At the Bepanda neighbourhood of Douala, if a thief or an armed robber is intercepted by the population, who now run vigilante groups, he/ they, are not molested or beaten, nor do they sustain any form of denigration. However, the thief or thieves will be submitted to interrogations. Such as; how many times have you stolen? Naïve ones or those motivated by fear, often give the number of times they have stolen and should it exceed three times, the thief or thieves will be tied to a rod and beaten with varieties of materials such as: electric cables, large sticks and any other weapons found around. And this, until dead comes because of the pain and the bleeding such maltreatments orchestrates. However, if the arrested thief was just a beginner, he won’t be beaten, but will be given two options on how he/they wishes to die. One propositions generally submitted to the intercepted thief/thieves is this: he will be given “gari”. Gari is a dry powdery substance generated from cassava tubas. The preparation of Gari goes thus: cassava tubas are put in a jut or fertilizer bags, then submerged in water for three or more days...
After which the tubas are removed from the bags, mashed and grind. The grind substance which becomes a white paste is then dried on a flat metallic surface, or on corrugated sheets or zincs. In order for the cassava paste to become gari, the flat corrugated sheet or zinc is heated beneath with firewood. Gari is widely consumed in the coastal parts of West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Especially by people of black West African ancestry and native Andeans and others. This gari option offered to the thief or armed robber or any thief, caught with or without weapon or arms is a vicious and cruel punishment. For the arrested thief will be asked to consume six or eight tumblers of Gari, and given that, gari or tapioca swells when in contact with water, the thief knows that, he will die. After he or they have consumed under pressure from the crowd or excited vigilante groups, the six or eight glasses of Gari, the thieves or thief will be given a litre of water to drink.
The effect is immediate death. However, some lucky thieves or thief might survive, if a sympathetic and respected elderly woman or man passing by, demands the excited crowd to spare his or their lives and then takes them (thieves or armed robbers) to the hospital. But it seldom happens. For people have an implacable hatred for thieves in Cameroon and do not trust the Police or the authority to render justice, hence, they have taken the law into their own hands. The second option usually offered to thieves or armed robbers whenever, they have been apprehended by the people in the above mentioned neighbourhood, is to choose steamed water as their form of punishment. Water will be boiled and poured into a bottle and the bottle contenting the hot water will be used to massage the thief or thieves at strategic places such as the ankle, the writs, elbows and shoulders.
Why? It is claimed that, hot water put in a bottle and used to massage the latter mentioned parts of the body, can cause blood to stop it normal circulation. And will make the persons who have been massaged to loose parts or all of it members. But the ultimate goal is dead. But in other neighbourhoods of Douala, punishments granted to thieves are meted according to their nationality or tribal orgines. None native thieves are killed instantly, whereas native thieves are handed to the Police after public humiliations, such as conducting him around the neighbourhood, naked. While in Yaoundé her different neighbourhoods have their different rules that they apply in order to treat thieves or armed robbers of all categories.
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