WARNING: THE IMAGES BELOW ARE SHOCKING.

The video shows a man, stripped naked and writhing on the ground, parts of his body burnt and lacerated, as an out-of-control mob continues to attack him. This footage, filmed in Douala and sent to the FRANCE 24 Observers, shows the horror of Cameroon’s frequent instances of “vigilante justice”.

Screen capture from a video sent to FRANCE 24 showing a lynching.

The 10-minute video, filmed on a mobile phone, was published without indication as to the date or exact location. The person who filmed it described the act as “vigilante justice”.

The gruesome footage, which FRANCE 24 decided to only show screenshots from, shows a naked man lying in mud and apparently unconscious. He bears wounds on his legs and torso and is surrounded by a crowd. Tyres burn around him. Men slam rocks on his body, and then a motorcycle runs him over. A policeman in uniform tries to calm the crowd and recover the man’s body.

A person in the crowd throws a rock at the man lying on the ground.







A motorcycle runs over the man.

An “Erico Telecom” store can be seen in the background. One of our Observers was able to find the store, which is located at an intersection in the Brazzaville neighbourhood of Douala.

Left: a screen capture from the video. Right: a photo taken by our Observer.

Thieves are frequently lynched in Cameroon. In 2012, Amnesty International condemned the frequent practice of “stripping, humiliating, and insulting” people in Cameroon in cases of “personal vendettas over theft”. A blogger for RFI radio reported on a similar incident that took place in Douala last January.

The government of Cameroon regularly tries to put a halt to these vengeful acts: in May 2012, Justice Minister Laurent Esso stated that “informal” justice was illegal under the country’s new criminal code and that “law enforcement would be obligated to prosecute all those attempting vigilante justice”.