Yaounde: Man killed, lawyer held over aborted house eviction

A Yaounde-based legal practitioner, Barrister Tsienzou Magloire, is now in gendarmerie custody after an attempted house eviction in the evening of March 17, 2016, turned awry. According to dependable sources at the Yaounde Territorial Gendarmerie Group near the Municipal Lake, concerned neighbours thought a burglary was underway after unarmed five thugs hired by Barrister Tsienzou scaled the wall of the home in the posh Golf neighbourhood at 6 pm.

They opened the gate for their master after landing inside the compound. The intruders then proceeded to force their way into the home after manhandling the night watchman. The occupant, who also claims to be the owner of the property, Mrs. Zenabou Dialo and her child, were at the mercy of Barrister Tsienzou and his men before gendarmes arrived.

On sighting the security forces, the intruders tried to flee and refused to stop even when they were ordered to. “It is at this point that gendarmes fired on one of the suspects, Fankem David, also known as ‘Americaine.’ He died on the spot after the bullet hit him on the head,” the source said.

According to Barrister Tsienzou Magloire, he forced his way into the home to evict the occupant because one of his clients had recently acquired the property. Gendarmes said he produced papers to support his claim, even though Zenabou Dialo insists the home belongs to her. Meanwhile, three other thugs were arrested while one succeeded in fleeing. The corpse of Fankem David was kept in the Yaounde Central Hospital Morgue.

It is however not clear why Tsienzou Magloire chose to evict the occupants of the disputed property without any court papers - and at night. Gendarme sources said because the suspects scaled the wall and forced their way into the home, they could be charged among others with invasion of residence (under Section 299 of the Penal Code) and using violence on occupants.