The incident occurred on Sunday, May 7, 2023. At about 11:00am, a wall of the main prison in Yaounde collapsed as rain fell on the capital,  causing fears of a mass escape.

So far, no official communication has given details on the causes of the collapse. In the opinion, while some people put forward the thesis of the dilapidation of the buildings, others assert the hypothesis of the beginning of the execution of an escape plan by underground way.

The said wall is located near the quarters housing detainees from the Anglophone crisis, politicians and former senior government officials sentenced to prison or in pre-trial detention, as well as the businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga. The latter is charged with “complicity in torture by aiding and abetting” in the case related to the murder of the media man Martinez Zogo.wall

Following the fall of this wall, the prison administration has proceeded to reinforce security measures around and within the prison. This deployment aims to prevent a possible mass escape of prisoners who could take advantage of the situation.