Monthly Archives: June 2019

13, June 2019

Four killed in road accident in French Cameroun ⁰

At least four people died on Wednesday morning after a car carrying them collided with a truck in Cameroon’s Littoral region, police said.

The accident took place in Mbanga town, about 71 km Southwest of Douala, the capital city of Littoral region.

“The car collided head-on with the truck that was loaded with building material, resulting in the death of some passengers. About 12 persons critically injured in the accident were transferred to a nearby hospital,” a police official said.

The car was damaged beyond repairs according to witnesses.

The driver of the truck who survived the accident has been put in custody.

Deadly road accidents in Cameroon are usually caused by reckless driving, bad road conditions and overloading according to the Ministry of Transport.

Source: Xinhuanet

13, June 2019

Growing Opposition to President Paul Biya ⁰

Facing a growing pro-democracy movement, Cameroon is resorting to an old formula – namely unleashing government power in the form of threats, arrests and excessive force.

Hundreds of supporters of Maurice Kamto, leader of the opposition Cameroon Resistance Movement, have been filling the streets, demanding his release from detention but were detained themselves by security forces on June 8, 2019. According to his lawyer, Kamto could be charged with: insurrection, hostility against the homeland, criminal association, threats to public order, rebellion, group rebellion, and inciting insurrection.

A respected professor of international law, former dean of the faculty of Juridical and Political Sciences at University of Yaoundé II, and former chairman and special rapporteur of the UN International Law Commission from 1999 to 2016, Kamto has been locked up since January 28 after he challenged the sweeping electoral victory of President Paul Biya. His offenses could result in the death penalty.

He and his other jailed supporters are reported to have begun a hunger strike.

Ida Sawyer, deputy Africa director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, commented: “The Cameroonian government’s crackdown shows that it is unwilling to accept a role for opposition parties, sending a chilling message to those who would dare challenge the status quo.”

She added: “The latest crackdown was consistent with the methods of a government whose security forces have committed grave abuses against civilians and dissenting voices in recent years.”

Local activists condemned authorities for denying lawful permits to protest – a violation of the Constitution. “We are exercising our constitutional rights,” said Christopher Ndong of the Cameroon Resistance Movement, “because we have a right to march and protest when things are going wrong.”

Human rights activist Jean Pierre Bengono also criticized the government of Paul Biya for deploying the security forces in riot gear to disperse crowds in Yaounde, Douala and Mbouda. Organized democracies need the opposition to check political excesses and discuss the well-being of its people, he maintained.

Kamto challenged the vote totals in the presidential election of October 7, 2018, and accused President Paul Biya, who has led the country for 36 years, of stealing his victory.

Beyond Cameroon’s borders, calls for his release have come from the UN Secretary-General, Amnesty International, and Board of The Hague Academy of International Law, in which Kamto serves, among others.

Government minister Paul Atanga Nji responded to the growing chorus of condemnation with a warning. “We can no longer tolerate those who undermine the laws of the republic. He [Kamto] has a hidden agenda to destabilize Cameroon. We will not give him the opportunity,” he said.

Source [IDN-InDepthNews

12, June 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: America Mulls Sanctions against Individuals ⁰

As the government of Cameroon steps up its killings of citizens in the northwest and Southwest regions, the American Administration is considering sanctions against:

1) Cavaye Yegue Djibril
2) Joseph Beti Assoumo
3) Rene Sadi
4) Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh
5) Fame Ndongo
6) Atanga Nji
7) Issa Tchiroma
as well as a number of military officials who have ordered their troops to kill civilians.

A source close to the State Department has hinted that a decision will be made before the end of the month, adding that measures being considered against these individuals include but not limited to the freezing of assets, travel bans and refusal of visas to their family members.

The US is still discussing with its partners and despite French efforts to plead Mr. Biya’s case, the Trump Administration has incontrovertible evidence against the Yaounde regime which makes it hard for the US to look the other way while Mr. Biya’s troops mow down their fellow citizens.

The Trump Administration is pissed off with the Biya regime for its continuous refusal to end hostilities in the two English-speaking regions of the country and its rejection of the call for inclusive dialogue.

The US undersecretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, has been briefing Congressmen on the goings-on in Cameroon.

He has made it a duty to share the gruesome images coming from the two English-speaking regions of the country with US law-makers who are angry with the Cameroon government for its atrocities on its own citizens.

The latest being the mass killings in Ossing where soldiers killed a lady and her three children and buried them in a shallow grave.

Also, in Esu and Jakiri, soldiers beheaded many civilians. The people of Esu and Jakiri have been burying their dead today.

The world is shocked at those atrocities and the US is not amused, especially as the images have been shared with congressmen.

Relations between the two countries have been at their lowest ever since America withdrew its military assistance from Cameroon.

The Trump Administration is considering further measures that will help bring down the Yaounde government.

The American Administration is looking at its aid to the Cameroon government to see which of its loans and grants can deliver maximum pain to the Biya regime.

More will be yours in the days ahead in the Cameroon Concord News

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai.

12, June 2019

SONARA Meltdown: The stress is obvious ⁰

When Cameroon’s lone refinery went down, many thought it would take long for the adverse effects to start showing. But less than two weeks after the event, the government is scrambling for solutions to clog the revenue gap left behind by the refinery’s meltdown.

SONARA has always been a huge contributor to the government’s annual budget and now that it has gone up in smoke, it implies that the country’s budget has to be amended and new sources of revenue sought. The country’s Parliament is already considering amending the budget. This is a clear sign that the meltdown is biting the government where it hurts the most.

The government’s major ATM has vanished in smoke and this is leaving government officials awake all night. The refinery used to deliver almost 50,000 barrels of oil a day and this was a guaranteed source of revenue for the government. The disappearance of this stream of revenue has really destabilized the government which is yet to find new sources of revenue.

Within government circles, officials are praying day and night that global oil prices should not escalate as this will spell more problems for the beleaguered government. Escalating oil prices will imply the government will run out of foreign exchange very fast as it will look for resources to import oil and oil products so as to meet rising domestic demand.

The fear is that in the absence of those products, prices of other products, especially food stuff, may also escalate and this would trigger inflation that might make life unbearable for millions of Cameroonians who, for many decades, have only been scrapping a living.

Escalating prices might spell a disaster for the government which is on its last foot. Cameroonians have been scared of pouring into the streets to confront a government that has made corruption and nepotism its hallmarks, but if food prices soar beyond their financial ability, it is obvious that millions will take to the streets to challenge the corrupt and inefficient government.

The first signs of a disaster are already on the horizon. Gas stations across the country are already complaining of fuel shortages and this is just the beginning. According to the government’s thinking, it could take over a year for SONARA to come back to business. This is, indeed, bad news for many Cameroonians who are already out of work and those whose businesses were closely tied to the jinxed refinery.

If government officials are talking about a year, it is clear that it will take more than three years for real business to start at SONARA. Currently, the government is looking for financial resources to rebuild the facility. It is counting on the African Development Bank and the World Bank which do not hold the country’s authorities in high esteem.

Investors in the world have very low appetite for Cameroon’s debt. The corruption for which the government is known is making it hard for foreign money to make its way into the country’s economy. Putting SONARA back to international standards will require more than USD 20 billion and the cash-strapped Yaoundé government is yet to figure out how to get such resources given that it has a very bad reputation abroad.

Though the refinery had an insurance policy, it is obvious that after such an accident, there must be investigations to determine the cause of the accident before insurance companies start paying out the benefits. They must also determine if the facility was up-to-date with its premium payments.

Cameroon has been defaulting on lots of commitments and it will not be surprising to know that it could have also defaulted on the payment of its premiums. For now, lawyers of the facility are working with their foreign counterparts to seek a way forward on how to make the once viable SONARA a going concern again.

The government has also been looking at other options which could net it some huge amounts of money. It has been talking with the French government on how to rebuild SONARA which had delivered huge amounts of oil to the French for peanuts.

The French are open to the idea of granting the corrupt Yaoundé government some of the money, but they are unhappy with the way the government has handled most of the crises that have put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

France’s closest allies are walking away from it as it is believed that Paris is supporting the Yaoundé government in its resolve to kill the people of Southern Cameroons. Many EU countries are insisting on Yaoundé calling for an inclusive dialogue that will help normalize things in Cameroon.

But Yaoundé has been indifferent to those calls. Many EU countries have already allied with the United States and Canada on how the Southern Cameroons crisis could be addressed. America’s determination and its ability to mobilize other countries, including some of Cameroons neighbors like Equatorial Guinea, have rattled the regime and its supporters.

Over the last two days, regime supporters, including the Speaker of the House and the Senate President have been shouting from rooftops that there is a global conspiracy to destabilize Cameroon. They blame this on Southern Cameroonians and government forces seem to have been irritated by the enormous pressure coming from Brussels and Washington D.C.

The last few days have witnessed massive killings in many villages in Southern Cameroons. In Ossing and Ndekwai in the Southwest region, government troops slaughtered more than ten innocent civilians in a situation many observers say was unnecessary. In Esu and Jakiri in the Northwest region, army soldiers beheaded unarmed civilians. The killings have intensified over the last couple of days as the regime suspects that international pressure may increase in the days ahead.

Army soldiers have also been burning homes and destroying food crops, believing that such tactics will cause the population to yield and betray the fighters. This strategy has been in effect for more than two years, but the Southern Cameroons population is very determined. Most southern Cameroonians are for independence and will not settle for anything less.

The Yaoundé government is really frustrated. Its international allies are walking away and this is creating brand new problems even in the North where Boko Haram remains a lethal threat. The withdrawal of American military support in the North has exposed Cameroon’s army soldiers to more attacks from Boko Haram.

Yesterday, some 23 Cameroon soldiers were slaughtered by Boko Haram fighters in the country’s northern region. The ill-equipped soldiers were surprised by the fighters and were sent to an early grave. Their checkpoints and offices were demolished and weapons seized by Boko Haram fighters. American sanctions have already begun biting and if care is not taken, the days ahead may be bloodier.

According to sources close to the government, the stress is obvious. Government officials seem to be seeing the writing on the wall. The government is out of money and the West’s decision to turn the heat on the collapsing Yaoundé government seems to spell the end for a regime that has thrived on corruption and tribalism.

As the oil refinery has gone, the government does not have money to buy and corrupt more people. Some of its fervent supporters are already jumping ship. Many senior government officials are already sending their families abroad as they know that America’s determination to bring change to Cameroon can never be underestimated.

There is panic in Yaounde. The “river of money” in the southwest region has gone dry. CDC, PAMOL and SONARA are all facing problems and these are corporations that have stood the government in good stead over the last fifty years.

With these corporations facing tough challenges, it is clear that Cameroon is in real trouble. The government is at its wit’s end. The challenges are only mounting. It is the SONARA meltdown that will finally take the government down if care is not taken.

Before long, civil servants and the military will not be receiving their salaries. The military, in particular, has stood solidly behind the government during its bad days. Will it still stand with the government now that its coffers are empty? The stress is obvious and for cause. The military might just as well jump ship.

Cameroon is in for tough times and only a resolution of the country’s multiple crises can help bring some stability to the country. Without an inclusive dialogue as advocated by the international community, Cameroon will continue to be caught in a turbulence of epic proportions and the stress will continue.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai at the Global Headquarters in the UK, with contributions from Kingsley Betek and Bamba Gaoussou in Malabo

12, June 2019

Andre Onana tops Manchester United Shopping List ⁰

Manchester United have identified Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana as their preferred successor for David de Gea this summer.

The Red Devils are expecting to lose the long-serving Spaniard this summer, who looks ready to move after failing to extend his contract which now has just 12 months left to run.

De Gea last month rejected United’s final contract offer to him, meaning the club will be left with little choice but to sell him off for the best price.

The club has been linked with Jasper Cillessen as a replacement, but with Barcelona seemingly looking to hold out for the player’s €60m asking price, a move for the Dutchman looks beyond what they’re willing to pay.

And if £54m is too much for Cillessen, that’s very much the case when it comes to Jan Oblak; the Atletico Madrid keeper once again emerging as a surprise option this week amid claims the €100m keeper wants out at the Wanda Metropolitano this summer.

As such, The Independent claims United have instead identified Cameroon keeper Onana as their No 1 choice – mainly due to the fact that they believe Ajax will do business at around £40m.

That will keep funds free for the club to spend more on rebuilding their defence, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer identifying the need to sign a new right-back and possibly a new centre-half too.

Onana is set to be confirmed as Cameroon’s first-choice keeper for the upcoming African Cup of Nations and United are set to monitor his performances before making a move.

AND THE REST

Tottenham are set to make an improved transfer offer for Real Betis attacker Giovani Lo Celso – but the LaLiga side are determined to hold out for £65m – a club record for Spurs – for the Argentine (Daily Mirror)

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has told Crystal Palace he wants to make a dream move to Manchester United (Daily Mirror)

Arsenal are interested in Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, who has a £27m buy-out clause in his contract, but face competition from Tottenham, AC Milan and Inter Milan for the Italy international (Daily Mirror)

Zinedine Zidane has won his transfer battle with Florentino Perez with Real Madrid set to move for Paul Pogba over Christian Eriksen (Daily Mirror)

Source: Talkteam.com

12, June 2019

Four-year-old has dozens of ‘writhing’ worms removed from intestines in Cameroon ⁰

A four-year-old boy with a history of stomach pain, vomiting and abdominal distension eventually landed on the operating table where surgeons manually removed dozens of “writhing” worms that had been living in his intestines.

The boy, who was not named in the case report but was said to live in Cameroon, West Africa, had no history of deworming since birth, which is typically a common practice in that region, Fox News reports.

The youngster’s mum had taken him to hospital after three days of stomach pain, vomiting and severe constipation.

He had also experienced bloating for around six months, according to an article published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. After being admitted, doctors carried out a number of tests and diagnosed the boy with ascariasis — a parasitic worm infection in the small intestine.

Doctors manually removed dozens of worms living in the stomach of a four-year-old.

“Ascariasis is the leading helminthic infection worldwide, with its peak prevalence noticed in children aged 2-10 years,” the authors wrote in the shocking article, which was published on May 24. “Although mainly asymptomatic, chronic and heavy infestation could lead to severe complications such as malnutrition, poor physical and cognitive development as well as intestinal obstruction.”

Upon examination, the boy’s doctors recognised a small bowel obstruction, which prompted them to make a 2cm cut. Surgeons then removed “bundles of ascaris lumbricoides worms” manually and “by milking through the stoma”.

The boy was given nutrients to rehydrate him and administered with paracetamol intravenously before doctors could operate.

Three days after being admitted, surgeons discovered his bowels were blocked by a “mass of writhing worms”.

An estimated 807 million to 1.2 billion people in the world are infected with ascaris lumbricoides — parasitic worms known as soil-transmitted helminths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The parasites live in the intestine, and eggs are passed in the faeces of infected people. If an infected person defecates outside, or if the faeces of an infected person are used in fertiliser, eggs are deposited on the soil. The eggs can then mature into a form of the parasite that is infective.

The shocking find was recorded recently in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

Infection can occur when hands or fingers that have contaminated dirt on them are put in the mouth or by consuming vegetables or fruits that have not been carefully cooked, washed or peeled, according to the CDC. Heavy infections cause intestinal blockage and may impair growth in children. Other symptoms may present as a cough due to the migration of the worms through the body. It can be treated with medication, but in the boy’s case, surgeons decided to operate.

After the surgery, doctors dewormed the boy and his family members with an oral dose of mebendazole, and he was released after seven days. One week later, surgeons recorded his wounds had healed.

The authors noted that the boy’s case points to a larger public health issue in Cameroon, where deworming programs are affected by lack of funding and access in high-risk areas.

Source: News.Com

12, June 2019

8 Ambazonia Restoration Forces killed in Bui County ⁰

Cameroonian forces on Monday killed eight armed separatists in Bui, a division in the country’s troubled Anglophone region of Northwest, local officials said.

Among those killed were two separatist commanders, according to local sources. Mark Bareta, a popular separatist activist, confirmed the information on his Facebook page.

On the same day, a lieutenant of the Cameroonian army was killed and several other soldiers were seriously injured by armed separatists in the same region, a statement of the army said.

More than 430,000 people have been displaced internally since armed separatist forces declared the “independence” of the two English-speaking regions from the largely French-speaking country in November 2017, the United Nations said.

Source: Xinhuanet

12, June 2019

Yaounde: House Speaker denounces foreign interference in internal affairs ⁰

Cameroon’s House Speaker of National Assembly Cavaye Yeguie Djibril on Monday denounced foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs which he referred to as “conspiracy.”

“Cameroon has become an object of conspiracy intended to destabilize the country. To justify their interference in internal affairs, the conspirators pretend to denounce it. According to them, the political system in Cameroon is against all dialogue, upholds violence, and refuses to promote human rights,” Djibril said in the capital Yaounde at the opening of the June session of the National Assembly.

“These allegations are unfounded. The National Assembly condemns and denounces this with every ounce of energy,” Djibril said. “We welcome their support but not their interference.”

Foreign powers in Europe and North America have repeatedly blamed Cameroon government for “lacking the will” to solve the conflict in the English-speaking regions of the country where armed separatists want to create an independent nation.

According to Djibril, the government was “working very hard” to restore “durable peace” and security in the two Anglophone regions.

“There is a proper framework for this kind of relationship and that is what the speaker has been saying today and extending an invitation to the European Parliament for an information and study visit to Cameroon,” Joseph Owona, a senior member of parliament told reporters.

Source: Xinhuanet

12, June 2019

Vice President Yerima’S FIRST 38 DAYS: Here’s how they compare with Chief Ayamba’s, Justice Ebong’s, and Sako’s ⁰

The Ambazonia Vice President got more done in his first 38 days in office than any leader before and after Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe or any since the days of Chief Ayamba and Justice Ebong. He took office in the depths of the Great Corruption deep within the Interim Government, signing executive orders to stabilize the Southern Cameroons Revolution boat.

Vice President Dabney Yerima is now the reason Ambazonians focus on the first 38 days. Of course, the Vice President does not have total control over his time in office due to some distractions coming from the disgraced Dr Ikome Sako, Barrister Fru John Nsoh and some Southern Cameroons comedians in the USA.

Vice President Yerima’s 38 days in office has been amazing. But how has his tenure compared with that of the former acting crew?

We looked at the performance of Yerima and his team in many areas of the struggle

Here’s how they stack up:

The IG under the command of VP Yerima secretly moved away from the reach of French Cameroun forces the family of 5 months old Baby Martha, shot at close range 10 times in the head by Cameroon army soldiers.

The reinstated IG coordinated funds to cover cost for emergency Medical assistance for a Southern Cameroonian who was shot in Kumba by the terrorist forces of Paul Biya and left to die. The IG is following on other cases.

Vice President Yerima’s team have coordinated funds and supplied 45 mattresses to our brothers in the Douala New Bell Prison who have been sleeping on bare floor for the past one year. The IG is going to proceed to other detention centres where it will cater for the needs of our detainees.

The Interim Government’s humanitarian team has coordinated another round of legal, medical and food support chain to our detainees in Yaoundé. While this was not enough for our entire political prison population, the IG looks to scale that up in the days and weeks ahead.

The reinstated IG’s humanitarian assistance has been extended to provide food for prisoners in Douala, Bafoussam, Mbouda,Dshang and the IDPs scattered around the major towns in LRC. Specific attention will be provided to one of our IDPs in the French Cameroun Town of Douala diagnosed with Cancer.

In Nigeria, Vice President Yerima’s men and women have launched a pilot project that will assist our refugees. 20 pregnant women were provided assistance to welcome our new Ambazonian babies unfortunately born as refugees. They at least deserve a dignified birth.

10 other women from our refugee community in Nigeria were part of another pilot project for tailoring skills by the reinstated IG.

Some 20 of our refugee women were part of another pilot project aim at helping them to work at Bakeries.

By Sama Ernest

11, June 2019

Battle For Ambazonia: Bad Amba, Good Amba-A Bayen Warzone Report ⁰

All Amba Boys are not good guys. They are not all bad boys. Judge for yourself whether their existence is justified or not and take responsibility now and later for your conclusion. I have been on the road most of these past two weeks. I broke from routine to attend to crucial family matters and other professional engagements. Most of my travels have been in Ground Zero. I have been seeing a bit of the pregnancy Ground Zero carries. When shall it be delivered? Find the answer elsewhere. In varied opinions, the Amba Boys are reining love, fear, discord, greed, generosity. They are taking charge of their space. They make their bed. They are lying on it. Some lie on their bed of roses, others on their bed of thorns. I have heard about the bad. I have seen some of the ungood. I have seen some good. Twice, a group blocked road transport through Bali along the Mamfe-Bamenda highway, from Bali to its outskirt villages, heading towards Batibo. For reasons yet to be made clear, they barricaded the road at several locations felling trees, dumping stones and furniture from houses and bars, other objects and divers types of debris; just any form of nuisance that could obstruct traffic. First, May 18-24 and next on June 1.

Friday, May 24, along the Mamfe-Bamenda road:

Our commuter vehicle runs into four groups of Amba Boys at different locations. Our driver who plies the road regularly, recognizes the leader of the group and asks him, “Na here you dey now?” (Is this where you are now?) To which the good-looking young leader of the armed group replies: “You noba hear say some new general don comot for here? Na me be new general for here.” (Haven’t you heard of the new general who has emerged here? It’s me the new general here.) He tells our driver how he survived military gunshots that hit his wrist. “Na only one catch ma foot” (Just one bullet wounded me on my foot.) Next, he counts four of us grownups in the vehicle and levies each of us 2000FCFA. “Wuna fours so, if wuna giih we two-two towin, we fiih take’am buy groundnut.” (If each of you gives us two thousand francs, that would enable us to buy some groundnuts.) Whatever “groundnuts” stand for. But as passengers obediently comply and the collection is in progress, a lieutenant of the “general” mounting guard about 60 metres away, fires a shot for reasons unknown to us and apparently, even to his general. All vehicles lined up for the same exercise take off in apparent fright. The general retreats from our vehicle, hopping a few steps backwards, looking in the direction of the shot as if to ascertain what would have provoked it. Our driver does like the others. He speeds off and returns the cash he had collected from passengers. Elsewhere, other groups did not impose a levy. Some simply asked for “any contribution”. Others asked for nothing, simply inspecting our vehicle to identify any “enemies” among passengers. Prime enemies are state defence and security officers. At a previous Amba checkpoint, one of them looked so intently at my older brother, the driver asked him jokingly, “Why are you looking at him like that? You think he is… (some word I guess suggested military or police).” To which the Amba “officer” replied, “You think he would tell you he is if he was?” But they let us go.

Friday, May 31, Bamenda-Mamfe road:

Rumours have flooded Bamenda that Amba Boys would barricade the Bamenda-Mamfe road again on Saturday, June 1. Reason: the Bali County Amba would be burying their “general” killed the previous Saturday. The circumstances surrounding his death remain obscure, but most claims hold he was not felled by a Government bullet. Varied versions say he was killed in a mutiny within his County unit. On this day, I am travelling that road, headed to Manyemen. On a bend at an uninhabited part of Bali, a bow-legged fellow in the middle of the road, points his Dane gun menacingly at a vehicle just ahead of ours. Ours and the other screech to a sudden halt. Another older-looking man emerging from the remote junction, shouts an order, “Don’t give any money. No one should give any money.” Few of the dozen members of the group have guns. Most of them have hammers and peak axes. Our driver enquires from them about rumours of a lockdown the next day. They all grow wild. Those with guns point them at our vehicles menacingly. The bow-legged man said to our driver, pointing his gun at him, “Why are you asking? Just let me see you along this road tomorrow!” Our driver, raising his hands, pleads for forgiveness. They order us to drive off. After delays from breakdowns, we arrive at Kendem Gendarmerie Brigade checkpoint, about 40 km to Mamfe at about 8.30pm, well after the 6pm curfew hour. We are bound to stay the night there, a flashlight from the unmanned roadside sentinel lighting the place, but no one there to attend to us, as the officers had retreated to their “barracks” for the night. However, at intervals throughout the long night, a torchlight flashes at us from another sentinel behind the barracks. Routine torchlight checks do not come from the Gendarmerie alone, though. We are apparently being watched by both sides. Occasionally, a torchlight flashes from the Bamenda road end of Kendem behind our vehicle. We can guess they are Amba Boys. Neither the Gendarmerie nor the Amba Boys approach us.

Saturday, June 1, Kendem:

At dawn, the Gendarme officers criss-cross their barracks, taking turns to bathe within our view and change into their uniforms in their rooms. At 7 pm, three of them walk towards the checkpoint, one activating his AK47. Paying no attention to us, they walk in bold military steps to the back of a house in the direction they often point during gun battles and routine alerts. He fires three shots. About 30 minutes earlier, shots from unknown persons had been heard from that direction at a distance in the bush. Were they exchanging morning greetings? After the shots, the officers remove their barricades and beckoned on us to approach. We walk towards them in a file, present our ID cards, board our vehicle and drive off headed towards Bachuo-Akagbe, the junction town to Mamfe (right turn) and Kumba (left turn). Along the way, we meet two groups of Amba Boys. The first group simply inspects our vehicle and asks for “anything”. A passenger offers 500 FCFA which our driver drops on the ground (their prescribed way of being given money) and they flag us to drive on. At the next Amba control, one of them notices a cob of maize protruding from a bag on the carriage of our vehicle. He asks for permission to take it. The owner in our vehicle gives her consent. The Amba Boy pulls just that cob of maize from the bag. They all smile and flag us to go.

Sunday, June 2, Mamfe-Kumba road:

In a different vehicle on this new trajectory, we run into an Amba checkpoint of about 15 armed combatants. A passenger we had picked up along the way, alighted at that checkpoint and to our amazement, he was greeted with camaraderie. “Na we officer” (He is our colleague), said one of them. My fellow passengers are bemused. “So dis boy too na Amba?” (So, this guy is also an Amba Boy?), one passenger asks. The astonishment could be understood. The young man in question wore neither of the famous Amba amulets. He wore a rosary with a crucifix. We drive off. A few paces away, possibly less than 300 metres, we drive into a Gendarmerie checkpoint.

Amba Terror?

Several Ambazonia units are in discord over sharing of the spoils of war. Revenue from free-will donations, ransoms, GoFundMe remittances disbursed by Diaspora warlords and levies are tearing some units apart. Occasionally, there are mutinies and inter-Amba gun battles. Sometimes commanders or generals are “neutralized” or disarmed and kept in captivity or overthrown or expelled. Some versions of the Bali County general’s death suggest he was killed because he disciplined some of his greedy lieutenants for indulging in different forms of extortion. At some Amba units, commanders or those in whom they entrust funds for safe keeping have reportedly fled with the said funds, some to the tune of millions. Some of such funds are raised through levies which villagers view as disguised forms of extortion. In one unit, the “ingenious” finance officer has obliged all cash crop farmers to surrender two-thirds of all their yields to the Amba treasury. Not only are some unscrupulous Amba units reaping from suffering masses, they are now executors of justice and “keepers of the seals”. They discipline “defaulting” villagers and have had to flog elderly men and women, especially over land disputes. Sometimes, some villagers acknowledge the wisdom in some of the actions of the Amba law enforcers, but on the whole, such actions have created an atmosphere of fear, left the impression of a reign of terror and made some people wish for protection from elsewhere.