Mobile Money Agents Protest Increasing Attacks As Authorities Watch From A Distance

MoMo Operators Protesting In Limbe After Killing Of Their Colleague

By Raymond Dingana 


Crime in Cameroon has reached a crescendo, with observers suggesting that Cameroon may soon become the capital of crime in the CEMAC zone. This is due to the level of crime in the country. If people are not gunned down, as in the case of Limbe, where a mobile money operator was killed, it is news about kidnapping for ransom in Anglophone Cameroon and other parts of the country.

If women and minors are not raped and murdered, or if a lifeless body is not discovered with missing body parts, then it is a grave that has been desecrated. The list is long.

While security forces do their best to arrest the situation, observers still think their efforts are not enough, as crime seems to be on a steady increase in the country. 

Recently, sadness gribbed the entire mobile money operator family in Limbe, Fako Division, South West Region of Cameroon following the killing of one of theirs, Arrah Agbor Bawak Egbe.

She was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at the GRA, Nota neighborhood in Limbe who allegedly made away with cash and other valuables. The identity of the assailants has not been established. Arrah’s case is not the first. 

This latest killing, coupled with many others  forced fellow mobile money operators to storm the streets in protest dressed in black, carrying placards with messages like: Protect Momo and OM agents, Repeated attacks on Momo agents, Enough is enough, Government, act now, Our lives matter, and others.

L-R Arrah When She Was Alive, and When She Was Killed

They marched to the office of the Senior Divisional Officer of Fako in Down Beach, Limbe, where they protested, calling for more security.

In solidarity, many other business operators decided to join the protest by shutting down their businesses.

Other Cases of Mobile Money Operators Who Were Attacked and Killed

Arrah's case is not an isolated case as many MoMo Operators have died in the hands of gunmen around the country.

In the month of March, Roland, a call box operator in Bambili,Tubah Sub Division ,North West Region of Cameroon died after being hit by bullets. Roland was a young man living with a disability.

Roland, Another Victim Of Attacks On MoMo Operators 

In Buea, on Sunday, April 8, 2023, Bisona Melvis, a university graduate and a mobile money operator, was attacked and killed in Buea. She was attacked by gunmen, and money and other valuables were taken away.

Bidsona, Another Victim 

In Sa’a, in the Lekie Division, Center Region of Cameroon, Carine, a pregnant woman, was stabbed after men of the underworld visited her home, following a transaction she and her husband had made of 5 million FCFA.

In Mutengene on March 6,2026, Babila Isidore, another MoMo agent was shot dead by yet to be identified individuals.

Babila Isidore, Victim

These are individuals who chose a decent way of life just to put food on the table. Unfortunately, their lives were cut short by men of the underworld.

If care is not taken, attacks on mobile money operators will continue. Societal watchers say authorities, especially mobile money communication companies, should come up with strategies to better protect their partners.