10,000 tonnes of low quality rice stored at the Douala port

200,000 bags of rice of nearly 10 000 tonnes have been imported by the company Sonam and docked at the Douala port from Thailand aboard the ship Seaster Endurance on April 5, 2014.

This was a finding by the Organization of Human Rights and Citizen Protection (ODHPC) besieging the city authorities and the high court. How did the Seaster Endurance get to land at the Port of Douala, even though the said vessel was discharged from neighboring Nigeria for illegal transportation of goods of dubious quality?

According to investigations conducted by the ODHPC from 5 April 2014, the Seaster Endurance ship docked at the port of Douala with cargo from Thailand which is of low quality and unfit for consumption.

The goods were initially destined for Nigeria where it was rejected by the authorities of the country and then it docked at the port of Douala.

The ship did not also have the right documentation required by the plant protection services of the port of Douala.

All of these anomalies were revealed by Nasser Raoul Kemajou, general coordinator of the ODHPC who demanded the opening of an investigation since if the cargo had not been offloaded in Nigeria, the quality of the goods after the long stay on the ship will diminish.

If the account of the phytosanitary services of the port of Douala is to be adopted, then the rice has actually been examined in a laboratory which the ODHPC thinks otherwise.

The expertise from the laboratory where the sample was tested are to appear before the Littoral Court of Appeal to testify.