In September 2015, Bertrand Bucuka, a staff sergeant serving in the Cameroon special forces, gathered his military gear and changed into civilian clothes. From there, he traveled by bus for the next three days — heading to the nearest airport.

Bucuka served as a staff sergeant in the Cameroon Special Forces.

“I knew that if I were caught, I would spend the rest of my life in jail or be killed,” Bucuka said.

When he first enlisted in the Cameroon Armed Forces in 2009, Bucuka decided to pursue the military with the intention of serving his country. In his seven years of service, Bucuka worked several roles including infantry, communications and as an explosive ordnance disposal instructor.

Being from an English-speaking region of Cameroon, Bucuka also worked as an English and French translator and worked with U.S. military personnel.

In this position, his commanding officers would often ask him to spy on the American troops. Feeling that their request was unethical, Bucuka said he refused to obey those orders and added that building a trusting relationship in the field of EOD is critical.

“In the field of explosives, the first mistake is always the last,” Bucuka said.

In another instance, Bucuka’s leadership once again tested his ethics when he was ordered to execute an unarmed, injured man in Nigeria. Instead, he decided to seek help from a U.S. combat medic to help him save the man’s life.

“At the time, I knew that my decision to save one life might have cost me mine,” he said.

As Bucuka continued to deal with difficult decisions, and faced growing scrutiny from his commanding officers, he knew his life was at risk.

“It was time to either leave the country or stay in the military and die,” Bucuka said.

During his travels from Cameroon, Bucuka faced a number of challenges including being denied entry in Ecuador. With help from a stranger he met along his travels, Bucuka gained assistance from the United Nations Human Rights Council, eventually gaining entry in Peru.

He would go on to travel for the next six months — through South America and Central America. In that time, he endured life-threatening situations as he attempted to cross borders, sometimes with the help of smugglers.

In some countries, he was arrested and detained at the border but was later released after explaining his story.

In February 2017, Bucuka arrived at the United States-Mexico border, near San Diego. He explained his situation to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, and then worked with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to verify his case.

“[How I made it] is beyond human reason,” Bucuka said. “I just knew there was no turning back for me.”

Following a two-month investigation, the officers released Bucuka and allowed him entry into the U.S. In 2018, the U.S. officially granted Bucuka asylum.

Now, he finds himself wearing another military uniform — this time for the United States Air Force.

For Bucuka, joining the Air Force was a way for him to thank everyone who helped him when he arrived in the United States, including a number of U.S. military members that he worked with in Africa.

“The only way I could show my gratitude to [those] who stood by me was by serving the flag of this nation,” Bucuka said. “I had no family, no relatives and they remembered what I did for them in Africa and came to my rescue here.”

Today, Airman 1st Class Bucuka, is an enlisted aerospace medical service specialist assigned to the 1st Special Operations Medical Group at Hurlburt Field. Bucuka works with doctors and helps to provide care to patients at the base medical clinic.

Compared to his previous experiences in the Cameroon military, Bucuka says he never expected that someday he could end up working in a hospital setting.

“All I knew from my past experiences was being on the battlefield, but today, I find myself working in the same place every day,” he said.

Along with serving his role in aerospace medical services, Bucuka also finds himself drawing from his past military experience in Africa.

As an Airman assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command, Bucuka often gets the opportunity to conduct briefings with special operations forces across a variety of career fields.

“The main objective is to share my experience and what the U.S. can do to better strengthen their relationship with Africa,” Bucuka said. “And it’s actually helped them carry out their mission successfully when they have deployed.”

Beyond the military, Bucuka hopes to always find an opportunity to serve others and mentioned he wants to use his new-found medical skills to support humanitarian efforts.

Additionally, he says his future is now focused on his family, including his children who have joined him in Florida.

No matter what, Bucuka knows that his journey changed his life forever and has ultimately changed his outlook on life.

“I realize now that what is meant to be, will be, no matter what,” Bucuka said. “That’s how I live my life now.”

Culled from af.mil/news

Abductions are a new fundraising method used by separatists, analysts say. More than 30 women were taken last week for “allowing themselves to be manipulated by Cameroon’s government,” according to the insurgents.

The latest abduction of over 30 women by separatists has caused uproar across Cameroon.

According to reports, they were forcibly taken from the village of Big Babanki, located about 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Bamenda in the northwest of the country. Some were said to have been “severely tortured.”

The separatist gangs responsible for these kinds of abductions are all part of a moblike structure running the region, where insurgents are waging attacks against the government: They impose illegal taxes on locals, which they collect monthly from women, men and even children.

They also demand taxes from unmarried couples, and even force families to pay the equivalent of about €1,000 ($1,070) to bury their deceased relatives.

But dissent against the dissidents is growing: Ordinary citizens and civil society groups in Cameroon have expressed anger over the arbitrary way that separatists choose to run the region.

When residents refuse to be silenced, their leaders opt for violence, as was the case with the latest abductions: The women had reportedly refused to pay the illegal taxes imposed by the separatists and rejected a curfew imposed on them.

During the attack on the villagers, several of the women were reportedly injured; there were reports of violence and torture against them. Relatives of those who were abducted said they were anxious about their return.

Silencing women activists – for a reason

Ngongba Assumpta Lum, the founder of the Centre for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development, told DW that the kidnappings were deliberately aimed at trying to silence women in particular, as they are the ones who usually play a crucial role in crisis resolution in traditional and tribal societies in Cameroon.

“The kidnapping of these women in Babanki is a serious blow to us as civil society actors, especially as women-led organizations, peace advocates and organizations fighting for peace to return to the regions,” she said, adding that she feared that this surge in abductions over the past five years would yet get worse.

“I think as mothers, we are greatly touched because this situation is going overboard,” Lum added.

No trust in the government

Cameroon’s government said on Wednesday that a special military operation to rescue the women was underway. However, locals aren’t confident of a success, as it is the same government that these separatists are fighting.

Some of them had said the women were abducted for “allowing themselves to be manipulated by Cameroon’s government.”

But Sally Mbumien, a community leader in Bamenda, believes the actions of the fighters are an attempt to erode the power of women in Cameroon: “Not only is this politicizing our traditional institutions of women’s power, it is also an insult to womanhood, to motherhood and also it sets the wrong precedence,” he told DW, adding that this was “the worst thing that can happen.”

Yvonne Muma, a resident of Bamenda, said she felt angered by the kidnappings, telling DW that the abduction was tantamount to a sacrilege: “These boys have just raised the wrath of God by touching our mothers. They will have no peace until they confess,” Muma said.

Kidnappings: a new way of financing separatism

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 creating an independent, English-speaking state.

But the conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives to date and has forced more than 1 million people to flee their homes.

With insurgents running out of funds to continue with their campaign — even despite collecting illegal taxes — analysts believe that resorting to abductions appears to be an attractive way to finance their operations.

“Now we have cases of mass kidnappings. Initially, there would be one or two individuals being kidnapped and ransom being asked,” human rights lawyer Agbor Balla told DW, adding that the number of abductions is skyrocketing.

According to Balla, tighter government controls on money laundering and the flow of illicitly obtained money have crippled the activities of the separatists.

“As government tightens financial flows, separatist leaders and sympathizers abroad … it becomes difficult to get the necessary financial support to fund” their activities, he said, adding that endeavors in certain Western countries in the fight against terrorism and its funding had also helped bleed the pockets of separatists dry.

Few rogue elements ‘abducting’ anglophone cause

Meanwhile, the concerns expressed by such separatist groups are regarded as valid: They allege that Anglophone speakers suffer political marginalization in Cameroon and lack the recognition of their cultural identity.

However, the more violent their methods become, the less sympathy they are likely to garner from outside observers — and perhaps also from their own people, even if these kidnappings and other violent acts are only carried out by a few rogue figures in their midst.

Balla said their campaign against the government is also plagued by infighting and fragmentation, making it difficult for separatists to show an organized, united front, which he argues is exactly what allows fringe elements to resort to kidnapping and abusing civilians.

“Because there is no central command and control, most of the leaders of the fighters on the ground are just made of a few persons or groups, and they need to fund their own struggles in their own communities,” he said.

With citizens in the separatist-held regions losing faith in the leadership of the fighters and refusing to pay their bogus taxes that help fund their operations, analysts like Balla fear the number of abductions could surge drastically in the coming months.

Culled from DW

The recent announcement by the attention-seeking Fai Yengo Francis that 18 Ambazonia fighters have surrender to Cameroon government forces not only failed to advance the sinister goals of the Biya French Cameroun regime in Yaoundé but laid bare deep divisions and dissensions in the entire Biya cabinet.

It was evident when Etoudi ordered the arrest of its spy chief Léopold Maxime Eko Eko over the Martinez Zogo affair prompting some of Eko Eko’s acolytes to abruptly abandoned the Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh’s camp.

Unfortunately, anti Southern Cameroons work within the Minister Ngoh Ngoh camp is not progressing well due to much pressure from very inexperienced cabinet ministers trying to impose their views on military affairs.

Mindful of the numerous unannounced and unceremonious departures from the Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh camp, disputes within this so-called “Chantal Biya Men” have reached worrying levels. Threatening messages and death threats are being exchanged between different factions deep within the Biya cabinet.

Harassment has not been limited to individuals around the 90-year-old President Biya. Those already detained at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé are also receiving threats if they dare make any startling revelations.   Ngoh Ngoh is reportedly the principal architect behind the threats and many within the security apparatus of the state have hinted this reporter that the Ngoh Ngoh’s primitive and cheap design is simply to gain notoriety.

It is precisely this battle to succeed President Biya within the French backed Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime that would justify Governor Fai Yengo Francis recent anti Southern Cameroons announcement. Unity among the Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh gang has not been possible mainly because his supporters have attacked other members of the Biya entourage, stating that Ngoh Ngoh should be recognized as the only possible Biya replacement given his special relationship with the Biya family.

Political analysts opine that another internal CPDM conflict that has erected a stone wall against the Southern Cameroons peace process is the confrontation between some Francophone nationalists headed by Ngoh Ngoh and the pro decentralization plans promoted by the former spy chief Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.

It seems there are several political visions within what is being dubbed as the race to succeed President Biya.  It is true we can find notable differences in the political views of members, but at the level of discourse, we find ourselves within the Francofools family resemblance idea. That is, despite serious differences, they all fall under the same political discourse. Agreements and disagreements within that diverse Beti Ewondo group are expressed in the same language, that of Francofools.

All members of the so-called Vice President Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh group view themselves through what many in Southern Cameroons called the “Francophone supremacists”. Similarly, all members of this Ngoh Ngoh group paint others like Eko Eko clamoring for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Southern Cameroons as black legs. The Ngoh Ngoh doctrine simplifies Cameroon into good and bad: Beti Ewondo political dominance and Anglophone barbarism. Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh’s doctrine is presently being observed in all departments of government despite numerous and violent differences among its various members.

Despite glaring differences, all these stances can be understood within the same Francophone political discourse, whose goal is to destroy everything Anglo-Saxon and replace it with some new Made In Yaoundé political structure in which Southern Cameroons will no longer have political relevance.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon’s economic growth was revised down to 3.4% for 2022, reflecting the impact of the security crises in the Anglophone regions and the Far North, inflationary pressure, global supply chain disruptions and tight financial conditions. In 2023, GDP growth is expected to recover somewhat to 4.3%, mainly driven by LNG and mining production.

Impact

Cameroon is the largest economy in the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Union) and is relatively well diversified compared to the other oil-reliant member states. Nevertheless, the country is highly dependent on commodity exports (oil, gas, mining and agriculture), making it vulnerable to external shocks and price volatility. Further economic diversification is essential, knowing that Cameroon’s existing oil fields are maturing and the decline in oil production is set to continue. Insecurity and an ongoing conflict since 2017 have deterred the development of new fields as Cameroon’s oil riches are mostly located in the Anglophone regions.

The country’s 2022 external balances benefitted from high international commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite higher inflation and import prices, Cameroon’s terms of trade improved. The current account deficit has moderated and is expected to stabilise at around a manageable 3% of GDP as of 2023. However, a funding squeeze – resulting from global risk aversion and high domestic and international borrowing costs – has been lowering capital inflows. Consequently, small financing gaps could emerge on the external balance of payments. Thanks to the improved terms of trade, Cameroon’s foreign exchange reserves have recovered to pre-Covid levels of around five months of import cover. In fact, Cameroon is the largest contributor to the reserves of the CEMAC, a monetary union consisting mainly of oil-exporting countries where liquidity levels still tend to follow the evolution of hydrocarbon revenues. 

Cameroon participates in a three-year IMF Extended Credit Facility programme since July 2021, to help deal with the immediate financial consequences of the Covid-19 crisis and the country’s weak public payment behaviour. Although structural reforms are lacking and the general fiscal performance is mixed, the IMF programme remains on track. Assuming fiscal reforms will be strictly implemented, the public debt stock is expected to come down to 43% of GDP by the end of 2023, after having grown steadily over the past decade to 47% and 46% of GDP in 2021 and 2022 respectively. Despite the acceptable public debt stock level, the government’s finances have been under serious stress and the difficult liquidity position of the state – especially due to dysfunctional state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – have led to substantial domestic and external payment arrears over the past few years. The over-indebtedness of public oil company SONARA and the bad payment morality of other SOEs have seriously damaged the country’s financial reputation. Moreover, the IMF classifies Cameroon at ‘high risk of debt distress’, although it considers the country’s public debt to be ‘sustainable’, meaning a default is not anticipated. Rising LNG production and growing mining output will help Cameroon’s fiscal revenue collection in the near term, even though oil output will continue to decline.

Despite substantial domestic food production and the BEAC’s (a regional central bank, serving the CEMAC member states) tighter monetary policies, inflation in Cameroon still reached 6% in 2022 and is expected to remain at 5.7% in 2023. The rising cost of living is mainly driven by food inflation caused by unfavourable domestic weather conditions, security issues and high import prices. Together with shortages of fertilisers, high food prices do not only drive up inflation, they also raise the risk for food insecurity.

Credendo’s MLT political risk classification for Cameroon was downgraded from 5/7 to 6/7 in May 2020 during the Covid-19 crisis and has remained stable ever since. The separatist violence in the Anglophone regions and the insecurity related to Boko Haram in the Far North pose important downside risks. Another risk stems from the political scene that is dominated by 90-year-old President Paul Biya, who won a seventh term in 2018 during a flawed election and is rumoured to be in poor health. It is highly uncertain what will happen if and when Paul Biya becomes unable to rule, but that situation would entail a serious risk of political destabilisation.

Culled from Credendo

Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, has just celebrated 29 years of ‘blissful’ marriage to his wife, Chantal Biya, who is noted for her flaming red hair.

The pictures of the event, which have been trending online, were designed to demonstrate how powerful the couple is but feedback from many observers leaves much to be desired.

Supporters of the dictator have been trying to demonstrate that the 90-year-old was still strong and energetic, a reason for him to run again in 2025 in the presidential election.

But pictures do not always lie. Paul Biya, the man who was much loved by Cameroonians in 1982, is today a shadow of his former self. He is more of a bag of bones than the athletic person he was in the 80s. His physical attraction is today something of the past as violent molds threaten to take over his entire face.

In recent times, the ailing, aged and disoriented president has been a massive liability and embarrassment to his country and there are doubts even within his ruling and corrupt party, the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) about his ability to represent the party.

Mr. Biya, who has never really won any presidential election since 1992, has vowed to die in power with the support of the military and his fellow corrupt party members are doing their best to keep him in power so that they can continue to loot the system.

It is obvious that Mr. Biya is not in control of things in Yaoundé. His closest collaborators, including his wife, have created a ring of fire around him and they are running the show however they want and anybody suspected of not following their marching orders is immediately arrested on trumped up charges and sent to the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison.

Biya really has a reason to celebrate that marriage of his which has been tested on many occasions and the results of the scrutiny point to something which keeps the 90-year-old president worried and awake at night.

Some of his own ministers have been looking at Chantal with the eyes of love but the fear of spending their whole lives in Kondengui has served as a restraint on those ministers with roving eyes.

The first lady herself has   been the subject of some unpleasant rumor and it is alleged that a former minister of public health, Urbain Olengena Awono, is languishing in jail today even when he has been absolved of most of the charges against him, because the first lady needed him in more ways than one, some of which were not work-related.

Though not loved by Cameroonians, the 90-year-old president is incontestably part and parcel of Cameroon’s political story and during the wedding anniversary, Biya and his flamboyant wife were cheered by family members who are all members of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate which has taken control of the country’s treasury.

As far as democracy is concerned, the problem is that Biya and his cohort of kleptocrats and kakistocrats are determined to hang on to power even after the next presidential election.

He has been in office for 40 years, but his decision to continue holding on to power is indeed unwise.  Ever since he was forced to reintroduce democracy in the country in 1990, elections have been about vote rigging, calls for boycott and abstention.

For a man who has always insisted that he was the president of all Cameroonians – even as those same Cameroonians particularly those from the English-speaking part of the country are constantly being slaughtered by his Francophone dominated security forces – Biya has, over the last two years, not ventured beyond his stronghold of Yaoundé.

There is a very obvious reason for that: a significant proportion of Cameroonians see him as a man without legitimacy. Many hold that a Biya-free Cameroon will be an El-dorado and that after 40 years of political and economic chaos, it is time for him to yield the floor.

Biya’s appearances in Etoudi in 2023 are politically intriguing and are all aimed at seeking to send a message to Cameroonians. His recent wedding anniversary ceremony was also meant to show strength but that too only proved that he clearly belongs to the past and if he harbors any thoughts of running again, he should shelve those plan as most Cameroonians are looking forward to a change in political personalities and approaches.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

In his December 31, 2022 end-of-year address to the nation, Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, announced that the country’s civil servants would be blessed with a 5.2% salary increase in the New Year.

Instead of triggering excitement and celebration, the president’s announcement was as unpopular as himself.  Indeed, the salary increase was long overdue and when it came, it sounded more like a drop in the ocean.

Cameroon has the lowest salaries in all French-speaking African countries. Following the devaluation of the CFA Franc in the early 90s, most French-speaking African countries increased the salaries of their workers, with some taking up the salaries of their civil servants by 100%.

On the contrary, Cameroon slashed civil service salaries by 66%, triggering a wave of corruption within government departments and a storm of migration which has resulted in the country’s best and brightest looking outward for greener pastures.

Today, the country’s economic outlook is grim and the economy has been weakened by both internal and external shocks.

 Among the most destabilizing shocks are COVID-19, rising oil prices and the Ukraine war which has triggered a global inflation which has left many Cameroonians in tough financial circumstances.

The 5.2% salary increase announced by Cameroon’s president was the government’s best effort to cushion the impact of inflation, but it, in turn, increased fuel prices, taxes and the prices of certain products, a clear contradiction which leaves doubts in many minds.

For someone who earns CFAF 200,000 in Cameroon, a 5.2% salary increase will give them an additional CFAF 10,000 which will not afford them much in terms of goods and services.

Strangely, the government’s inflation-checking plan was not intended for everyone. The private sector has not sought to alleviate the financial pain of its workers. There are vulnerable segments of the population which have not been attended to and they are really hurting.

Among the hurting segments are retirees whose incomes are fixed and they cannot find any jobs by virtue of their ages in a country wherein unemployment has reached astronomical figures.

Retirees are hurting. They need help. The government plan never thought about them. Their pensions are fixed and inflation which actually stands at over 20% is diminishing the retiree’s financial ability.

The government has taken the first step, but it must go beyond what it has already done. More supporting measures are required if the impact of the devastating inflation must be cushioned.

Most retirees have been driven to the brink. With age, come many diseases. Many Cameroonian retirees are suffering from hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Their current incomes do not give them the financial leeway to operate the way they want.

If the Cameroonian government has to help retirees, it must come up with special programs which will help retirees to be hopeful.

Putting a good medical plan for retirees and giving them tax breaks will be one step that will bring them some peace of mind. A good health insurance program designed to meet the health needs of retirees will go a long way in addressing some of the financial stress generated by escalating goods and services prices.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey