Anglophone Crisis:

Gendarme & Two Civilians Killed in Nguti

-Chief’s Palace burnt down in Etam I, Tombel

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

A student Gendarme has been reported dead in Babensi I village in Nguti Sub-Division along the Kumba-Mamfe road. Reports from Nguti have it that the student Gendarme was shot on Sunday February 18, 2018 at about 2pm at a mixed control checkpoint.

            Residents of Babensi say the incident was around the Catholic Church in the locality. We gathered that the Gendarme officer was killed and his eyes mutilated after serious gun exchange with separatist fighters loyal to the Ambazonia struggle.

            After several inquiries, we learnt that in the course of retaliating and resisting the Amba separatists fighters, a stray bullet from one of the soldiers killed a civilian whose name we couldn’t immediately get. Also, we gathered there was heavy military deployment that stormed the area and launch a man hunt of the separatist.

            We also got information from Nguti froma colleague indicating the Divisional Officer of Nguti Sub-Division, Meke-Eba Michel Serge had instructed the military not to carry out any brutality on innocent civilians. To the DO, the assailants are not residents on the Sub-Division and so it will be unwise for the military to react on innocent denizens. He instead urged all and sundry in the sub-division to collaborate with the security officers to denounce suspicious persons in their areas.

            Despite the instructions of the DO, we learnt Gendarmerie officers shot and killed an innocent civilian whose names we only got as Prof for attempting to trespass in front of their office during the day. The shooting we gathered comes days after a ban was placed by the Gendarmes on the poplation not to trespass at the road between the Nguti Elecam office passing through the Gendarmerie post to the DO’s office. Our Nguti sources indicated the young man was brutally shot for insisting to visit the DO’s office using the said road.

Etam I palace burnt to ashes

            Still in the Kupe Muanenguba Division of the Southwest Region but this time around in Tombel Sub-Division, irate youths burnt the palace of Etam I village to ashes. The unfortunate incident occurred on Monday Febaury19 in the evening.

             The incident comes after an attempt was first made to burnt the palace in October 2017 during the demonstrations. All attempts to get to Chief Kome Alogwede Christopher to ask him why his own villagers will set his palace ablaze were futile as we couldn’t reach him through his telephone.

            However reports from Etam I village indicate that chief Kome is considered by his villagers as a blackleg who leaks out information to the administration of Tombel Sub-Division concerning those supporting the ongoing Anglophone crisis. Others say the chief as taken a permanent refuge in Kumba since he discovered he was been targeted by his indigenes.