The Mfoundi High Court in Yaounde has brought a chilling conclusion to one of Cameroon’s most harrowing criminal cases, sentencing Dagobert Nwafo to death by firing squad on March 18, 2026.
Under Article 374 of the Penal Code, Judge Gertrude Ekassi delivered the verdict for the May 2025 stabbing of six-year-old Mathis-Nathaniel Ouandji. The court rejected the defense’s plea for acquittal, which had centered on questioning blood sample reliability and the absence of certain witnesses.
This ruling effectively dismisses the defense’s narrative, affirming the prosecution’s evidence that a domestic dispute between adults escalated into a calculated, fatal attack on an innocent child.
The tragedy began on the night of May 10, 2025, following a verbal altercation at a bar in the Ngoa-Ekélé neighborhood between Nwafo and the victim’s father, Paulin Ouandji. Driven by what he later described as wounded pride after being mocked, Nwafo left the scene only to return to the Ouandji home armed with a knife. There, he attacked young Mathis while the child was watching television, inflicting multiple stab wounds, including a fatal injury to the throat.
Despite being rushed to a military hospital, the boy did not survive, sparking immediate and widespread national grief that soon turned into a demand for the maximum possible punishment.
The case gained unprecedented public profile due to the revelation that the accused is the father of Lydol, a celebrated Cameroonian slam artist. This familial connection transformed a local crime into a national event, fueling social media discourse and intense scrutiny of the trial proceedings.
During his testimony in January 2026, Nwafo attempted to invoke “partial amnesia” and cited the influence of alcohol, claims that were met with public derision. The prosecution successfully argued that retrieving a weapon and traveling to the victim’s home constituted premeditation, painting a picture of a deliberate act of revenge rather than a drunken accident.
While the death sentence provides a sense of legal closure for the Ouandji family, it reignites a complex debate regarding Cameroon’s judicial reality. Although the death penalty remains on the books, the country has not carried out an execution in nearly thirty years, leading many to wonder if Nwafo’s sentence will ever be fulfilled or if it will remain a symbolic gesture of the state’s intolerance for violence against children.
Regardless of the eventual execution, the verdict stands as a stern acknowledgment of the gravity of the crime, marking the end of a year-long quest for justice that gripped the heart of the nation.
