The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon has been raging on for seven years and counting. But while the war rages on, the amount of attention that has been given to its unfortunate victims has increasingly been on the decline. Many desperate victims have been caught in the web of the war in various and different ways.
While a good chunk of them
escaped into neighbouring Nigeria, many have escaped to Europe and the Americas
and many of them have died in the process due to the precarious conditions
under which they travel. Examples of desperate victims of the Anglophone Crisis
in Cameroon abound.
This article is inspired by the
difficult situation in which the residents of Ground Zero usually find
themselves because of the uncompromising stance of both the Government of
Cameroon and the Separatists.
On the 4th of
November 2022, some administrative authorities amongst whom were Mr. Adolphe
Lele l'Afrique, Governor of North West Region, Mr. Achobong Paul, City Mayor of the Bamenda City Council, the Military
Commander of the Region and some local chiefs launched an appeal for business
operators to open their shops every Monday. This proved to be problematic
because Mondays in the two English Speaking Regions of Cameroon are generally
observed as “ghost town.” This means that sit-down strikes are imposed in the
two Regions by pro-independent fighters. Briefly put, on Mondays, there’s the restriction
of movement. This compels denizens to shut down their businesses in the two
regions in order to show their resentment against the government and the military which they consider
to be colonial occupying forces.
Local business operators found
themselves in a fix because if they disobeyed the lock-down call made by the
Separatists and opened their business places, they would be opened to attacks
from “amba fighters” as the Separatists fighters are generally called. On the
other hand, if the bewildered business owners decided to disobey public
authorities and obey the call for a lock-down by the Separatists they would be
seen as being pro-separatists by the government.
The business Community was
assured by public authorities that they would be provided with maximum security
to protect their lives and property especially on “ghost town” days if their
businesses were opened. This was an attempt by the administration to stop the
observation of imposed “ghost towns” in the two English Speaking Regions.
These “ghost towns” or
lock-downs in the two English Speaking Regions of Cameroon have been going on
for close to six years now and is part of their strategy to stifle the
country’s economy.
In the first week of November 2022, pressure from government officials urging the business
Community to open its shops increased.
This prompted some business people to
open their shops. Amongst this category of business people was a certain
Kingsley Vuyof. This young business man alongside other like minded business
men did so out of fear that their shops would be sealed by the City Mayor of the
Bamenda City Council if they didn’t obey. They also believed they would be
offered protection by government officials.
Unfortunately for Kingsley
Vuyof, Nestor Waki Ngang amongst others who obeyed public authorities and
opened their stores, their business centers were burnt down in the night of the
7th of November by Non State Armed Groups certainly because they
disrespected the call for a total lockdown. Because they opened their shops on a Monday which was and
still is a day that a complete lock-down is imposed on everyone, they were
tagged as “Black Legs” by pro-secessionist fighters locally referred to as
“amba fighters.” Worthy of note is the
fact that defaulters of lock-downs imposed by Separatists are usually killed
instantly if caught.
Because of the failure by Public Officials to protect their shops as
promised, the victims of this arson staged a protest march in the streets of Bamenda
asking for compensation from Government officials. They surprisingly met with
stiff resistance from the Forces of Law and Order who violently dispersed them
with gunshots and teargas.
In the violence and confusion that followed, the unfortunate group of
business men were referred to as Separatist Activists who were tactfully
benefitting from the chaos in order to pepetrate their attacks and take government forces by surprise.
Unfortunately, Nestor Waki Ngang, Kingsley
Vuyof and a host of others were arrested and reportedly brutalized and taken to
the Judicial Police Station in Bemenda where they were detained in filthy cells
that are characteristic of detention centers in Cameroon. The conditions and
treatment received from uniformed officers were extremely uncomfortable and
life threatening.
Many Cameroonians who have been arrested since the crisis started in the
two English Speaking Regions of the country have suffered three different outcomes.
Firstly, in desperation some usually succeed to escape sometimes with the help
of sympathetic uniformed men. Secondly, some are transported to bigger
detention facilities in Yaounde. Thirdly, some of them who can’t support the
life threatening conditions in detention usually end up dying. Lucky ones like Nestor
Waki Ngang, Kingsley Vuyof and others whom this reporter hadn’t the luck to be
informed of by sources ended up escaping.
However, the fate of escapees is usually a very tricky one. They end up
being hunted by uniformed officers or by
Separatists. In the case of these escapees who were arrested during the protest
march in Bamenda, both government uniformed officers and Separatists were on
the look out for them.
It comes therefore as no surprise that
Nestor Waki Ngang, Kingsley Vuyof and a host of other escapees have not
been accounted for and are reportedly missing. Of course with the prevailing
circumstances, their homeland remains an area that they certainly can not dare
to visit.
Thousands of English Speaking Cameroonians have become victims of the
Anglophone crisis and have been forced out of their homes and country for
reasons completely beyond their control.
Recently, Senator Barrister Kinyang George from the North West Region in a chat with this reporter said many people have been victims of illegal detentions since the crisis started. He said as a Senator and as a legal mind, part of his efforts have been dedicated to using legal procedure to get many people who are illegally detained out of detention cells.However, a majority of desperate victims remain in precarious situations and completely helpless and with no way for their cries to be heard.
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