By Ayuketang Blessing
The regime of Paul Biya has launched a crackdown on activists of the Southern Cameroon National Council, SCNC as the Anglophone crisis deepens in the North West and South West regions.
Many have relocated to unknown destination as their family homes and neighbourhoods have been on constant check by security operatives seeking to apprehend them due to their perceived anti-government opinions.
On the strength of untold human rights violations perpetuated by security forces, these collectives of Human Rights Organisations are recommending that people of goodwill should accord maximum security to any Anglophone activists who are on the run for fear of government persecution.
The government has already considered them terrorists and numerous charges have been levelled against them such as propagation of false information, rebellion, revolution, secession, insurrection, non- possession of National Identity card and sponsor of the crisis.
Residences of suspected activists whose whereabouts remain unknown are under police searchlights while some have been razed to the ground.
Such is the case with KUTA Celdrick Ndze, an Alumni of Yaoundé 1 University who fought strongly for the rights of the Anglophone Students’ Union in a French institution amongst other SCNC members in March 2019 who, out of the country, have been blacklisted for arrest as government believes they help to sponsor and promote separatist movement activities.
Kuta Celrick Ndze and 2 other SCNC activists’ homes were burned down last September 14, 2019 by Cameroon soldiers.
This comes as US and allies blast National Dialogue as civilians death toll keep rising to 60 killed daily including the razing of homes and villages by Cameroon soldiers in worst genocide than that of Rwanda.
Reports hold that the whereabouts of KUTA Celdrick Ndze who is currently under security operatives’ searchlight, has remained cloudy since then as the government of Cameroon, through judicial authorities, has ordered for proceedings in the various military courts against all those arrested within the context of the Anglophone crisis.
They were taken to the police station and detained under inhumane conditions. Those detained at the police station including Ntemgwa Constance were later whisked away to Buea and placed under detention in degrading and inhumane conditions for about six months before their conditional release on bail.
Reports say during their incarceration they had no access to family members and their lawyers. They were equally told that they could have access to family relations and lawyers only when taken to court. After their release, Ntemgwa Constance Ngossong is reported to have gone underground, family sources have said.
It should be recalled that many Anglophones have been apprehended in various military police checkpoints after their phones had been searched and messages, videos, pictures and images of the killings of Cameroon military by Ambazonian Defence Forces, ADF, discovered therein.
Recent statistics by civil society organisations reflect the extent of the damage with horrific numbers. The death toll is on the rise while there are claims that about 300 villages have been burnt down in two regions and some 500,000 people remain internally displaced with hundreds of thousands having fled to neighbouring Nigeria where they are living as refugees.