A pregnant woman, identified as Sheila Nemu Garbi, and her unborn twins were killed following a confrontation between security forces and a taxi driver who allegedly refused to stop at a military checkpoint. The driver of the taxi was also killed.
According to multiple eyewitness accounts, the heavily pregnant Sheila, who ran a small pharmacy at the Small Mankon neighbourhood in Bamenda, boarded a taxi in the morning hours of Tuesday, August 19, 2025. For reasons that remain unclear, the driver reportedly failed to comply with orders to halt at a military checkpoint in Ngomgham. Security officers, suspecting a possible kidnapping, opened fire on the vehicle. The taxi driver was shot dead at the scene.
Sheila, who had been shouting for help during the ordeal, was seriously wounded and rushed to a nearby Catholic hospital.
Doctors performed an emergency procedure in an attempt to save her unborn twins, but both infants, a boy and a girl were lost.
Despite efforts to stabilize her, Sheila also succumbed to her injuries later in the day. Her body was transferred to the Bafut Hospital mortuary, while her twins have already been laid to rest.
The circumstances of the incident remain murky. Some accounts suggest the driver may have been attempting to kidnap Sheila, while others argue he was simply trying to evade police control. The military has yet to release an official statement clarifying the events.
The shooting has, however, reignited questions about the conduct of government forces in Cameroon’s conflict-hit North West Region. Critics are asking why soldiers resorted to live gunfire when it was evident a civilian passenger was inside the car. “The question is not just what the driver’s motives were, but whether alternative, less lethal methods could have been used to bring the vehicle under control,” one Bamenda resident told Laarry Times.
The tragedy brings the death toll to four, including Sheila’s unborn twins, and underscores the dangers faced by civilians caught between insecurity and heavy-handed military tactics in the Anglophone crisis.
Sheila is being mourned by family, friends, and patients who describe her as a dedicated pharmacist and expectant mother full of hope. Her sudden death has left the community reeling, with many calling for justice and accountability.
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