(MENAFN- Swissinfo) On the days when Tidianie Mogue has an autopsy to perform, the medical examiner pulls on her protective gear – disposable gown, gloves, cap and shoe covers. The Central Hospital of Yaoundé where she works may be the largest in Cameroon, but it doesn't always have the funds to cover the cost of these basic tools of the trade.
“Each examiner has to fight for the material they need,” says Mogue in a video call with SWI swissinfo.“Sometimes we ask the families [of the deceased] to make a contribution so we can buy gloves or scalpels.”
The challenges don't end there: Mogue and the three other forensic pathologists at the hospital make do with rudimentary autopsy rooms, in some cases consisting of just a table and a water tap.
For years the doctors have solicited more resources for their work.“But nothing changes,” says Mogue, despite their sizeable caseload. By her estimates, only around eight forensic doctors are employed by the state for all of Cameroon (population 27 million). Serious crimes there range from the killing of civilians by armed forces in the country's northwest to the murder of journalists and mob attacks against members of the LGBTQ+ community.
'Justice cannot be served'
Cameroon is one of several countries in Africa struggling with the lack of expertise in legal medicine, which encompasses forensic pathology – the investigation of suspicious deaths through post-mortem examination. In Burundi, legal medicine is“virtually non-existent”, says Bamtama Mossi, the director of Rumonge Regional Hospital in the country's west.
“We have no forensic doctors specialising in this field anywhere in [Burundi],” he writes in an email.“When we are called on by the police or the courts to help look for evidence, we are limited to carrying out physical exams and additional tests, which do not help to shed light on the facts.”
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