By Evelyn Kubu
“Fighting for the protection of human rights within the context of the ongoing socio political crisis in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon has become a dare devil activity. Human rights advocates are caught between the devil and deep blue sea.” Afuh Stephens, trade unionist and human rights activist tells The SUN Newspaper.
Civil society organizations and human rights activists championing human rights issues in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon are indeed caught between the devil and deep blue sea as Stephens says. The government of Cameroon through the military and the ministry of territorial administration has continued to monitor humanitarian organizations activities and in some cases place speed bumps that retard humanitarian intervention and advocacy.
Atoh Adah Mbah mostly just called for short Adah Mbah, the founder and executive director of Mother of Hope Cameroon, (MOHCAM), a women and gender issues organization like many other human rights activists have been on government’s and non state armed groups radar since 2018.
Government on it’s part accuse her of collaborating with non state armed groups to organize rallies bringing together women to press on government to provide solutions to the armed conflict and to seek justice for victims of violence in the armed conflict.
According to some government officials, it is impossible to organize rallies in Bamenda to protest without being targeted by non state armed groups. A local administrator in Bamenda disclosed to The SUN that they think Adah Mbah and other humanitarian organizations and activists are in active alliance with armed groups. “How do you explain the fact that they are the only ones that successfully organize protests in Bamenda and march round the streets without security yet stay safe?” the administrator quizzed.
The government of Cameroon in March 2022, suspended activities of Doctors Without Borders in the North West and South West region of Cameroon, jailing some of their staff.
According to government, Doctors Without Borders failed to comply with government policy of humanitarian intervention and was collaborating with and aiding non state armed groups in the crisis zones.
The SUN Spoke to a MSF staff who opted for anonymity. She said, “Government wants us to turn in wounded non state fighters to them and they want us to transport military disguised as civilians in our vans but we say it is against our operating principles. They accuse us of helping non state armed groups when they are injured. We also treat injured military and cannot turn them in to non state armed groups. That’s how we operate, we prioritize life above everything else. We do not want to know whose life is at stake. A human being is a human being.”
Other organizations are constantly denied access to the field by the government based on basis of suspicion. Human rights advocates who are very vocal like Adah Mbah and Muslim Scholar Abdul Karim have both been arrested after they carried out some crucial human rights advocacy activities. Abdul Karim was arrested on August 11, 2022 and taken to an unknown destination. It’s been over a month now and no solid statement about his whereabouts has been made.
Abdul Karim was arrested shortly after he attended a consultative meeting with the deputy British High Commissioner in Bamenda. He was very vocal during the meetings and presented very damning reports against the government forces linked to gross human rights violations in the North West and South West regions within the context of the Anglophone crisis.
Adah Mbah was arrested from her home two weeks ago on August 20, 2022, less than two weeks after the arrest of Abdul Karim. Though she refused to talk in detail after her release nine days later, she had visible signs of torture and appeared to be in very low spirits.
However, she told us that her family has continued to receive death threats from unknown callers and that the threats seem to be issued from both parties to the conflict. “I am accused by the government of collaborating with Ambazonia fighters while other calls accuse me of collaborating with the government. I am on a fix. In 2019, my husband was kidnapped and severely tortured and as we speak now, my safety and that of my family in this town is not guaranteed.” She told The SUN.