By Noela EBOB BISONG
Ewome John Eko also known as Moja Moja, is currently in the centre of controversy, following his dismiss from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR). The soldier cum traditional ruler of Bwassa village in Fako Division, Southwest region of Cameroon was expelled from the special force and sent to the Infantry Battalion, the country’s regular army. According to the transfer verdict released on May 9, 2024 by Colonel Pelene Francois, General Coordinator of the BIR, the move is in response to Ewome’s absenteeism and indiscipline in the elite corps. The verdict also carried the name of another element with similar charges.
The BIR is a special force created in 2001 with mission to uphold Cameroon’s territorial integrity against armed groups and gangs especially along its borders. Ewome Eko joined the force in 2007 and was sergeant before his dismiss.
Moja Moja reacts
In an unexpected move, Ewome John was swift to react to his dismiss from the BIR, in a video making waves on social media. In the video, the soldier, addressing Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya, presents himself as a loyal and faithful servant of the state, ready to die for the peace of the nation. He also urges Cameroonians to register and vote in the upcoming elections in 2025 to secure the clamoured change.
However, prior to the afore-mentioned, Ewome unleashed what can be termed a “dark secret’, which has been cooking for two years. He said certain Colonels at the BIR have been making demands for him to join a coup plot to unseat the current regime of the country, headed by Biya. Ewome said his refusal to adhere to the plot was the reason his salary was suspended in 2022. He urged the President to conduct an investigation to unearth the plot and maintained that some Colonels at the BIR do not mean well for him (President).
“I told them I didn’t want to hear of such a thing or else I myself will attack them”, Ewome held. The soldier said his salary was later released but again he was notified that ahead of the 2025 presidential election, a coup d’etat will take place. “But I still refused…three weeks ago, a colonel of the BIR called me and proposed a coup d’etat, still I refused…I told them that elections are around the corner and they should go and vote for the change they need. To my biggest surprise, I only learnt from information published by separatists that I had been removed from the BIR”, Ewome explained in the video to Biya.
Addressing a certain colonel at the BIR whom he held is among the coup plotters and whom he promised to name in his next video outing, the soldier stated that “Mr Colonel, I am not afraid of you. It is not this gun, it is my heart with which I swore to the BIR in 2007…you are not above the law.”
What implications for Moja Moja, alleged coup plotters?
Ewome’s dismiss from the BIR has been received with mixed feelings by Cameroonians, especially those in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Some of his adversaries almost mistook the information to mean his dismissed from the army. However, his reaction has taken almost everyone aback. The big question since the release of the video is whether or not Ewome is aware of the implications, especially to himself.
Until now, Moja Moja has remained a controversial figure in the crisis hampering the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon. A staunch Southwesterner from a bakweri father and a bayangi mother, the soldier and traditional ruler has been resolute in standing for a one and indivisible Cameroon. He moves everywhere with the flag of Cameroon, telling everyone who cares to listen, that Cameroon will forever be undefeated. His blend of the military and tradition makes for a unique style uncommon in the Southwest and the country. Over the years and until now, Ewome has been battling with separatist fighters operating in Fako division. They have been his target and he has been their target, making him a stench to separatists and their sympathisers.
Sometimes, Ewome has been faulted for going to the extreme in his actions and utterances which some have held denote hate. Undeniably, he has remained an emblematic figure and a hero to his admirers. As a trained soldier, he moves with the gun and as a traditional ruler, there appears a spiritual aura around him. He is a leader of the “Nganya” dance group, a bakweri-sacred society of young boys and men.
His outing to unveil the coup plot in revenge for his dismiss from the BIR, has sent many tongues wagging of possible sanctions. While some of his admirers think his move was unnecessary and fear he must have crossed the line, his adversaries especially those of the separatist rank are rejoicing over “his ignorance” and the fact that there now appear to be a looming divorce between Ewome and the Cameroon military/State which he has been defending so outrightly.
According to former Member of Parliament and retired magistrate, Justice Ayah Paul Abine, Ewome’s failure to report the alleged coup plot at the earliest opportunity is a “serious high treason punishable by death!” Punishment to offences of treason, are outlined in Sections 102 and 103 of the Cameroon Penal Code. At press time, it was not clear whether Ewome is still a free citizen or not.