Michirein Nsangou Mohamed Awel, 20, died after being struck by a bullet in Foumban on the evening of 17 October 2026, during an altercation between gendarmes and moto-taxi drivers. The authorities said the shooting happened during warning shots and was a tragic accident, not directed fire at the population. An investigation was opened, and the injured were taken to hospital.
The altercation began after a traffic accident between the pick-up of the Foumban gendarmerie company commander and a truck, witnesses said. A crowd of moto-taxi drivers gathered, and warning shots were fired. Michirein was hit by a stray bullet, witnesses said. Several other people were injured in the panic. The main road into the city was barricaded.
The Sultan-Roi of Bamoun, Mouhammad Nabil Mforifum Mbombo Njoya, went to the hospital and stayed until the young man died, then spent the night in the city calling for restraint, sources close to the palace said. On the morning of 18 October 2026, the governor of the West region, Brigadier General Housseini Djibo, commander of the 5th Gendarmerie Region, and Colonel Abba Saidou met the Sultan at the royal palace and received residents, moto-taxi drivers and the family. The Sultan called for justice to be done. He, the general and the colonel attended the burial. After the burial, moto-taxi drivers and residents lifted the barricades themselves, and the Sultan returned to the palace in the evening.