Southern Cameroons Crisis: International Criminal Court may investigate ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity ⁰

The Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front, SCACUF has written to the International Criminal Court (ICC) about acts of violence in Southern Cameroons. Their letter dated 12 October 2017, asked the ICC Prosecutor to open an investigation into the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” in British Southern Cameroons.

Their complaint to the ICC concerns Paul Biya (President of the Republic), René Emmanuel Sadi (Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization), Laurent Esso (Minister of Justice), Jacques Fame Ndongo (Minister of Higher Education),  Joseph Beti Assomo, Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Defense, Martin Belinga Eboutou (Director of the Civil Cabinet), Jean-Baptiste Bokam (Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie Nationale), Adolphe Lélé Lafrique, Goveror of the Bamenda State and Bernard Okalai Bilai (Governor of the Buea State). “These personalities or members of the Government are directly responsible for the killings, torture, rape and kidnappings since October 2016,” the Governing Council said.

The leadership of the Governing Council also pointed in the letter to the ICC that if urgent measures are not taken, genocide and crimes against humanity could intensify. They stressed that the personalities mentioned above had ordered demonstrators who were marching “with tree of peace in hand” to be killed. “More than 250 demonstrators including children have been confirmed dead, scores are still hospitalised and more than 1000 others are missing. Amnesty International recently revealed that more than 500 Southern Cameroonian detainees were suffocating in detentions centres throughout the territory.

By Rita Akana, CCN