BY SANDRA LUM
The North West and South West regions of Cameroon have remained restive since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis in 2017.
Investigative findings and reports from many human rights groups and non-governmental organisations have condemned extrajudicial killings by mostly the military on civilians including children and pregnant women, and the burning of houses. Most of the alleged activists are victims of harassment, torture, molestation and intimidation from both the military operatives and separatist fights.
The Government has, for over five years now, been battling to arrest the situation, but tensions continue to intensify with civilian population in the crisis-hit living in peril, panic and pandemonium. Due to this confusion, and fear of the unknown, many youths and businessmen continue to go underground. Government has equally launched a manhunt for alleged activists siding with separatists.
The activists abound and a list bearing the names of these alleged activists is already making rounds in the hands of the military as the activists have been placed under military searchlight and declared wanted.
It is also worth recalling that the Anglophone crisis, something that pundits say had been brewing for several years, boiled over, when Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions went on strike. They were demanding for the return of the federal system of government, redeployment of Civil Law Magistrates back to Civil Law Courts in French Cameroon, among other grievances. Not long after, teachers in the North West and South West regions also went on strike, demanding for the redress of several issues concerning the English system of education.
However the crisis metamorphosed into an armed-conflict between the Anglophone separatist fighters and the military. The separatists are fighting for the independence of the English-speaking regions into a country they have christened Ambazonia.
The defence forces and other security operatives have established both search and arrest warrants for the apprehension of many businessmen of Anglophone extraction all over the national territory. The businessmen are suspected to be siding with separatist fighters as the ongoing armed conflict that started about five years rages on.
Reports say businessmen, like other Anglophones engaged in different professions including teachers, medical personnel, lawyers, students and politicians just to name these have been considered as dangerous and threats to the public and declared wanted. The population has equally been urged to be vigilant and report to the closest gendarmerie or police stations.
Cases abound and one of the pathetic cases is that of Akanji Mustapha Mbah. Sources say the whereabouts of the Geography student of the University of Yaounde I, remains cloudy ever since he went underground for fear of the unknown.
The orphan is reported to have moved to Kuke Mbomo village, Mbonge Subdivision, Meme Division South West Region sometimes in October 2022 to assist his grandmother, Euzabeth Achuo. While in Kuke Mbomo, where the presence of the military and separatist fighters is a torn to the flesh of civilians, Mustapha was forced by the separatist fighters to join them pick up arms against the military else him and his family will be killed. For fear of the unknown, he is said to have joined and was the cook in the camp of the separatists for close to five months.
Mustapha, we gathered, only separated himself from the separatist fighters when the military raided their camp, which led to the death of six soldiers and some separatist fighters. Not long after Mustapha’s narrow escape from the separatist fighters, news filtered that he was arbitrarily arrested, and tortured by the military and taken to their base in Muyuka, Fako Division, and South West Region.
While attempting to secure his release, his lawyer was informed by the military authorities that the matter was rather on the security of the state and not civil, and that Mustapha’s bail must be authorised by the military hierarchy.
Mustapha was in military custody for about four months and news later filtered that he had escaped from detention and his whereabouts is unknown.
As we went to press, family sources disclosed that some military men and separatist fighters are constantly making impromptu checks around Mustapha’s neighbourhood and traumatising his grandmother, Euzabeth Achuo, for her to disclose the whereabouts of Akanji Mustapha Mbah.
Another case is that of Elias Bissong, a Kumba-based businessman who has equally gone underground for fear of the unknown. Elias Bissong is reported to have been a victim of harassment, torture and intimidation by both military operatives and separatist fighters.
Reports say due to the difficulties he constantly faced to clear his goods from the Douala Ports because of corruption, bureaucratic hurdles and moreover because he is an Anglophone, Bissong became frustrated since his business was gradually being affected, he decided to join the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, a pressure group clamouring for the equality and freedom of Anglophone Cameroonians otherwise known as Former British Southern Cameroons today North West and South West Regions.
As a sympathiser of the SCNC cause, Elias Bissong was arrested alongside many other SCNC activists, during a peaceful demonstration in Buea to support the nationwide lawyers’ and teachers’ demonstration sometime in 2017. Elias Bissong was detained in cruel and inhumane conditions and was released after 15 days thanks to intervention of a human rights lawyer.
Family sources revealed that few weeks after his release, Bissong started receiving calls from separatist fighters threatening him to support their cause financially. But as he hesitated to financially support them, the separatist fighters razed his business shop in Kumba to the ground.
Elias Bissong was devastated and he relocated to Douala. While in Douala, he is said to have been convinced by a friend to join the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, party of Prof Maurice Kamto.
After the 2018 presidential election, he joined militants of MRC to protest against what they qualified their “stolen victory” by the governing ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM party. He and many militants of the party during the peaceful demonstration were arrested, tortured and detained at the Bell New Bell prison under very harsh, cruel, degrading inhumane conditions.
However, Bissong is said to have to escape from military surveillance while at the hospital where he was admitted after his health deteriorated in prison.
As we went to press, multiple search and arrest warrants were said to have been issued for him by the military as they continue to make impromptu checks around his residence in Kumba and Douala due to his involvement with the MRC party.
Meanwhile, the separatists are also searching for Bissong because of his refusal to support them.
Family sources say Elias Bissong has been declared wanted and his whereabouts remain cloudy.
The country is now considered unsafe by many Anglophones in the diaspora who fear arrest or death if they return to the country.
While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, international organisations and other western powers have called on the government to address the root cause through dialogue.