Anglophone struggle:

Panic grips “West Cameroon” as police go for “terrorists” secessionists

Following the arrest of the leaders of the Anglophone Consortium last week, many frontline advocates of federation and separation have gone underground. Sources say may have escaped into neighboring Nigeria.

By Boris Esono in Buea

Mancho BBC (standing inside white coffin) at the start of  the Bamenda 

protest which later went violent

A police crackdown on advocates and leaders of the violent clamour for Federation and/or separation is yielding the expected result as it has instilled fear, in many, forcing them to go into hiding or to abandon their public protests, at least in the meantime.

                Following the arrest last week of some three leaders of the Anglophone struggle-Barrister Nkongho Felix AgborBalla, FontenNebaAforteka’a, and ManchoBibixy, indications in the secessionist hotspots of Bamenda, Kumbo, Ndop, Kumba, Mutengeneetc are that many of the advocates of separation with La Republique are now panic-stricken and have vamoosed into the underworld or have simply shut their mouths.

                Indiscretions by some lawyers point to the fact that several of their colleagues who used to make bold to publicly and openly denounce the present form of the state, arguing that secession or Federation is the only way out for Anglophones have all escaped into neighbouring Nigeria or have simply gone into hiding perhaps in the hope that the present police onslaught would die down sooner than later.

                The Median also learnt that some leaders of teachers’ syndicates notably Wilfred Tassang and some of his close collaborators have all gone underground, with some like Tassang seeking political sanctuary at a foreign embassy in Yaounde.

                However, while mostly faithful of the now outlawed Consortium of Anglophone Civil Societies have taken to their heels, diehards of the secessionist SCNC have stayed put and are still going about their activities unperturbed. The SCNC national chairman, NgalaNforNfor for example has continued granting interviews to journalists and issuing press statements condemning Yaounde authorities for trying to stall the Anglophone struggle by intimidating “Southern Cameroonians”. In one of his releases, Ngala N. N. said no amount of intimidation, torture, maiming by “agents of the occupier” will stop the SCNC from pursuing its objects of seeking the restoration of the Southern Cameroon statehood.

                Ever since police launched a crackdown on dissent, with the arrest of the president and SG of the Consortium and the banning of the SCNC and the consortium, an atmosphere of general anxiety and uncertainty now reigns in the NW and SW, especially as information is making the rounds that the government has handed a long list of names of people to the arrested in connection with their involvement in the Anglophone struggle.

                Apart from those already arrested, we are told that names like NjohLitumbe, Bobga Harmony, lawyer Eyambe and many others are targeted for eventual arrest. 

                It  should be noted that the arrested leaders of the Consortuim notably AgborBalla, FontenNeba and ManchoBibixy have already been charged with terrorism, breach of the Constitution, treason and inciting the public into rebellion. While the terrorism charge is punishable by death through firing squad, the other charges carry a life prison sentence.

                Balla and Co. are expected to start answering questions relating to these charges when they appear before the military judge on 1st February 2017.