Toto Roland Motuba, who headed undercover operations for the Cameroon Intelligence Report in Buea says Anglophone prisoners have been subject to brutal physical abuse by Buea security personnel.

In a conversation with our London Bureau Chief Isong Asu on Monday, Toto Roland Motuba revealed that French speaking prison guards are using batons and physical force on a regular basis on Southern Cameroons detainees and when they attempt to inquire about the reason for their arrest, they respond with more baton strikes and beatings.

He said that security agents hit the late journalist Samuel Wazizi with blows on his head and face while his hands were bound behind his back.

“At one point, a female officer kicked Wazizi forcefully in the back, after which plain clothed men pushed him into a van along with other male and female detainees, many of whom were crying and transported them to Yaoundé” Toto Roland Motuba furthered.

Toto Roland described how Cameroon government security agents humiliated and insulted Anglophone women and girls detained in the Buea prison saying that they were kicking the women like football.

Toto Roland explained that several other British Southern Cameroons detainees were initially taken to a police station in Limbe before being transferred to the Buea prison, where they were subjected to more beatings and were threatened not to publicize their ordeal.

Toto Roland Motuba recounted that over 2000 detainees were mistreated in such a brutal way in Buea.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups have once again warned the regime in Yaoundé and its great benefactor, President Biya of the inconceivable consequences of the continued military operations in Ground Zero.

In two separate audio messages aired by Amba commanders in both Manyu and Bui Divisions, the fighters were heard saying that the territory known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is now a powder keg and continued French Cameroun military activities will have consequences for Francophone army soldiers.

In a hasty move last week the European Union announced that it was currently discussing the terms and conditions of military support for the Cameroonian army. That aid should amount to around €10m the EU hinted.

The EU gesture has been described by the Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) as unwise. Vice President Dabney Yerima has been quoted as saying that the EU is now   defending a regime that is killing civilians and burning hospitals and villages.

Yerima said French Cameroonians will be the ones to suffer if things spiral out of control in Southern Cameroons.

Seven years into a deadly separatist conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, hopes of finding a negotiated settlement seem more distant than ever as both the government and secessionist rebels dig in, according to civil society activists.

It’s a conflict marked by spikes of extreme violence that invariably target civilians. The latest high-profile incident was last month, when government soldiers killed nine people in Missong village, in the anglophone Northwest region.

Rights groups accuse both the security forces and secessionist fighters of serious abuses that include extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, and torture.

The root of the conflict is the central government’s historical marginalisation of the two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and Southwest, home to about 20 percent of the population.

But the dynamics of the violence have changed with the growth of a lucrative “war economy”, typically involving kidnapping and the broader extortion of the civilian population. The political and economic spoils of the war have reduced the incentive to find a negotiated settlement.

By Toto Roland Motuba

Cameroon’s water utility, Camwater, entered into a partnership agreement on October 19th with the National Higher Polytechnic School of Douala (NHPSD) to facilitate the professional integration of graduates.

Under the agreement, NHPSD will provide its most qualified engineers to support the state-owned company. According to Camwater, NHPSD graduates will participate in specific projects conducted within the company, and Camwater will offer its support, to the best of its abilities and whenever feasible, for the training and organization of scientific and technological events at the University of Douala.

The state-owned company has additionally pledged to welcome interns from Polytech Douala and has been granted the privilege of retraining its staff at this vocational training school as part of their continuous professional development.

Source: Business in Cameroon

It’s 10 am on a Monday in the Mile 2 Nkwen locality of Bamenda, a city in northeastern Cameroon. The streets are empty.

Mondays are “ghost town” days in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon that became engulfed in a separatist crisis some seven years ago.

In many communities, everyone is expected to stay home. Markets are closed, offices locked, and the streets deserted.

The separatists who took up arms against the government in Yaoundé enforce the Monday lockdowns. Residents risk being attacked, kidnapped or shot if they disobey.

The separatists hope to mount pressure on the central government to make concessions for the Anglophone community in the country, by stopping all economic activity once a week.

Cameroon has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion against the government in 2017. The dissidents say they want the region to secede from the area dominated by the French-speaking majority, and aim to create an independent, English-speaking state.

As a way out of the isolation and boredom of “ghost towns,” residents are finding new ways to network and support each other.

There are social and sports clubs, credit and thrift schemes, choirs or salons to stay active.

Economic social network gatherings

In Bamenda, one economic network benefits all members: financial contributions  are saved, pooled and payed out on a rotational basis to individual members.

The “Prosperous Neighbors” social network president, Ambechi Louis, says that despite the difficult security situation, members are finding ways to remain hopeful.

“We use Mondays for our meeting days because we used to hold them on Sundays and people often had other commitments. Since Mondays are a free day in the region, more people can participate,” Louis told DW.

Carine belongs to a social network group for women only; Mondays are her chance to get to know her neighbors better since everyone is busy throughout the rest of the week, she says.

“We are into neighbor solidarity and many others like veteran sporting clubs. Monday is a day to be home, so we want to use that to exercise, participate in online groups, wash clothes, meet friends and socialize,” Carine told DW.

Thriving drinking spots

Pubs in several communities are cashing in in on the ‘ghost town’ days. On Mondays, some pubs even apply a members-only policy and decline to serve drinks to anyone outside of their communities.

One pub owner, known as “Spice Boy,” says strangers aren’t allowed entry for security reasons. Any resident of the community will, however, be served.

“The days that the sales are [good] are Mondays,” he told DW. “The reason is simple: We have meetings that have all been moved from Sundays to Monday and after these meetings, [people] come to drink and socialize.”

“Spice Boy” says a normal day can bring in about €50-70 ($53-73) but a “ghost town” day can net double.

“Mondays can be very boring and to end the boredom people come to drink,” he said.

A local economy ‘on its knees’

But some analysts are worried about the prevailing situation of the ghost towns and the implications for the economic activities in the region.

“You see, ghost towns are very bad to the economy. Bamenda for example has lost its place as the fastest growing city in the sub-region,” Stephen Nsum, an economist and a Bamenda-based university lecturer, told DW.

He believes that if the phenomenon isn’t eliminated. it could plunge more people into poverty.

“Thousands have been laid off from their jobs because salaries can’t be paid. Investors have pulled out of the two Anglophone regions and even the biggest state employer after the public service is on its knees,” Nsum said.

“If ghost towns are ended there is hope the region shall gradually return to its part to economic recovery,” he added.

The English-speaking regions of Cameroon remain conflict zones with lives lost, properties destroyed, and the humanitarian crisis worsening.

Culled from DW

At least 50 people were kidnapped in two separate incidents over two days in northern Cameroon, local authorities said Tuesday.

The kidnappings occurred Sunday and Monday afternoons by an unknown armed group near the border with Chad, the mayor of Touboro town, Celestin Yandal, told The Associated Press.

Seven people have been released so far. Abductions in this area happen often, but locals say the scale of these attacks is rare.

The first kidnapping took place between Touboro and Koutere towns, where mostly Chadians were taken as well as some people from Cameroon including students and shopkeepers, the mayor said.

The second abduction occurred while people were traveling on a bus from Ngaoundere city to Touboro, he said.

Cameroon has been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in the Central African nation in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the area dominated by the French-speaking majority and setting up an independent, English-speaking state.

The government has accused the separatists of committing atrocities against civilians. The conflict has killed more than 3,300 people and displaced more than 750,000 others, according to the United Nations.

The country also faces a threat from Islamic extremists in the region.

Source: AP