As tensions in the North West and South West Regions rage unabated, with government embarking on a protracted mission to fish out sympathisers and activists backing what is now termed Anglophone crisis, kidnapping of children especially those of top government functionaries for ransom, burning of houses and offices of government officials is now the order of the day in the North West and South West Regions.

This follows frequent clashes between government forces and separatist fighters.

These have forced some top government officials especially security officers to relocate to other Regions in Cameroon under very difficult conditions. Separatist fighters, who claim to have several localities in the North West and South West Regions under their control, have equally asked all workers on government payroll to relocate to French-speaking Regions.

Many cases abound in where police officers and their relations have been blacklisted by the separatist fighters as blacklegs and are determined to eliminate them. Reports from the North West and South West Regions now considered by the separatist fighters as their territory which they ‘Republic of Ambazonia’ hold that houses of government functionaries have been razed to the ground by separatist fighters, who have reportedly also warned them never to make any attempt including their family relations to come back to their birth place.

A case in point is that of the family of Sona Ericson Matuke, the Police Superintendent for Menji in Lebialem Division of the South West Region who has received the worst psychological torture from the hands of separatist fighters. Lebialem Division, it should be noted, is the centre of armed confrontation between the Government forces and the Ambazonian Defence Forces.

The Sun gathered that on May 20th, 2018  the Ambazonian Defence Forces in Lebialem, stormed the office of  Commissioner Matuke in search of firearms and ammunitions and an open confrontation with the police officers on duty ensued, leaving four police officers wounded and the office razed to the ground by the separatist fighters. As if this wasn’t enough, the residence of the Superintendent of Police was later on razed to the ground on the day of 2018 Presidential elections in Cameroon, thus forcing him and his family to relocate to Dschang, neighbouring in West Region which is in French-speaking Cameroon.

Meanwhile, in Kumba, the birth place of Commissioner Sona Ericson Matuke, whereas, his brother-in- law, Numbissi Alphonse was beheaded by the Ambazonian Defence Forces for allegedly being a spy to the Police, another brother-in-law, a Company Commander with the Cameroon military, was equally shot in front of the Commissioner’s residence.

The Sun gathered that he went to sympathise with the Commissioner after having heard of his ordeal with the separatist fighters.

As children of police and military officers are now prime targets for kidnapping and the rampant and indiscriminate killing of youths makes it very dangerous and insecure for any youth to live in the area at the moment, the children of Commissioner Sona Ericson Matuke especially his two sons Matuke Karlmax Djomtcheu and Matuke Jefferson Ekwa, who are currently out of the country, will find it difficult if they return.

According to Commissioner Matuke, their safety and security cannot be guaranteed as they both face the danger of being killed by the belligerents talk less of relocating to the French-speaking Regions of Cameroon.

Matuke Karlmax Djomtcheu and Matuke Jefferson Ekwa, it should be noted, are all English-speaking Cameroonians and cannot further their studies in the French-speaking parts of Cameroon.

The Sun gathered that Commissioner Matuke, who is presently in hiding out of the South West Region for fear of his own security, is of the opinion that his two sons Matuke  Karlmax Djomtcheu and Matuke Jefferson Ekwa can only come back to Cameroon after the war between the Ambazonian Defence Forces and the Cameroon Military must have ended.

The war in the two Anglophone Regions of Cameroon referred to by activists as Southern Cameroons or “Ambazonian” is in its third year with no end in sight. The number of shootings, abductions and arrests keep soaring.

Life for many living in the restive regions is a miracle given that each new day comes with its own atrocities. Today, many homes in the two restive regions have been broken into with women left to drown in their tears. They have been looking for their husbands and sons and other family members who are either missing or dead.

The outskirts of towns like Buea, Kumba, Menji, Bamenda, Kumbo, and Mamfe have been the hardest hit by the crisis. Many have fled in order to provide a level field for the smoking guns. Extra-judicial killings, burning of homes and villages, raping in these regions have been the order of the day as many have been declared as Internal Displaced Persons, IDP’s.

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 200 villages have been burnt down in the two regions, and some 17,000 people remain internally displaced, a majority of whom are taking refuge in the bushes and forests. This is in addition to the more than 45,000 English-speaking Cameroonians who have assumed the status of refugees in Nigeria.

Several activists both home and abroad have been earmarked for arrest with regional, national and international warrants issued against them. Photos declaring them ‘Wanted’ are reported to have been handed security forces with names like Tanjohcha Zavera, Franlklin Vegah Law, Menyele Charles Mosima and Tayo Kenzem placed under police searchlight.

Leaders of the virtual state of Ambazonia, otherwise known as Southern Cameroons, Sisiku AyukTabe, Tassang Wilfred, Barrister Eyambe, Nfor Ngala Nfor and others, had been arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon and have been detained at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde for over a year now.

They have been appearing before the Yaounde military tribunal where they are facing charges of terrorism, secession, propagation of false news, insurrection, non-possession of National Identity Card and rebellion against the state.

The post Anglophone crisis: Kidnappings, killings, burning of houses increase in North West, South West appeared first on THE SUN NEWSPAPER CAMEROON.

As tensions in the North West and South West Regions rage unabated, government has embarked on a protracted mission to fish out sympathisers and activists backing what is now termed the Anglophone crisis.

Confronted with escalating tempers, a total breakdown of law and order, and worsening socio-political conditions, government has now decided to trial those considered as masterminds of the unrest. This move represents one in a series of measures that has been employed by the administration to calm the troubled waters amid deteriorating security conditions and other concerns.

This hunt is in a bid to bring activists before the military tribunal for adjudication, as was the case with the likes of Mancho Bibixy, Tsi Conrad, and Penn Terence, who, upon their arrest in January 2017, subsequently stood trial before the military tribunal to bear the brunt of a failed system. They were each slammed maximum jail sentence to serve at the Kondengui maximum security prison.

Leaders of the virtual state of Ambazonia (otherwise known as Southern Cameroons); Seseku Ayuk Tabe, Tassang Wilfred, Barrister Eyambe, Nfor Ngala Nfor and others, were then extradited from Nigeria and placed incommunicado for close to a year and are currently standing trial at the Yaounde military tribunal. They are presently faced with charges of terrorism, secession, propagation of false news, insurrection, non-possession of National Identity Card and rebellion against the state in an on-going trial before the military tribunal. Their trial has suffered several adjournments.

The war in the two Anglophone Regions of Cameroon referred to by activists as Southern Cameroons or “Ambazonian” is in its third year with no end in sight. The number of shootings, abductions and arrests keep soaring.

With the military finding it difficult to differentiate between innocent civilians and separatist fighters, many young people have been caught in the web. They have either been hit by stray bullets or mistaken for members of the gun-carrying-militia and killed in cold blood.

Life for many living in the restive regions is a miracle given that each new day comes with its own. Today, many homes in the two restive regions have been broken with women left to drown in their tears. They have been looking for their husbands and sons who are either missing or dead. The outskirts of towns like Buea, Kumba, Bamenda, Kumbo, Mamfe have been the hardest hit by the crisis. Many have fled in order to provide a level field for the smoking guns to rattle.

Recent statistics by civil society organisations reflect the extent of the damage with horrific numbers. The death toll is on a perpetual rise while there are claims that about 120 villages have been burnt down in the two regions, and some 11,000 people remain internally displaced, a majority of who are taking refuge in the bushes and forests. This is in addition to the more than 45,000 English-speaking Cameroonians that have assumed the status of refugees in Nigeria.

Several activists both home and abroad have been earmarked for arrest with regional, national and international warrants issued against them. Photos declaring them ‘Wanted’ have been placed with security forces.

The tale of Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh, Kenzem Anselme Sylvain and Ayuknken Policarp Tabe, caught our attention as we seek to document the ordeals of youth caught in a war for no fault of theirs. For issues relating to the Anglophone cause, Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh, Anselme Sylvain and Ayuknken  Policarp Tabe have become persons of interest in Cameroon. The regime has set its sight on him with intent to prosecute and incarcerate them based on charges for acts of treason, terrorism, secession, propagation of fake news, rebellion against the state and sponsoring of the Anglophone crisis.

The Sun gathered that Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh, a member of the Kumba 4 Youth Association, with links with Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), a separatist movement clamouring for the restoration of independence of Southern Cameroons, was made president of the said Kumba 4 Youth Association sometimes in 2017. Upon investigation by the authoritises of the Yaounde Regime, it was clear that “Kumba 4 Youth Association” had strong ties with SCNC, and thus its members became targets for arrest.

It’s on this backdrop that on February 26, 2017 shortly after their meeting some members including Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh were arrested, tortured and placed under inhumane detention condition both in Police and prison custody awaiting trial. Smith was almost taken to prison if not for the swift and timely intervention by his family to secure his release not on a pressure group with links to SCNC but for equally feeding Cameroonians abroad with false information in a bid to incite a revolution in Cameroon.

The SUN gathered that, Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh was later granted bail after having signed an undertaking never to indulge in activities aimed at breaching the peace of the country. With the zeal of seeing that SCNC achieves its objectives of independence Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh couldn’t stop his activism. For fear of subsequent arrest and being taken to an unknown destination, THE SUN learnt Smith Nkelnzieh had no other option than to leave the country.

With the knowledge that Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh’s destination was unknown to security forces he was immediately declared wanted by the regime.

Family sources have disclosed that their residential area is always under constant checks and monitoring, all in a bid to crack down on Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh and his siblings who are frontline members of the “Kumba 4 Youth Association’, moreover as Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh is still very much active in seeing to it that Southern Cameroons is liberated going by his frequent outings alongside many “Ambazonians” abroad. Recently the family residence of Smith Nkelnzieh Nupoh was razed by fire and his mother and other family members including his sister Geraldine remain displaced persons. The cause of the fire is unknown by it is suspected that the house may have been burnt down by security forces

Another pathetic ordeal is that of Tayo Kenzem Anselme Sylvain a businessman, from Ekombe- Mofako Sub Division, Meme Division, in the South West Region, who was equally arrested and detained under horrible conditions in November 2018, by the military for about two weeks for his alleged involvement in the Anglophone crisis. He later escaped from custody to an unknown destination.

Family sources told THE SUN that Tayo Kenzem Anselme Sylvain was regarded by the Ambazonian Defence Force, ADF, as a government spy because he resisted all attempts and calls by the separatist fighters to join them in the fight against the  Yaounde Regime in order to restore the Statehood of  Southern Cameroons.

Meanwhile, the government was also pointing accusing fingers at him for being a member of the Ambazonian Defence Force. Earmarked for arrest by both the government and separatist fighters, Tayo Kenzem Anselme Sylvain’s residence in Ekombe- Mofako village was burnt by the military and since this incident his family has been restless due to impromptu checks by the military and the Ambazonian Defence Forces who are on the lookout for Tayo.

On his part, Ayuknken Policarp Tabe, another SCNC activist from Ediki village in Mbonge Sub Division in Meme Division of the South West Region, who joined to the SCNC movement in 2009 after having gained experienced from his uncle, Tabe Daniel Tabe, has since the end of October 2018 been declared wanted by the Yaounde Regime. Family sources hold that Ayuknken Policarp Tabe, before his disappearance, was a staunch member of the SCNC and participated in all the activities of the movement to wit; the distribution of SCNC flyers and tracks. His ordeal, according to reports, indicate that he has been arrested, detained and placed under inhumane conditions with the worst experience at the Buea prison on the  20^th May, 2018 after he distributed SCNC gadgets  in the street of Buea during a protest march. After his release three months after, he didn’t relent his activism with the SCNC.  Returning from Buea to Kumba in October, to distribute SCNC flyers, Ayuknken Policarp Tabe realised that his community was razed to the ground and his uncle, Tabe Daniel Tabe, was equally killed by the military. Ayuknken Policarp Tabe, faced with this situation, ran into the bush when he was informed that he has been declared wanted by security operatives.

With government tightening the noose on separatists and their sympathisers, the future promises to be pregnant.

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As tensions in the North West and South West Regions rage unabated, government has embarked on a protracted mission to fish out sympathisers and activists backing what has become known as the Anglophone Crisis. The government has already considered them terrorists and numerous  trumped up  charges have been leveled against them such as propagation of false information, rebellion, revolution, secession insurrection and the non-possession of National Identity card.

For fear of the unknown and considering the heavy jail terms awaiting suspected activists, many have relocated to unknown destinations after having been declared wanted by the regime.

Confronted with flaring tempers, a total breakdown of law and order, and worsening socio-political conditions, government has now taken to trail those considered as masterminds of the unrest including their families.

This move represents one in a series of measures that have been employed by the administration to calm the troubled waters amid deteriorating security conditions and other concerns.

This hunt is in a bid to bring activists before the military tribunal for adjudication, as was the case with the likes of ManchoBibixy, Tsi Conrad, and Penn Terence, who, upon their arrest in January 2017, subsequently stood trial before the military tribunal to bear the brunt of a failed system. They were each slammed maximum jail sentence to serve at the Kondengui maximum security prison, while others in the likes  of   the family of  Mama  Langsi Doris Mankasoh  whose Son Gandhi   is  a frontline  activist , Franklin  Vegah Law, and Menyele Charles Mosima live in fear.

Leaders of the virtual state of Ambazonia(otherwise known as Southern Cameroons),SisikuAyukTabe, Tassang Wilfred, Barrister Eyambe ,NforNgalaNfor and others, were arrested in Nigeria on January 5, 2018 and extradited to Cameroon where they were placed incommunicado for close to a year. They are presently faced with charges of terrorism, secession, propagation of false news, insurrection, non-possession of National IdentityCard and rebellion against the state in an on-going trial before the military tribunal in Yaounde.

The war in the two Anglophone Regions of Cameroon referred to by activists as Southern Cameroons or “Ambazonian” is in its third year with no end in sight. The number of shootings, abductions and arrests keep soaring.

Youths dying, fleeing as blood flows unabated

With the military finding it difficult to differentiate between innocent civilians and separatist fighters, many young people have been caught in the web. They have either been taken by stray bullets or mistaken for members of the gun-carrying-militia and killed in cold blood.

Life for many living in the restive regions is a miracle given that each new day comes with its own. Today, many homes in the two restive regions have been broken with women left to drown in their tears. The have been looking for their husbands and sons and other family member who are either missing or dead. The outskirts of towns like Buea, Kumba, Bamenda, Kumbo, and Mamfe have been the hardest hit by the crisis. Many have fled in order to provide a level field for the smoking guns to rattle. Extra judicial killings, burning of homes and villages, raping in these regions have been the order of the day as many have been declared as Internal Displaced Persons, IDP’s.

Recent statistics by civil society organizations reflect the extent of the damage with horrific numbers. The death toll is on a perpetual rise while there are claims that about 200 villages have been burnt down in the two regions, and some 17.000 people remain internally displaced. A majority of who are taking refuge in the bushes and forests. This is in addition to the more than 45.000 English speaking Cameroonians that have assumed the status of refugees in Nigeria.

Several activists both home and abroad have been earmarked for arrest with regional, national and international warrants issued against them. Photos declaring them ‘Wanted’ have been placed with security forces.

The tale of the family of Mama Langsi Doris Mankasoh whose Son Gandhi   Fuh is frontline activist caught our attention as we seek to document the ordeals of youth caught in a war for no fault of theirs. For issues relating to the Anglophone crisis with the Cameroon Defence Forces and the Separatist Fighters constantly involved in hostilities, thefamily of Mama Langsi Doris Mankasoh is all in hiding after they were attacked by the military two weeks ago in Wum anoutskirts ofBamenda in the North West Region.  Mama Doris as she is fondly called lost her job as a banker and was currently a teacher in Wum.

She was the publicity secretary of the teachers union and one of the strong voices in the current Anglophone crisis. According to information gathered in Bamenda, it was found that her house was burnt down and several family relations wounded on allegations that she was instigating what is currently known as “ghost town” in Anglophone Cameroon.

It should be recalled that “ghost town” calls are respected   throughout Anglophone Cameroon every Mondays and the days the Ambazonian Leaders are to appear in Court.  Other sources claim that the family residence of Mama Langsi Doris Mankasoh was attacked because his son Gandhi Fuh who is a Canada-based Anglophone activistwho was in Cameroon for a hidden agenda. All attempts to reach the family of Mama Doris Langsi to corroborate the fact that his son was in the country and to get further information regarding the arson ended up in futility.

In the meantime, there are conflicting stories regarding the incident while the whereabouts of the family remains unknown. It is apparent that Gandhi Fuh has been declared wanted by the authorities.

With government tightening the noose on separatists and their sympathisers, the future promises to be pregnant.

The post Security forces ramp up reprisals as Anglophone crisis deepens appeared first on THE SUN NEWSPAPER CAMEROON.

You recently suffered an ordeal in the hands of security forces. Can you narrate to us what happened?
I would like to begin by thanking God and asking Him to send his blessings upon His prophets and messengers and to all the righteous men and women who plead at all time and to you. I was arrested, very politely, the guys were in their civilian wear and they told their commissioner wants to see me at about 3:45-4pm yesterday, that was 25th January, 2019. They took me to the judicial police, I asked what I had done, nobody told me and even the commissioner said he didn’t know. They brought me back home searched the house, went the office searched the office and then took me to the station, they took no statement, they didn’t put me in their cell, they gave me a mattress and I asked for a prayer space, they allowed me to pray and at 6am today, the commissioner came and said i have been released. He actually drove me back home.

Do you plan to retaliate this act?
No. I won’t do that. That’s not my line of action. They never told me why told me why they are doing what they are doing, it is an eye-opener to me. It gives me more strength. The only reaction i have is to continue with my activism in the course of justice and fairness.
Can you deduce why this act was perpetrated on you?
Well! It’s a set up. They were searching for something they didn’t find. Sometimes people confuse between vocalisation which is an opinion activism as I do and I speak based on my knowledge and not necessarily that I am correct. From my understanding I speak, hence someone would think that those words match maybe some actions, acts of violence. I am not even violent in my speeches. I am simply straight-forward and pragmatic so someone may think, okay, since you lean those who are purported to be inciting violence, may be you yourself, you are acting violent. They came they didn’t see anything, it vindicates me more and it makes me more confident with my family that even if i didn’t keep something bad, nobody kept something bad in the house.
You are a keen observer of our geopolitical and socio-economic chessboard, what reading do you make of the country’s conflict-stricken NW/SW Regions?
I’ll say the escalation rate of the crisis is about 85%, there is still some 15% chance of maybe getting out via negotiations or some people call it dialogue but I can say it is a very optimum level of escalation. The country is sinking in the abyss and I’m afraid it may just sink altogether if care is not taken. The 15% I mentioned is big room enough for someone to exploit.

At 100 what happens?
At 100, it means total collapse, irreversibly-not just for the regime. The problem we have today is not just about the regime. We have to be honest with these things. Sothern Cameroonians, if you hear their readings, is not about changing the regime anymore. They are looking for statehood. You don’t just to do sugar coating and pretend there is no problem when there is a big problem. We have to be honest. A 100%, means both the regime fall off and the fall of Cameroon.

What do you make of government’s efforts so far towards resolving this problem?
It’s rather been unfortunate that the government in every step have put their carts before their horses. They have held meetings and they have had occasions and turned their orchestral later. They have been selling after the market. It is really unfortunate how they do things. I barely can put my hand on one thing that the government has done right. What I see them doing is shutting down the voices of those who speak, when you stop two people from speaking, there is one inevitable result. That is fighting.
Could the creation of NDDRC play the magic wand to end the crisis?
The committee has been set two months ago and everyone can tell the crisis has increased from the time it was decreed, people are still dying, and we are still very unsafe. It is not working because it doesn’t suffice for one party to another to lay down arms when they still have theirs. It is true; the government believes that it is the state with the legal right to own arms. On the other hand, the others think they have the right to own arms for defence. The best thing government should have done was to show some kind gesture by not laying down their arms but withdraw their troops from the restive region and invite the others for a dialogue.
There is the clamour for a third party to initiate dialogue. Who negotiates for a third party in such this case?
In this case those who feel oppressed call for a third party but in a war scenario, we have a body that constitutes nations, the UN and in the sub-region is the AU but unfortunately these organisations are crazy. They are waiting for things to get to the maximum de-escalation level before they come in, normally they are the third party and that is their role. So who calls for the third party, I think Southern Cameroonians have been calling a dialogue with a third party.
As the war rages on, the population is caught up in untold suffering inflicted on them by belligerents either deliberately or otherwise. What survival advice can you give these suffering lot?
What we must do is be very vigilant, be very calm, and control our tongue. If you want to speak, have a mastery of what you say. When hear gunshots, you watch out, when you hear there is a curfew, you watch out and when you hear there is a ghost town, you head to the call. Do not raise your shoulders above your head thinking that your right is more important than the parties who are at war. Understand the situation, work on our faith and pray to God.
What do you make of the separatists who inflict pains on the very people they claiming to be fighting for?
It is an unfortunate situation. In my understanding of a revolution, it constitutes of various factions in the same war. You the true freedom fights, you thieves, you have personal militia. In this case you don’t know if the real fighters are inflicting pains on their population as you mentioned but these are the spoils of a revolution.
Are you opining that those who inflict pains on their own via kidnaps, torture and extortion of money are not for the revolution?
Yes, they are not. That’s bullshit, you can’t be hurting the very thing you claim to be defending.
If you were asked what should be done to sustainably arrest the armed struggle, what will you say?
If we talk about justice, practice justice, the inevitable effect will be peace. For a sustainable measure, we’ve said this many times and over. The 15% I mentioned earlier is what the head of state in my opinion has and he has the yam and the knife to call for a ceasefire, pull back his military, release everyone arrested in connection with the crisis, totally and completely grant amnesty, fall on the negotiation table. Please if anyone has any better measure, i want them to bring it, and if anyone thinks this thing would be resolved without following simple procedures that not myself, many others have suggested, we are waiting.

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The gubernatorial curfew that has been a phenomenon in the North West Region for over a year now has made it difficult for very complicated health cases to access medical help since people are restricted from moving in the night. There is no need to belabor how many pregnant women have lost their lives during complicated child birth at home because of the restrictions on movement and how many have given birth on the roads and in the open air at night while desperately waiting for a hospital ambulance that either never comes or while calling a hospital ambulance whose line is never answered.
The Bamenda population thinks Doctors without Borders have actually bridged that gap as they have attended to so many emergencies and in a very timely manner.
It is however very regrettable that the organization which is supposed to cover the entire North West Region has kind of restricted its Activities to Bamenda and Widikum since they are the only completely accessible areas of the region at the moment. Even Widikum is not always very accessible thus making aid from Doctors Without Borders destined for the Sub Division to sometimes get delayed.
The organization works in partnership with some of the referral hospitals of the region but has not been able to engage into real business with some of the best hospitals in the region which happen to be found in Amba rocked areas. St. Martin De Porres’ Catholic Hospital Njinikom has been retarded from such a partnership due to the many road blocks that are often imposed on the road leading to the hospital by Ambazonian Restoration Fighters in Boyo division as well as the Mbingo Baptist Hospital whose road too has been blocked countless times.
One of the most hit is the St. Elizbeth Cardiac center of the Shisong Hospital in Kumbo Bui division that has suffered a no access for over five months leading to many deaths. Travelling to Bui division has been made impossible several times thus making it very hard for health personnel and patients from outside the town to access the area.
Talking with the Field Coordinator for Doctors Without Borders for the North West Region, Miss Esperanza, she made it clear that both parties of the conflict in the region have to understand that they are a completely neutral and independent humanitarian organization that is out to bring health care to the vulnerable in times of need.
She regrets that the many road blocks mounted by separatists’ fighters along the major roads to some chief towns of the region have made it difficult for them to bring health care to all that need it. She however noted that the population of Bamenda has been very collaborative and has made very good use of the Ambulance service put at their disposal as over 800 people have so far benefited from their services both direct health care intervention and ambulance service intervention.
Quizzed on whether combatants too can benefit from their services, she replied “when we receive a patient we do not want to know who you are we receive you as a patient. What is important to us is your life so we cannot judge who to treat and who not to treat. So we treat everybody regardless of background”. She also emphasized on the need for all Bamenda denizens to have their ambulance call service number.
The SUN Newspaper spoke to a woman whose husband was abducted by Ambazonian Restoration Fighters and brutally beaten on basis of professional malpractices. He was later taken to the Bamenda Regional Hospital and Doctors Without Borders intervened to take care of most of her bills. Another was a woman who just gave birth to a baby girl after she was rushed to the Hospital with the help of the Ambulance of Doctors Without Borders. The Bamenda population thinks they are a bridge to their good health especially during curfew hours.
The inhabitants of Boyo, Bui, Donga Mantung, Ngohketunjia and Menchum remain very hopeful that such a life saving service can meet them in their Amba rocked communities.

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A top security source who pleaded for anonymity for fear of reprisals told The SUN that a certain Andang Momfor Thomas jumped detention in the night of February 12, 2019.

“Some of the officers who were on duty have been put behind bars. Investigations have been opened. The high command is embarrassed at what happened and has given firm instructions as to how business will be conducted henceforth,” our source said.

The commander of the gendarmerie brigade where the suspect was detained is said to have been grilled by judicial police officers, given that a prison break is not likely to have taken place. Allegations are rife that the escape must have been an inside plot.

Andang Momfor Thomas was dozens arrested by security forces in the university neighborhood of Molyko on January 4, 2019 during a military raid to fish out suspected separatists believed to have infiltrated the area. We learnt soldiers were in the chase for separatist fighters who have since been fighting to restore a self-proclaimed state of Ambazonia, the territorial space of Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West Regions.

Locals say the security forces were masked and force their way into the hostels and rooms, dragging and beating their occupants. Those arrested were transported in trucks to the gendarmerie legion, eyewitnesses said. It is not known the number of persons who were arrested, but judicial sources say they were being investigated for involvement in the separatist movement that has since turned into a militia.

There is apparently no hiding place for both supporters of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and separatist of the Ambazionia self-proclaimed state. The regime in power is bent on arresting them and to a greater extend hand them heavy jail sentences for acts of treason, cessation, rebellion against the state, propagation of false news and sponsoring of the Anglophone crisis.  Andang Momfor Thomas our source said, have been earmarked for arrest as both regional and national arrest warrant have been issued against him with his photo dispatched to relevant quarters to ensure he is arrested.

Rights groups say the detainees were held incommunicado for long periods, without access to their lawyers and family members.

It would be recalled that the runaway Andang Momfor Thomas is a graduate from the University of Yaounde II and had taken up residence in Buea. He served at a local business complex in Molyko – Andang New and Used Computers and Accessories. Newspapers and magazines among others were sold at the store.

Andang Momfor Thomas is known to have been arrested on 22 September 2017 during mass protests that swept through the North West and South West Regions. Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets in protest against the continuous detention of some of the inhabitants of the regions and sought independence from French Cameroon. The demonstrations came at the time when President Paul Biya was addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Police used teargas and water cannons to disperse the crowds, forcing protesters to run to safety. After spending three weeks in detention, Andang told The SUN after his release that he saw hell.

“It remains for me a painful experience. I was handcuffed like a common criminal and thrown into one of the military trucks along with other protesters who had taken refuge in my shop. At the Central Police Station, I was interrogated, beaten and locked up in a dark cell along with over 40 others. The police claimed that I have been selling newspapers and other material that promote secessionist tendencies, thereby radicalizing the population,” the young graduate said.

The circumstance under which he was released remains a guarded secret.

The targeting of newspaper vendors and persons in the media sector is not new to Cameroon. Two years ago, police stormed Limbe’s main newsstand at Half Mile and arrested the news vendor and six others. The police then sealed the shop, which is the main newspaper kiosk in Limbe.

The vendor and six people from among the crowd that was reading newspapers that fateful January 21, 2017 were whisked into detention while the others escaped the order to seal the newspaper kiosk reportedly emanated from the SDO for Fako.

The Manager of Tchitos MTN Credit Distribution Service, Fokou Hilaire, later intimated that some of the people at the shop at the time of the arrest were either reading newspapers or had come to buy airtime.

Released overnight, Fokou Hilaire, Tchitos’ main vendor, said they were arrested by the Commissioner of the Special Rapid Intervention Unit of the police (ESIR). He said before his release, he was warned by the police to stop selling any newspaper that publishes things about the Anglophone Problem. He said he was also told to report anyone who comes to the kiosk and talks about the Anglophone Problem.

Tchio Thomas, prominent businessman and staunch member of the CPDM, who owns the shop, was reportedly out of town when the sealing of the kiosk and the arrest of his worker and customers took place.

Meanwhile, according to the police, those arrested have been using the newsstand as a meeting point to hatch plans for Anglophone resistance in Limbe.

They warned that they will not want to see more than three persons at any time around the kiosk.

The sealing of the newspaper kiosk has been seen by members of the public as Government’s desperate attempts to completely frustrate the media that have been keeping the public informed through newspapers about the ongoing Anglophone struggle.

“To close a newsstand means denying the Limbe public of the right to be informed,” observed a concerned Limbe resident.

Several other journalists have been arrested as a result of the crisis. The likes of Atia Tilarious Azohnwi, Amos Fofung, Mofor Ndong, Mimi Mefo among many others have been arrested and later released.

Journalist Thomas Awah Junior, the Northwest correspondent for privately owned Afrik 2 Radio in Yaoundé and publisher of the monthly Aghem Messenger magazine is gradually dying in prison.

A military court on May 25, 2018, sentenced Awah to 11 years in prison, after he was convicted on several charges including terrorism and the spreading of false news, according to media reports and a copy of the judgment seen by CPJ.

The journalist was arrested in Bamenda on January 2, 2017, while interviewing protesters for Afrik 2 Radio, according to CPJ research.

While in prison, Awah’s poor physical health has deteriorated and he was admitted in a hospital in Yaounde in September but was later discharged on October 16 and returned to prison.

“We therefore urge you to use the powers bestowed on you under the constitution of Cameroon to ensure that Awah is unconditionally released on humanitarian grounds. Such a gesture would be viewed both as a compassionate act and as a demonstration of your government’s commitment to complying with international human rights treaties to which Cameroon is a state party,” the CPJ said.

Political tensions over cultural rights and identity have been growing in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions since 2016 when English-speaking lawyers, students and teachers began protesting against their under-representation and cultural marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government. Violent repression by the security forces resulted in arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, and the killing of several protesters.

Anglophone and Francophone Cameroon were unified in 1961, but there have been long-term disputes over the extent to which government resources and access to employment have been controlled by the French-speaking majority. Although the Anglophone minority constitutes 20 percent of the population of Cameroon, they are concentrated in the Northwest and Southwest regions. President Paul Biya has held power in Cameroon since 1982.

The recent crisis in Cameroon deepened after Anglophone separatists organized large-scale protests from 22 September to 1 October 2017 and symbolically proclaimed independence, establishing a state of “Ambazonia.” During the protests security forces responded with disproportionate and deadly force, leading to at least 40 deaths. Since then, violence between security forces and armed separatists has escalated. Government forces have arbitrarily arrested and tortured detainees, and destroyed a number of villages in the Anglophone regions.

Separatist forces have also killed at least 300 military personnel and attacked teachers for not participating in a separatist boycott. At least 40 schools in the Anglophone region have been burned down. Some armed separatist groups have kidnapped state officials and sought to make the Anglophone areas “ungovernable.” According to the UN, more than 500,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the ongoing violence with more than 50,000 others seeking refuge out of Cameroon.

By Jonas Lima

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