Cameroon: Hundreds protest the death of a pregnant woman

Hundreds of people poured onto the streets of Douala, Cameroon on Sunday, following the death of a pregnant woman in a hospital under unclear circumstances.

The deceased, Koumateke Monique, 31, who was pregnant with twins, died on Saturday morning. Her family is blaming the hospital, Laquintinie, for her death.

In a video that went viral on social media, a woman reported to be the sister of the deceased is seen opening the belly of the deceased to remove the fetus.

This sparked the wave of outrage in Douala, where doctors and nurses are constantly accused of neglecting the sick who cannot afford healthcare.

The protesters who are fed up with the attitude of medical staff in the country chanted: “No more Koumateke Monique.”

“We cannot continue to let Cameroonians die. It is unacceptable that those who do not have money, die in our hospitals. That ends today, we mobilized this protest to express our dissatisfaction. We did not come to make war, we came to show the whole world that the Cameroonian people are fed up,” said one protester.

The police dispersed the protesters with tear gas.

Peaceful protest over death of unattended #pregnant #woman at #Laquintinie disrupted by police. #Cameroon #IWD2016 pic.twitter.com/fDjpnyjRzu

— Anne-Chantal (@Ayukie2000) March 13, 2016

Laquintinie Hospital, the largest in the Cameroonian economic capital, Douala has refused to take responsibility for the death.

According to a statement from the hospital, the deceased was brought in dead on Saturday morning and there was little the medical staff could do.

The Minister of Public Health, Andre Mama Fouda, confirmed this on national television Sunday night adding that the woman had died “at least two hours” before arriving at Laquintinie.