In Cameroon, chief Baloum and eight other individuals implicated in the double murder of two young men in the western region have been formally charged and placed in the Dschang central prison.

The case involving the burning alive of two youths has taken a significant turn. On Thursday, June 25, the chief of Baloum and eight other suspects were indicted and remanded at Dschang prison. According to the legal representative of Steve Diffo’s family, the chief and his co-defendants face allegations of murder, torture, complicity in murder and torture, as well as failure to possess a national identity card. “No human being, even one sentenced to death by a court of law, should ever endure such a fate,” the lawyer stated.

The heart of the matter concerns Bostel Kemta and Steve Achille Diffo Sijamo. The two men, both in their thirties, were abducted, tortured, and burned alive on June 5 in Baloum, in Cameroon’s western region, by a group of local residents—with the village chief, Charles Constant Pokam Noussi, allegedly looking on. Accused of playing a role in the tragedy, the chief surrendered to authorities on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

The victims’ families filed two complaints. The first was lodged at the Penka-Michel gendarmerie brigade, the district headquarters covering Baloum village, where the incident took place. The second was filed directly with the state prosecutor, who expressed surprise that he had not been informed of such a serious crime earlier.