BY CYNTHIA BIH
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 organizsations have condemned extrajudicial killings, by mostly the military and separatist fighters on innocent civilians including children and pregnant women.
As the crisis that has morphed into an armed conflict rages, reports say hundreds have been kidnapped, thousands of houses razed, over 50,000 persons identified as Internally Displaced Persons, with over 45,000 living horrible lives as refuges in neighbouring Nigeria.
The situation has caused many to migrate to French Cameroon, while others have fled to neighbouring countries and overseas where they are living as refugees. Burning of houses, villages, ghost towns and civil disobedience, school boycott, lockdowns, kidnapping for ransom by the separatists, constant harassment, intimidation and death threats are now the order of the day.
Many innocent youths, businessmen, and those of other professions living in the restive North West and South West Regions are now caught in the web of both the military and separatists. Many have been arrested, tortured and detained under cruel and horrible detention conditions by government forces for not only siding with the separatists, but financing them in their atrocities, while separatists, on their part, have been a thorn on the flesh of these innocent civilians. They have targeted them as blacklegs and spies of the military and as a result been kidnapped for ransom, their houses and other valuable razed to the ground.
As we went to press, the government of Cameroon, through the military, and the courts had launched fresh pursuits to arrest and persecute alleged Anglophone activists both home and abroad suspected to be siding with separatist fighters as the ongoing armed conflict that started about seven years ago rages on. The list, we gathered, is long. The alleged activists have been considered as danger and threat to the public and declared wanted. The population has equally been urged to be vigilant and report to the closest gendarmerie or police stations.
The case of Elvis Mbeuge Tasha is very much pathetic and the talk in every lips. Buoyant in his Start-up firm, the entrepreneur later saw himself entangled by the armed conflict rocking the two Anglophone Regions.
His whereabouts remains cloudy as the military is bent on prosecuting him amongst other innocent civilians allegedly linked to the crisis. Search and arrest warrants are in circulation for his arrest and some members of his family all over the national territory.
Reports say for fear of being kidnapped and killed after receiving several threats and harassment from separatists because of his advocacy in promoting youth education and for children to go to school, a taboo to the separatist who had decreed school shutdown in the restive two Anglophone regions, Elvis Mbeuge Tasha sent money to the separatist fighters for them to spare his life whenever they called him on phone with the use of threat. Unfortunately we gathered that when government got wind of this, they tagged him as one of those financing the activities of separatist fighters and immediately placed him and family under security searchlight.
Tasha was interrogated by government officials, State Counsel and, detained several times as to why he paid money to separatist fighters.
Family sources say if Elvis Mbeuge Tasha didn’t leave the country, he would have been arrested and tortured to death by either the separatist fighters or the government forces under the false charge of siding and financing separatists.
It should be recalled that Tasha and family have been victims to separatist fighter’s atrocities. Tasha’s office was looted, his brother killed, others kidnapped for ransom, family residence in Babalang and other houses in Mamfe and Bamenda razed to the ground, his workers and uncle killed by separatist fighters because of Tasha’s youth education advocacy campaigns.
Meanwhile, 44-year-old Hadidja Hadijatou G Epse Poutougigni, is amongst the many listed by the military for arrest and prosecution. Family sources say her whereabouts remains uncertain since she disappeared in 2024 due to fear for her life and insecurity.
Before her disappearance, she was caught in the web of both military and separatists. The military accused her of siding with separatists and have issued fresh arrest and search arrest warrants against her, while the separatists are hunting her for causing the arrest of one of theirs.
It should be recalled that the life of Hadidja Hadijatou, one time victim of political victimisation and intimidation during her University days in Buea as a sympathiser with the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, party, became unbearable for her and husband while in Mamfe, Manyu Division South West Region due to the armed conflict and they relocated to Douala, Littoral Region.
THE SUN gathered while in Douala their residence became an accommodation home for Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, from Mamfe it raised eyebrows within the military, especially as information leaked that a dreaded separatist from Mamfe was amongst the IDPs, causing the military to carry on impromptu checks around their neighbourhood, thus causing panic.
When the alleged dreaded separatist was arrested by the security in Douala, Hadidja Hadijatou had no other option than to leave Cameroon. Meanhile, nothing has been heard about her husband and children ever since they relocated to a remote village.
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 of the crisis through dialogue. Also, prominent Anglophone lawyer and human rights activist, Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, has called on the Government to dialogue, and to release all Anglophones unlawfully detained or imprisoned.