By Atia Tilarious Azohnwi
Scores of catholic Priests have been denied visas to the United States of America by the embassy in Yaoundé, The SUN has learnt.
Some of the priests are those sent on sabbatical by the Bishop of the Buea Diocese, Monsignor Immanuel Bushu during the recent transfers and appointments in the diocese. A priest friendly to The SUN said the visa denial is not unconnected to the recent diplomatic brawl between the US and Cameroon over the worsening Anglophone crisis.
“This is not the first time I am travelling to the US. I can’t understand why I was not given a visa this time around. How can they suspect that I could possibly be going to the US to seek asylum? This is an exaggeration on the part of the embassy,” one of the priests told The SUN on the grounds of anonymity.
The Bishop of Buea was however allowed to travel to the US last week. This has further alarmed many who cannot under this selective US visa policy.
Contacted to comment on the issue, the U.S. Embassy Spokesperson Lee McManis said: “U.S. visa records are confidential under Section 222(f) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits us from disclosing any information on this case.”
It should be recalled that members of the military female football team were denied visas to the 2018 World Military Women’s Football Championship in Fort Bliss, Texas in the United States of America in June 2018.
Cameroon’s name was stripped off from Group B where it was lodged and their first match against Bahrain that was initially scheduled to be played on Friday, June 22, 2018 failed to take place because the lionesses did not show up – they had been denied visa by the embassy in Yaoundé.
The American Embassy in Yaoundé is said to have refused granting the Cameroonian female military squad a visa for fear of some players escaping in the USA as was the case in Australia during the last Commonwealth games in April 2018.
The US Embassy in a statement said the team applied late for visas.
The visa refusal saga is coming at the time dust is yet to settle over the US Ambassador, Peter Henry Barlerin’s advice on the President of the Republic, Paul Biya to think of leaving a legacy like Nelson Mandela of South Africa and George Washington of USA.