss this matter at the moment, given its sensitivity. "This is a rather complicated case, we prefer to let justice take its course," says Mbabazi, Vice-President of the Executive Board of the Rwandan community.

Given the 21-year-old detainee’s refugee status, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a lawyer readily available for his defence. With the holidays in full swing and pending the results of the baccalaureate, Muvandimwe’s school friends hope to see him among them again very soon.

Marafa and the murder of his secretary

Christiane Soppo Mbango, private secretary of Marafa Hamidou Yaya for nearly 25 years, was cruelly taken from this world on January 24.

Her body, covered in several wounds, was found at her home in the district of Golf by her daughter, Maeva, who lives in Brussels, Belgium.

Her laptop, passport and notepad were all found to be missing, but no jewellery was taken.

Two days after her gruesome discovery Mrs. Soppo’s daughter and her fiancé were offered condolences by the Delegate General for National Security and were told not to pay attention to anything being said about the death of her mother.

In his eighth letter to President of the Republic, Marafa challenges the investigation: "Mr. President, it is your duty and the duty of the State to immediately take the following measures: put all relevant public resources to find and punish those responsible for this barbaric act.

"I did not want to speak immediately to not add to the emotion and let the investigators do their job, but two months later, I am forced to admit that the state remains in absolute silence.”