Chief Baloum and eight others indicted in Steve Diffo murder case

In Cameroon, the traditional ruler of Baloum and eight other individuals implicated in the double homicide of two young men in this western region locality have been formally charged and remanded at Dschang Central Prison.

A significant development has emerged in the case of two young men burned alive in Baloum. On Thursday, June 25, the Baloum chief and eight others facing prosecution in this matter were indicted and incarcerated at Dschang Central Prison. According to the legal representative for Steve Diffo’s family, the chief and his co-accused face charges including murder, torture, complicity in murder and torture, and failure to possess a national identity card. “No human being, even one sentenced to death by formal justice, should endure such a fate,” the lawyer stated.

At the heart of this incident are Bostel Kemta and his friend Steve Achille Diffo Sijamo. The two men in their early thirties were kidnapped, tortured, and burned alive on June 5 in Baloum, located in Cameroon’s West Region, by a segment of the local population, all under the watch of village chief Charles Constant Pokam Noussi. Accused of playing a role in this tragedy, the chief turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.

Two complaints have been lodged by the family. The first was filed with the gendarmerie brigade in Penka-Miche, the district capital overseeing Baloum village where the events unfolded. The second complaint was submitted to the state prosecutor. The prosecutor expressed surprise at not having been informed of such grave offenses earlier.