By NOELA EBOB BISONG
Some leaders of the ongoing Anglohone separatist fight, have, in very strong terms released certain declarations, calling on the government of Cameroon to account for some of theirs who are being detained but currently no where to be found, following last week’s prisons riot in Yaounde and Buea. While some have gone on to announce a two-day ghost towns, others have given the government a five-day deadline to act, else all hell is loosed in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
In a Press Release dated July 27, 2019 signed by Chris Anu, Secretary of Communications & IT of the ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia’ titled GIVING YAOUNDE FIVE DAYS TO ACCOUNT FOR AMBAZONIAN DETAINEES, it reads that “It has been brought to the attention of the Interim Government IG, of Ambazonia that over 300 Southern Cameroons detainees, in Kondengui prison in Yaoundé cannot be accounted for following the riots in that prison…The IG has also learned that close to 100 Ambazonian prisoners in Buea were killed as they too stepped out to protest living conditions in the prison.”
The release furthers that “We are demanding that Yaoundé and Buea prison authorities, within 5 days render an account, dead or alive of the 300 missing in Kondengui, especially BBC, and Tse
Conrad whose head was broken out of torture in SED and of course, those in Buea. Again, this is a five-day grace we are giving the French Cameroun officials to render an account of every one who was in Kondengui and Buea prisons before the riots of last week.”
They are urging the authorities to produce the detainees and allow them access to their lawyers and families, whereby if there is no response after the five-day deadline, there shall be a total lock down in the North West and South West regions. “The IG by this announcement is encouraging every family in the territory to start stocking up water and food items in the eventuality of a total lock-down”, the release advices.
According to Cho Ayaba, president of the Ambazonia Governing Council, in a Press Release of July 26, 2019 states that “I am, with other leaders, declaring a total lockdown of the territory of Ambazonia from Monday, July 29 to Tuesday, July 30, 2019. This is in solidarity with all Ambazonia prisoners and a demand for accountability”.
Adding their voices to that of Cho Ayaba on a two-day lockdown on Monday and Tuesday, July 29 and 30 respectively, another release signed by Dabney Yerima, Vice President of the ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia’, dated July 26, 2019, equally calls for worldwide solidarity protests at the Embassies of Cameroon and/or France over the next few weeks. The Yerima release furthers that “We call on the Cameroun authorities to make public immediately without delay the whereabouts of all the detainees that have been removed to unknown destinations…We call on the Cameroun authorities to release with immediate effect all Ambazonian political prisoners in their dungeons”, as well as calling for immediate, unconditional access to all independent international media and human rights groups to be able to reach every detainee of their choice. According to their records, “over eleven inmates were massacred, over 50 wounded with some sustaining life threatening injuries. Over one hundred detainees have been ferried to unknown destinations for torture and perhaps massacred”. Names like Mancho Bibixy, Penn Terence, Tsi Conrad, Ngalim Felix etc are mentioned as some of those currently unaccounted for.
In the release, Yerima notes that “We find these events very disturbing, as they are nothing short of genocidal violence on a people guilty of nothing but the right to express their political views and uphold the origins of their constitution in an unholy union”.