A Cameroonian from the diaspora who recently returned permanently to Cameroon to establish a real estate business and start an accounting firm is reported to be on the run following attacks and threats on his life by both separatists’forces and government security operatives.

According to reports, Chretien Keungne has been in Cameroon for some time now with plans to stage a ready-made real estate project worth hundreds of millions of Francs CFA.

As news of his plans broke loose in the media, he started receiving calls presumably from separatists’fighters asking him to support them in what have been termed“the struggle” or he would be kidnapped and killed if he didn’t cooperate.

For fear of the unknown, he is reported to have sent some money to the separatists by mobile money transactions as requested by the latter.

This transaction to buy his head from the separatists’fighters seems to have put him in double trouble as government security operatives after tracking down the transaction are after him for supporting terrorism.

The business mogul is now caught in a web of giving more to the separatists for fear of being kidnapped and killed and to face the military courts on charges of sponsoring terrorism.

According to the 2013 anti-terrorism law, anyone who is accused of supporting terrorism is judged in a military tribunal and is likely to face a sentence of between 15 and 25 years, a life sentence or a death penalty at maximum.

We are told that government security operatives have launched a man hunt for him alleging that he has also been financing the separatists from when he was still living abroad.

Separatists forces are also behind him to support them, threatening close relatives to reveal his whereabouts.

It should be noted that Mr Keungne earned an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Montreat College in the United States of America in 2016 and a MSc (Master of Science) in accounting at the University of Liverpool, London, United Kingdom, after studying at the latter from September 2018 to September 2019.

He had a PASS WITH DISTINCTION which is the highest degree classification in the UKS higher education system.

Following these studies, he acquired a good number of licenses and certifications such as The North Carolina Licensed Assisted Living Administrator(License # A00002378), NAB Certified Assisted Living Administrator(License ID 000-47-6835), ServSafe Certified Food Protection Manager(Certification # 9886483), ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) part-qualified accountant ID 6279247with 11 modules out of 15, and finally ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Global part-qualified accountant ID 4641760 with 9 modules out of 13.

It’s worth mentioning that this is such as lost for the country as such a highly qualified and experienced professional is forced to run for his life, at a time when the country would benefit so much from its best citizen returning home from the diaspora. According to our sources also, this situation must be very frightening for Chretien as his father was arrested in April 1991 by government forces during the “Ghost towns operation” which set the country on fire and was never seen alive again.

His return to Cameroon according to our sources was well intended to give back to his community what they gave to him.

By press time, the whereabouts of the business man was unknown and the state of the real estate venture which intended to employ thousands of young Cameroonians uncertain.

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The Cameroon Government has resorted to a more sophisticated military operations to crackdown on Ambazonia fighters and Anglophone activists in total defiant to the peace, which many anticipated will return to the crisis–hit North West and South West regions after the Major National Dialogue.
Gun battles, abductions, burning of houses and villages, arrest and detention, killings etc.have continued unabated since the Major National Dialogue ended, with the Government revisiting files of many activists suspected to be in connection with the current impasse.
As tensions intensify, the civilian population in these regions remains in peril, panic and pandemonium. Reports say this situation has induced mass exodus to French speaking towns and cities in Cameroon. Others have also fled to neighbouring countries as refugees.
According to statistics from human right groups, thousands of houses and over 300 villages have been razed, over 3000 persons killed, hundreds kidnapped, over 53000 identified as Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, with over 35000 as refugees in Nigeria.Some have been left in constant tears either for the demise of their love ones or because their houses have been razed.
Meanwhile, reports hold that many have been placed under security search light for propagating secession and restoration of the Southern Cameroons statehood. A case in point is Mr. Mbetem Simon Tesou, a teacher with several publications to his credit, whose where about remains cloudy since early 2019, according to family sources. He is said to have escaped from the Buea Central Prison thanks to family intervention after three months of detention where he was subjected to inhumane treatment.
Mbetem Simon’s activism according to close friends and family members can be traced as far back as his days in the University of Dschang, where he was noted for preaching against injustice, corruption and marginalisation against Anglophone students, especially the discrimination of coefficient accorded English Courses. It is said that he was even suspended as Course Delegate because of his outspoken nature.

In 2016 when the crisis started and members of the outlawed Civil Society Consortium like Barrister Agbor Balla and Dr Fontem Neba abducted in 2017, Mr. Mbetem, true to himself, joint a peaceful demonstration requesting for their release. Unfortunately, he was arrested alongside others and only released days after, upon signing an undertaking that any “least crime” he commits will end him in jail.
After the release, he is said to have left for Limbe to meet his family relation. While in Limbe, he joined the peaceful demonstration called by the leader of the self-proclaimed State of Ambazonian, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe against marginalisation in October 1, 2017. The demonstration is said to have gone bloody leading to the arrest of many, with others, including Mbetem Simon, escaping into the forest.
The SUN gathered that after staying in the forest for a year, he returned to his sister’s home. Shortly after his return, military men, who have been looking for him and his likes since the 2017 demonstration, stormed his sister’s residence; arrested and whisked him into the Buea Central Prison where he was placed under dehumanising conditions. He was only release three months later thanks to family intervention, who also negotiated his escape to an unknown destination, a close family source hinted.
The SUN has it on good record that since his escape, the Cameroon Government has revisited his case file a couple of times, while impromptu visits are constantly made to his family residence in a bid to coerce family members to reveal the whereabout of Mbetem Simon Tesou. There are speculations that if Mr. Mbetem is arrested, he will be tagged terrorism charges and might be slammed a life jail sentence like the leader of the self-proclaimed State of Ambazonian, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and others.
The Anglophone crisis, which started in 2016 with a strike action by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers against marginalisation has metamorphosed into an arm conflict. Anglophones from all walks of life, including Southern Cameroon National Council , SCNC, members, youths and the clergy have been killed in the cross- fire between security forces and separatist fighters, while others have been arrested, by security forces or kidnapped by separatist fighters. These attacks have been so alarming that human rights groups across the board have concluded that Cameroon is longer safe.

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Since the Anglophone crisis, which started in 2016 with a strike action by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers against marginalization metamorphosed into an arm conflict between security forces and separatist fighters, the Cameroon Government has been intensifying efforts to cut down logistic supply to separatist fighters.
Many suspected sponsors of the separatist fighters, commonly called the Amba Boys, have been arrested and placed under dehumanizing conditions in different detention facilities across the country, while some have abandoned their families, businesses and homes and are on the run.
A case in point is that of a supposed oil mill operator, David Nsuh Tangwin, based in Bekora-Ndian Division, South West Region of Cameroon, a village of 5000 to 7000 inhabitants, which has almost been completely razed due to repeated clashes between security forces and Amba Boys.
Report has it that, last December 2018, some separatist fighters attacked a military post in the Bekora village, wounded some security forces and vanished to an unknown destination. In response, security forces, who have more or less transformed the village into a military camp, came out and burnt hundreds of houses, as villagers fled for their lives. As if this was not enough, they launched a man-hunt for alleged sponsors of separatist fighters; arresting, molesting and transferring them to dreadful detention centres across the country from where they are levied charges related to terrorism and insurrection.
The SUN has it on good record that Mr. Nsuh Tangwin, whose name was on the list of suspected sponsors of the separatist fighters, was hinted by a military friend and he disappeared to an unknown destination leaving behind his family. It later filtered from family sources that David Nsuh’s oil mill was burnt down by irate military men, who have been touring the area almost every other day hoping to lay hands on him. David Nsuh Tangwin’s where about remains a guess work with many divulging that he possibly smuggled himself into Nigeria.
Meanwhile recent statistics place the death toll, since the crisis started in 2016, at over 3000 persons with thousands of houses and over 300 villages razed, 530000 persons identified as Internally Displaced persons, and over 35000 as refugees in Nigeria. It’s unclear if all those who have either left the country or their villages, shall ever go back.

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The ongoing schism in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon between the Anglophone restoration forces, also known as Ambazonia fighters and government’s security forces seems to intensify in magnitude as days unfold, with growing concerns over serious human rights violations.
The crisis, which started in 2016 with a strike action by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers against marginalization, has metamorphosed into an arm conflict. Anglophones from all walks of life including Southern Cameroon National Council, SCNC, members, the clergy have been killed in cross- fire between government security forces and separatist fighters, while others have been arrested by government security operatives and or kidnapped by separatist fighters. These attacked have been so alarming that human rights groups across the board have concluded that Cameroon is no longer safe.
At a time when the United Nations, UN, the United States of America, USA, and other international and national bodies are calling on the government to initiate a meaningful and inclusive dialogue to resolve the Anglophone problem, taking into consideration that the recommendation of the just concluded Major National Dialogue is still to be implemented, the latter has rather resorted to more sophisticated military operations to crackdown on Ambazonia fighters.
As the tensions intensify, the civilian population in these regions remains in peril, panic and pandemonium. While a cross section of the population has taken on mass exodus to French speaking towns and cities in Cameroon, others have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees. Reports published by human right groups, recently, indicate that over 3000 persons have so far been killed, hundreds kidnapped, thousands of houses and over 300 villages razed with over 530000 persons identified as Internally Displaced persons, IDP’s, with over 35000 as refugees in Nigeria. Some have been left in constant tears either for the demise of their loved ones or because their houses have been razed.
Such is the case of the Egbe’s family in Konye-Meme Division, South West Region. The dwelling of this family in Konye Subdivision was allegedly razed to ashes in February 2018 by government’s security forces. Just few days after the ordeal, the Egbe’s family has been seriously hit with the death of their daughter and sister Egbe Clara who was reportedly shot on October 7 ,2018 in Konye by security forces. The reasons and circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased are yet to be unraveled. Several sources however, hold that government forces believe there is strong collaboration between the deceased, and her siblings with the restoration movement. Even some 40 SCNC youths including Elume Ebou who flee the country in between 2011 and 2013 are reported to be under security operatives search light for propagating secession and restoration of Southern Cameroon Statehood.

Clergymen and women have equally been caught in the web of the crisis with many already tagged enemies to the regime.
Reverend Father Nyuykongmo Gerald Jumbam of the Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon, priest of the Diocese of Kumbo, North West Region, is currently under security searchlight, reports say. The former Principal of St Rita’s Catholic Technical High School Nkambe, Donga Mantung Division who has been in Rome -Italy since 2013 for further studies has been declared an enemy of the Regime.
His publications and write -ups on the plight of the people of Southern Cameroons vis a vis the Independence of Southern Cameroon since 2017 have caused the government to tag him a secessionist. They have thus, declared him wanted. The one time vocal and outspoken correspondent of L’effort Camerounaise , a Catholic Journal, and Presenter of a political and religious debate program over Nkambe Community Radio, is likely stand trial at the Yaounde military tribunal and subsequently be handed heavy jail sentence, if found in Cameroon, reports hold. This means that he will be subjected to a similar plight like the Ambazonian leaders who were extradited from Nigeria in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of terrorism, secession, propagation of false information and revolution.

Meanwhile, close aides to the Jumbam’s family have disclosed that the military keeps making impromptu visits to the family compound in Kumbo, even though his parents have long relocated out of the country. As the crisis intensifies, the military is reported to have razed the Jumbam family compound in one of their impromptu checks.
It should be recalled that many Clergymen and women are going through tough times amidst the crisis. They are either kidnapped or killed. The recent case was that of the arrest of Rev Father Paul Njokikang, Coordinator of the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, CARITAS, on Sunday October 20, 2019.

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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.

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The above crackdown by the government did not in any way deter the activists from activism; they kept organizing rallies in their various sub-divisions with the aim of sensitizing the people of an independent Southern Cameroons, while preparing to hoist their flag all over Southern Cameroons in commemoration of their independence day, which is usually every 1st of October.

On the 1st of October 2018 while Southern Cameroonians of the North West Region gathered at Commercial Avenue, Bamenda, to celebrate their Independence Day, the security forces swooped on them. Unfortunately, Suh Kelvin Fru, John Che Ngwa and Chungong Espse Mbanyamsig Vivian Ngwenyi were amongst those arrested and detained again.
Some of them are reported to have escaped from detention under conditions which remain sketchy. However, some sources say they may have been killed because many who have been arrested and detained within the context of the Anglophone crisis have ended up disappearing.

It is also reported that the residence of those activists who mysteriously escaped from detention are being stormed severally by the security forces in search for them. They have been declared WANTED by the government, with a pending warrant of arrest against each of them, for rebellion against the state and insurrection, which is life imprisonment and or death sentence.

Origin of the crisis

It is worth recalling that the Anglophone crisis, something that pundits say had been brewing for several years, boiled over in 2016 when Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions went on strike, paralyzing the courts. They were demanding for a return to the federal system of government, redeployment of Civil Law Magistrates back to Civil Law Courts among other grievances. Not long after, teachers in the North West and South West regions also went on strike, demanding the redress of several issues concerning the English sub-system of education.
Things got worse when concerned citizens in the North West and South West regions, who had been fed up with the unfavourable political and especially economic stagnation of Cameroon at large, but more importantly in these regions, joined the strike.
But after negotiations with the teachers and lawyers ended in deadlock, the government banned the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC. Some of the leaders of the Consortium such as Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho and Dr. Fontem Niba were immediately arrested while others such as Barrister Bobga Harmony and Tassang Wilfred fled into hiding.
It should be recalled that leaders of the Anglophone separatist movements including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine others, who were arrested in Abuja, Nigeria in January 2018 and later extradited to Yaounde were in August 2019, handed life jail sentences.
It is also worth noting that many people, both civilians and security forces, have been killed in the crisis, many more internally displaced and over 30,000 have fled to neighbouring Nigeria where they are living as refugees.
While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, international organizations and other western powers have called on the government to address the root cause of the crisis.

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As the crisis that has been rocking the North West and South West regions, which has spiraled into an armed conflict, rages on, the government has stepped up its crackdown on all those suspected to be activists or sympathisers to the Anglophone cause.

In this light, security operatives have been indiscriminately arresting Anglophone activists and suspected activists. This has caused many of them to flee into hiding and the whereabouts of many is not known.

Sources say the arrested activists are being tortured and detained under horrendous and inhuman conditions. Some have reportedly died in detention.

As the crackdown on the activists escalates, several cases have been reported. One of such cases is that of Nelly Amuh, for whom security operatives have launched a manhunt for allegedly being a symparthiser and activist of the Anglophone separatist cause.

We gathered that Nelly Amuh got married to a soldier of the Cameroon army who was working in the South West region, one of the bastions of the separatist fighters.

Nelly Amuh’s ordeal is said to have begun when on April 1, 2019 separatist fighters stormed their residence and kidnapped her and her husband and whisked them to an unknown destination.

The separatist fighters are said to have accused Amuh’s husband for spying for the government to target and kill the fighters. Her husband was also accused of having been killing separatist fighters. We gathered that the separatist fighters later shot Amuh’s husband and continued keeping her in the bush against her wish. The separatist fighters are also alleged to have raped her severally, leaving her in a state of psychological trauma.

However, sometime in June 2019, Amuh is said to have escaped from the captivity of the separatist fighters under unclear circumstances. Nonetheless, She is said to had joined the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, one of the movements fighting for the independence of what has been christened Republic of Ambazonia.

Because of her membership in the SCNC and activism in the separatist independence cause, the military began searching for Nelly Amuh, claiming that she had been an accomplice in the death of her husband, a soldier.

For fear of her life, Nelly Amuh is said to have gone underground and her whereabouts is not known. The military is said to have stormed her residence in Buea, threating her family members to disclose her whereabouts or else they will all be arrested.

Meanwhile, we gathered that a warrant of arrest has been issued for Nelly Amuh. If arrested, she will be tried in a military tribunal under the anti-terrorism law, whose maximum punishment is the death sentence. This is if she will not be killed outright, like many others who have been victims of extra-judicial killings.

Another case is that of Rashidou Ndzekasaah, who in, February 2018, was working at a warehouse in the border town of Ekok, Manyu division of the South West region.

On February 11, 2018, which is Youth Day, Rashidou Ndzekasaah and10 others were working in the warehouse, when there was a gun battle between separatist fighters and the military. Caught in the crossfire, with bullets raining on the warehouse, one of the workers is said to have been hit by a bullet.

Rashidou Ndzekasaah and his colleagues attempted to ferry the wounded across to a hospital across the border to Nigeria, but unfortunately for them, they were caught by the military.

Accusing Rashidou and his colleagues of being separatist fighters because one of them had a bullet wound, the military tortured them. Attempts by the warehouse workers to explain to the military what really happened fell on deaf ears. After being tortured for hours without food, Rashidou Ndzekasaah and his colleagues are said to have been forced, under duress, to sign declarations stating that they were separatist fighters.

They were later transferred to the Buea central prison where he spent four months awaiting trial. While awaiting trial under horrible detention conditions, they continued to suffer from severe torture.

However, sometime in July 2018, Rashidou Ndzekasaah is said to have escaped from prison under circumstances that remain unclear and suspicious. Since then his whereabouts is known, while a warrant of arrest has been issued for him. If arrested, he will also be tried in a military tribunal under the anti-terrorism law.

The military is said to have launched for Rashidou and has been storming the neighbourhood where his family residence is located in Baba 1, Ngoketunjah division of the North West Region, looking for him; also reports suggest that family members associated to him have been threatened to reveal his whereabout.

Origin of crisis

It is also worth recalling that the Anglophone crisis, something that pundits say had been brewing for several years, boiled over in 2016, when Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions went on strike. They were demanding for the return of the federal system of government, redeployment of Civil Law Magistrates back to Civil Law Courts in French Cameroon, among other grievances. Not long after, teachers in the North West and South West regions also went on strike, demanding for the redress of several issues concerning the English system of education.

Things, however, got worst when Anglophones in both regions, who had been fed up with the unfavourable political and economic situation of the country, the use of French as the dominant and official language, and the marginalisation of the Anglophones, joined the strike.

The armed conflict has caused the deaths of thousands. Thousands more internally displaced with some living in bushes while several other thousands have fled to neighbouring Nigeria, where they are living as refugees.

Separatist leader, Sissiku Ayuk Tabe, and nine others who were arrested in Nigeria and later extradited to Cameroon are currently Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde, after they were last month slammed life sentences.

While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, international organisations and other western powers have called on the government to address the root cause through dialogue.

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Pani Lavoisire Ekema Muambo and Robert Molokwa are two youths who are paying dearly for the October 1, 2017 demonstration in Buea, chief town of the South West region of Cameroon. The demonstration, which was geared towards denouncing Cameroon government’s marginalization of citizens of the country’s English-speaking regions (North West and South West regions) and to press towards obtaining independence for the afore-mentioned regions known as ‘Southern Cameroons”, did become violent, though it was programmed to be a peaceful protest.
However, when tension increased across the streets of Buea that fateful day, many, including protesters, on-lookers and ordinary citizens began running helter-skelter for their lives. The commotion was indeed intense as gunshots filled the air.
Though many found safety then, some have continued to pay the price two years after. Such is the case of two youths; Pani Lavoisire Ekema Muambo and Robert Molokwa, both Limbe residents who were part of the Buea demonstrations.
Both were accused of four charges, including unlawful public meeting, riot, escape and propagation of false information. According to one Njie Stanley Etoke who stood as witness against Ekema Muambo and Robert Molokwa, he (Njie) was on his way for a delivery that fateful day with his goods (bags of rice, tomatoes etc) to his clients, when Robert Molokwa, running towards his direction forcefully pushed him to the floor with his goods destroyed and spread to the ground, with Pani Lavoisire Ekema Muambo being his accomplice. According to Njie, he tried to get a hold of Molokwa to no avail. Njie told the Limbe Court of First Instance that he found himself in a difficult condition and sustained bodily injuries and loss of goods. He went ahead to present a medical certificate to attest the bodily injury and a list of articles reportedly lost. Njie therefore claimed FCFA 8 million for the loss and injuries suffered.

Following Njie’s claims, the accused, Ekema Muambo and Robert Molokwa were arrested and detained at the police station where they spent four days and later reportedly escaped to an unknown destination.
In abstentia, they have been found guilty on all four charges, and will each suffer at least seven years imprisonment with fines of at least FCFA 2million.
Their whereabouts however, still remain unknown.

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With the announcement of Municipal and Legislative elections slated for the beginning of 2020, the political players in the country are expected to show faces on set.

Though there is a lot of uncertainty, given the socio economic problems plus the armed conflicts in the Northwest and South West Regions, the ball seems to have been bounced already.

However the tension and uncertainty is rife as politicians don’t know what will happen to them if they engage in campaigns especially in rural areas.

While the state insists that elections must hold, separatist fighters holds that no election will take place in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon.

In Tiko Municipality, a council which was previously occupied by the ruling party, the CPDM, had gone over to the leading opposition, the SDF.

The race will be tough in Tiko since the CPDM is already mapping out a comeback strategy.

However, it’s more complex in the camp of the sitting SDF since many think that it is time to have another SDF Mayor to be voted by the SDF councillors.

One of the councillors of  the SDF in Tiko who had always stood for justice in council deliberations had not been found around since mid 2018.

The councillor whose name we got as Councillor Henry Ambe Chie is reported to have gone out of view some time last year.

With elections announced, the people of Tiko have raised a major concern over his whereabouts.

A few persons, who spoke to this reporter, confirmed that since mid 2018 he has not been present at sessions and no one is saying anything about his disappearance.

It is also said in some quarters that he was on the run due to threats on his life and that of his family.

According to reports, he had also received threats from unknown persons and has even gone as far as burning down his house in Balangi, near Kumba and belongings sometime in May last year.

We are informed that such threats even included threats to life by Separatists fighters and the military on the outspoken and lover of justice Councillor.

“He is one of those politicians who always stand for truth and justice; he is always at the defense of the weak. We do not know what has happened to him but we pray he finds peace wherever he is” prayed one of those who spoke to this reporter.

He is also said to have been involved in the protest against the celebration of the last May 20, National Day Event which was celebrated in the midst of tension in the two English Speaking regions of the country.

All efforts to get his close collaborators proved futile as no one is certain of the outcome of any statements made within the context of the Anglophone crisis.

However, a source who decided to speak on conditions of anonymity opined that, with the threats of life and safety and like many others in the conflict zones, he may have moved to neighboring Nigeria which is hosting thousands of Cameroonians fleeing from the troubled regions of Cameroon.

The SDF bigwigs in Tiko all these while have not said anything and many opined that they may just be happy with the situation since he is very popular and objective.

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As the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions, which has mutuated into an armed conflict rages on, the government has continued to target Anglophone activists in the Diaspora, accusing them of being those fuelling the conflict.

In this light, most Anglophones residing in the Diaspora have been declared persona non grata as they are believed to have taken part in most of the peaceful demonstrations staged by the Ambazonia separatist leaders and English speaking Cameroonians living in the Diaspora. Some of them are being arrested at the airports as they come back home. Some of those arrested are awaiting trial in the military tribunals. They will be tried under the anti-terrorism law whose maximum sentence is the death penalty.

Others who are mostly American citizens are always repatriated to the USA and warned never to return in Cameroon. A case is that of a university professor in the US, Patrice Nganang, who was arrested, detained and accused of threatening the life President Biya. He is a dual Cameroon –US citizen but authorities seized his Cameroon passport, and expelled him from Cameroon, warning him never to return.

It would be recalled that since the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions spiralled into an armed conflict, there has been gun battles between security forces and fighters loyal to the Ambazonia movement that has declared the independence of the English-speaking regions, christening it Republic of Ambazonia.

There have military crackdowns on the population of these regions as they come out to celebrate what they term is the independence of the self-declared Ambazonia. On such occasions, many were killed, others arrested, tortured and detained under horrendous conditions. Some are reported to have died in detention. Some of the soldiers deployed to the North West and South West regions to battle the Ambazonia fighters are alleged to have raped innocent women and girls. Some civilians are reported to have disappeared with their whereabouts not known till date.

On 1 October 2017 there were several killings in the two English-speaking regions as Anglophones came out to celebrate what they termed the independence of Amabazonia. There was also mass exodus from Buea and many other towns in the Northwest and Southwest regions. Some people fled into the dangerous bushes and forests where they built temporal tents for shelter and others crossed over to Nigeria. Some towns in the English-speaking regions are still destroyed and deserted as most of the population fled for safety. Thousands have crossed over to neighbouring Nigeria where they are living as refugees. Others have crossed over to the French-speaking regions, particularly Douala were ordered to return to their areas of residence; others were branded terrorists, tortured and killed while some disappeared overnight without anyone knowing their whereabouts.

Extrajudicial killings, burning down of entire villages or ethnic communities, shooting unarmed civilians, forcing the disappearances in Southwest and Northwest regions are now the order of the day.

According to international organisations, over 3000 people in the crisis-hit regions have been internally displaced. The Centre for Human Rights and Democratic in Africa, CHRDA, says about 250 villages have been burnt in the Northwest and Southwest regions. The villages include Kwa Kwa, Boa Bakundu, Kembong, Bole Bakundu, Dienda Bakundu, Big Ngwandi, Bakumba, Bokosso, Nake, Kobonbe mission, Kake I, Kake II, Bekondo, Big Massaka, Nganjo, Foe Bakundu, among others.

Meanwhile Children have been out of school for a period of over 3 years. There are over 1500 children who are out of school, some are child refugees living in the bushes and forests and others are in the refugee camp in Nigeria.

It should be recalled that leaders of the Anglophone separatist movements including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine others, who were arrested in Abuja, Nigeria in January 2018 and later deported to Yaounde were in August 2019, handed life sentences.

Meanwhile, most WhatsApp groups classified as Separatist Groups in the Diaspora have been infiltrated by government agents and their members always accused of acts of terrorism and rebellion and are being arrested, detained and sent for trial at the military tribunal upon their arrival in Cameroon.

Good examples of most of these groups are: Lawyers Without Borders, Think Tanks for Africa, Birocol UK, Southern Cameroons Women, Cameroon in the UK, Ambaland Islamic Battalion, Southern Cameroons Community UK and Southern Cameroons Resistance Front. The names of members of such groups have been well classified and most of them who have visited Cameroon so far were arrested at the airport in Douala, Cameroon, detained and are awaiting trial in the Military Tribunal, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Most activists on social media namely: Mark Bareta, Tapang Ivo, Mbuton Bobga Harmony, Anu Chris, Ray Timah, Sako Samuel, Emmy Tricia Kesah, Cho Ayaba Lucas, Aaron Yancho Kaah and anyone spotted advocating against the government of Cameroon have been classified as terrorists and charged for acts of rebellion.

The post As armed conflict in NW, SW rages on: Gov’t continues to target Diaspora Anglophone activists and Citizens returning into the country appeared first on THE SUN NEWSPAPER CAMEROON.