It is true that a national day of homage was declared, rather than the national day of mourning that the Archbishop and the head of the opposition had so strongly lobbied for, but half a biscuit is better than no biscuit.

Cameroon is a country that has suffered myriad disasters, both natural and unnatural. These tragedies meet with a distinct lack of empathy or remorse from the national government. The Cameroonian people inured by this custom took the delayed and muted response in step and the government's feeble responses took on the character of a crocodile's tears.

The cause of the tragedy has not yet been determined, although the government has taken steps towards this with the constitution of a commission of inquiry. The commission has drawn on members of all the main parties involved including the Kenyan and Cameroonian governments, the Cameroonian Airports Authority and Kenya Airways. It is doubtful however that the results of the inquiry will be accepted. Already even before the commission has begun its deliberations, the two sides have started a mud-slinging match. The streets of Douala in turn are seething with rumours and theories on the causes of the fateful crash.

They say here that there is no smoke without fire, and it is now a matter of urgency that the commission of inquiry work quickly to restore a sense of confidence in the institutions involved. Most forceful of the rumours is the allegation that ethnic divisions and bickering in the control tower that fateful night led to a climate of confusion in which the Kenyan pilots were induced into taking off from Douala Airport.

Cameroonian cynicism and the speed with which the commission of inquiry was set up have lent support to this theory. This is especially so because of the lethargic response to the tragedy itself, with Kenyan officials arriving at the crash site long before their Cameroonian counterparts. With the atmosphere already poisoned in this way, even the constitution of a commission of inquiry was grounds for suspicion of a cover-up.

Even worse for Cameroon, Kenya Airways has hired the services of a Public Relations firm to manage its reputation. It is now clear to all Cameroonians that not only was the Kenya Airways jet brand new, but that the pilot was experienced. Put together these two factors have served to detract from the Cameroonian airport officials an air of innocence, and to bolster the theory that something happened in the control tower in Douala that night leading to the fatal crash. In this regard, it is instructive to note that the worst airline accident in history, the KLM-PanAm collision on Tenerife in 1977 was also attributed to poor communication during bad weather.

The Cameroonian authorities are now in a sense of panic, and on a damage control mission seeking to deflect blame from Cameroon and apportion it elsewhere. From the 9^th of May, the Cameroonian Minister for Communication accused France of causing the delay in the rescue efforts by pointing rescuers in the wrong direction. Next, a few days later, the Director General of Cameroon's Airports Authority was on Radio France International blaming the tragedy on the recklessness of the Kenyan pilots. His announcement was soon followed by a complaint from Cameroon's Transport Ministry that the International Community was treating Cameroon unfairly in the aftermath of the crash.

All of this is of course unhelpful to the memories of the memories of the crash victims, or to their families. An efficient and above board investigation is the only solution to the current impasse. While it is true that it will be difficult for any party to accept responsibility for the tragedy, a quick finding will set Kenya Airways along the path to mending its image in West Africa following the second crash in what is its most important growth area. For Cameroon, allegations of poor airport management ( whether in equipment or in air traffic control standards) will not augur well for the reputation of Douala.