By Solomon Tembang Mforgham

Panic is spreading in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde, after an alleged serial killer has gone on the rampage, killing eleven girls aged between 15 and 26.

According to security officials, within a period of two weeks, eleven bodies of young women aged between 15 and 26 have been found in the Mimboman neighbourhood of Yaoundé.

Some of the bodies found have been mutilated, with different organs cut off.

The latest discoveries were made recently when the bodies were dumped less than 500 metres away from each other. Gabriel Ndoumou, the quarter head of Mimboman says no girl in the area has been reported missing and the bodies found very close to the Mimboman Nursery school have not been identified.

It is believed that the gruesome murders are carried out elsewhere and the bodies dumped around this neighborhood reputed for its dark streets and poor road network, a save heaven for crime.

In the meantime, inhabitants of the neighbourhood have resorted to safety measures including girls moving in small groups most often in the company of a male guide and nocturnal movements reduced to the minimum.

Security officials have intensified investigations. So far two suspects are in police custody.

Meanwhile, a sister of one of the victims has written to the Head of State, President Paul Biya. In the letter published in the French-language private daily newspaper, Le Jour, Deborah Ngoh Tonye epouse Mvaebeme claims to be the sister of one of the victims found dead on 8 January 2013 in Biteng, Yaounde.

In a pathetic and confrontational tone, the author tells the story of Claude Michele Mballa Mvogo, the 17-year-old student of the Government Bilingual High School Yaoundé whose body was found three days after she disappeared.

She accused security forces of not taking prompt action and wondered if enough measures are being put in place to prevent more deaths.

Though official records indicate there are eleven victims, Deborah writes of eighteen young girls with ages ranging from 16 to 25 years.

The most horrifying fact, however, is not only the number but the physical torments inflicted on the victims.

In all the cases reported, parts of the body have been cut off. It is either the tongue, genitals, eyes, hair, or the breast that is absent on the lifeless bodies.

Deborah openly accuses commercial motorbike taxi riders of facilitating the gruesome murders. She relates what she considers government’s inaction to the fact that the victims are of the lower class in society.

The physical mutilation and cutting off of the bodies have stirred speculations that the killings are linked to some rituals.