PH
Hundreds of people poured unto 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 blame 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.”
The police dispersed the protesters with tear gas.
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 in Laquintinie.
