He is one of the inmates whose mental health has gradually taken a hit. He is Brice Briel Olingo Mounanga, a 37-year-old Gabonese, incarcerated at the Port-Gentil remand center since February 11, 2019.
Indeed, on January 4, 2019 around 3 p.m. Brice Briel Olingo Mounanga set fire in the studio where he lived, a legacy from his father. This fire caused general panic among neighbors, particularly Dieudonné Koumba who saw part of his home catch fire. Seeing that the flames were of unparalleled violence. He is alerted by his wife of the act that his neighbor Brice Briel has just committed.
Arrested by Judicial Police Officers, the man admitted the charges once morest him to investigators although his mental health was already suffering from disturbances. This father suffers from “schizoaffective” disorder, defined as schizophrenia associated with the symptoms of bipolar disorder (characterized by several depressive episodes or the simultaneous presence of depressive episodes and mania). This state of health led this father of two children to even destroy his brother’s television set, claiming to have seen a priest preaching, and even very often to set fire to the common courtyard, indicating that he wanted to purify it of ‘evil spirits’. ›.
“While he was residing at the family home, he had an altercation with his brother and Mr. Dieudonné Koumba. Taken by hallucinations, he destroyed his brother’s television because he was convinced that he had seen a pastor preaching ››, indicates the minutes.
During his trial in criminal hearing, the attorney general indicated that ‘his condition is the result of the abusive consumption of narcotics, which constitutes an aggravating circumstance’.
At the bar, the accused made it known to the Court and to his family that he is the victim of marginalization. Indeed, since his early childhood he was abandoned by members of his family, and his mental state was accompanied by extremely violent psychiatric disorders. According to the medical report of the neuropsychiatrist consulted for this purpose, it is indicated in black and white that Brice Briel Olingo Mounanga “is suffering from schizoaffective disorders characterized by delusions, hallucinations, manic episodes or even periods of depression “.
During the deliberations of the hearing, this Gabonese “pyromaniac” of more than thirty years, was finally acquitted by the Criminal Court which, however, at the same time condemned the family of the accused to transfer him in an appropriate health facility (Melen) for the treatment of his mental disorders.
In addition, the father and mother of the accused were jointly ordered to pay the complainant the sum of 2,000,000 FCFA as damages in accordance with article 618 of the Civil Code and the provisions of article 1394. of the old Civil Code. His release is scheduled for this week.
Jean-Jacques Rovaria Djodji
2024-03-26 14:59:58
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