BY SANDRA LUM
More and more youths caught in the web of the ongoing armed conflict in the North West and South West rages are fleeing to safe havens, most especially where the respect of human rights is prime as political witch-hunting and scores-settling have taken centre stage
When Common Law Lawyers went to strike in October 2016 it was to protest government’s attempts to annihilate the Common Law practice in a constitutionally bilingual and bi-jural Cameroon. The strike by the lawyers was also to uphold Anglo-Saxon values under threat in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions.
Government repression, manhunt for alleged activists and youths have intensified as the Anglophone crisis that started in 2016 and later on metamorphosed to an armed conflict lingers.
The fate of 32-year-old Nkwelle Celestine Kilo is hanging on the balance and the military has launched fresh pursuit against him and many others.
Reports from Kumba, Meme Division South West Region of Cameroon say Nkwelle Clestine met his doom alongside his father in a military checkpoint before Ebonji village, along the Kumba-Tombel road in March 2024 while they were heading for their cocoa farm in Ebonji.
According to sources, Nkwelle’s father, who is equally a driver, had carried some passengers around Teke village. While at the checkpoint, the military asked the passengers to step down from the car and as Nkwelle’s father tried to intervene, the military killed him and burnt his car.
Nkwelle and others were immediately tagged as separatist fighters commonly referred to as Amba Boys. They were arrested and later on whisked to the Mambanda military barracks, molested, tortured and placed under cruel and inhumane detention conditions. All attempts by the military to cause Nkwelle to indicate the hideout of the separatist fighters were fruitless since he denied having any links with the separatist fighters.
Reports say Nkwelle Celestine remained in detention under cruel and inhumane conditions for about a month and thanks to his uncle he was released after serious negotiation with the military. For fear of the unknown and taking into consideration what usually happens to alleged separatist fighters, Nkwelle Celestine’s family made arrangement for him to leave the country.
Since November 2024 his name remains the talk of the day within Cameroon Security Operatives. He has been declared wanted by the military and for fear of the unknown his whereabouts remains unknown and the military keeps making impromptu checks around their neighbourhood in search of him.
The government crackdown on alleged Anglophone activists and politicians, more especially youths has since intensified with arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and extra-judicial killings becoming the new normal, human rights groups have said.
Government forces have engaged in extrajudicial killings, random looting, shooting, torture, molestation using disproportionate and discriminating force, abusing and arresting protesters, burning more than 200 villages, 500 houses , displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, attacking hospitals, beating and raping women and girls.
The war still rages on and many more killings by the military are still being documented by rights organisations.
The government has launched a manhunt for those alleged to be fanning the crisis both at home and. abroad. Terrorism charges hang over them if arrested as they have been declared wanted.