Apostle Dr. Njinkeng Samuel Calls on Government to Address “Love”-Based Killings in Cameroon.

Cameroon — The phenomenon, according to Apst. Dr. Njinkeng Samuel, has become a social fact requiring pragmatic government action rather than only public campaigns, hashtags, posters and protest marches.

“Lives cannot just be wasted like this while we watch,” he argues, calling for stronger preventive and legal measures to address what he describes as “love”-based killings.

Four proposals for consideration:

1. Mandatory counselling and psychological assessment before marriage:

Apostle Dr. Njinkeng proposes legislation requiring couples intending to marry to undergo professional counselling and psychological assessment before their marriage is registered.

He suggests that Delegations of Social Affairs should be adequately staffed with psychosocial counsellors and clinicians responsible for conducting the assessments and issuing certificates where appropriate. According to him, such certification could also be required at the traditional or customary level before marriage procedures are completed. He argues that early professional intervention could help identify serious psychological or behavioural concerns before relationships progress to marriage.

2. Stronger action against sexual activities involving minors:

He also calls for stronger measures to protect children and minors from sexual exploitation and abuse. He says society must take sexual relationships involving children seriously and ensure that existing laws on the age of sexual consent and the protection of minors are respected. He believes that responsible sexuality education, parental guidance and enforcement of child-protection laws could help address some of the factors that contribute to destructive relationships and violence.

3. Legal regulation of cohabitation:

The psychosocial counsellor further proposes that cohabitation, commonly referred to in some communities as “njumba,” should be legally regulated or prohibited.

He argues that such a measure would prevent couples from bypassing what he considers necessary counselling and assessment, while encouraging greater intentionality and responsibility in intimate relationships. Njinkeng believes marriage should carry a clear social and legal responsibility, particularly where children and family welfare are concerned.

4. Tougher punishment for intentional killings:

On perpetrators of deliberate killings, Njinkeng calls for severe punishment, including consideration of capital punishment for the most serious cases. He argues that individuals who deliberately take another person's life should face punishment proportionate to the gravity of their actions.

Beyond slogans to prevention

While campaigns against gender-based violence and domestic violence remain important, Njinkeng argues that prevention must go further.

He is calling for a broader national conversation involving government institutions, mental-health professionals, religious leaders, traditional authorities, families, schools and communities.

The objective, he says, should be to identify warning signs early, promote responsible relationships and prevent disputes within intimate relationships from escalating into loss of life.

“Lives cannot just be wasted like this and we are watching,” he says.

Apst. Dr. Njinkeng Samuel is lead Pastor/Psychosocial Counsellor Contact: +237 675 026 705 / 659 761 166

Editor’s note:

The proposals expressed in this article are those of the contributor and do not necessarily represent the position of Pinnacle Times. Some of the proposed legal measures would require careful review against Cameroon’s existing criminal, family and child-protection laws and constitutional obligations.

𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 676279249. 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: www.pinnacletimes.news 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔, 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉.