Guilty of Terrorism, Rebellion etc:

Mancho Bibixy Slammed 15 Years In Jail

-Six other Anglophone activists also sentenced to between 10 and 15 years

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

Many in Cameroon's English-speaking minority have protested against discrimination

After 16 months of trial, the Yaounde Military Court has finally found Mancho Bibixy and six others guilty of acts of terrorism, insurrection, hostility against the homeland, revolution and rebellion against the state and people of Cameroon. The court has convicted them to varying prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years. One of the defendants was acquitted.

            The leader of what is now referred to as the ‘coffin revolution’, Mancho Bibixy, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the verdict of the presiding military Judge, Colonel Mrs. Abega Mbezoa epse Eko Eko.

            The six others also sentenced are Tsi Conrad – 15 years, Tha Emile Agwei – 13 years, Tamngwa Malvin – 13 years, Guingah Valentine – 10 years, Aselecha Martin – 13 years and Awah Thomas – 11 years.

            They were fined jointly and severally to pay damages amounting to fcfa 64 million to the court and fcfa 204 million to the civil party.

            Other persons who were also tried together with Mancho and co including Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla and Dr. Fontem Neba had since been freed through a presidential fiat. They are therefore not concerned by the verdict slammed the seven activists on Friday night.

            Barrister Agbor Balla has described the court’s verdict as a sham, a charade and a travesty of justice. He notes that the government of Cameroon has missed a golden opportunity to use the Mancho Bibixy case to appease the irate Anglophone masses, who have taken up arms against the state to protest long years of marginalization and second-class treatment in their country.

            Balla believes that if Mancho and co had been granted amnesty by the court, it could have gone a long way to douse the tension and violence in the Anglophone regions.

            The Barrister, who had served eight months in jail for his leadership role in the Anglophone protests, noted that the entire trial of the Mancho case was anything but free and fair; it did not stand the test of fair trial by any standards.

            “Apart from the illegality in the fact that civilians were arrested in Bamenda and tried in a military court in Yaounde, the Mancho trial was exclusively in French language and the translator employed was anything but good,” noted Agbor Balla, adding that the Mancho case was politically motivated and did not stand the test of fair trial as established by international standards.

            Another lawyer for the defence, Claude Assira, said the court's decision was "excessive and pointless" and would not resolve the Anglophone crisis.

            “The verdict would only worsen the Anglophone crisis,” Lawyer Assira regretted.

            Mancho Bibixy, a radio presenter, was arrested in January 2017, in Bamenda in the NW region, weeks after he led a street demonstration to protest against what he considered as the deplorable situation of social amenities and the very degraded road network and other social infrastructures in the city.

            Mancho stood in a coffin to address the huge crowds that had joined him in the demonstrations. He said the coffin symbolized his readiness to die and be buried for fighting for the salvation of the suffering masses in Bamenda.

            The demonstrations spiraled into violent protests, as the forces of law and order grappled with the demonstrators. Some private and public properties were burnt and others destroyed. Several deaths were recorded. 

            Cameroon's English-speaking minority have for several decades been protesting against marginalization by the country's Francophone majority. The protests assumed runaway proportions in 2016 and have since degraded into a near civil war, with Anglophone extremists now demanding total separation and independence from what was initially a United Republic.

            Correspondents regret that “What began as a peaceful protest movement in 2016 by teachers and lawyers against perceived marginalisation of the English-speaking minority easily became an armed conflict last year following violent crackdowns by government forces……                                .The repression helped fuel support for radical separatist movements, including armed groups aiming to create an independent state that have killed more than 40 soldiers and police officers.”

            The unrest has rendered many parts of NW and SW ungovernable months before an election which President Biya is expected to win and extend his 36-year rule.

Tens of thousands of people have fled to bushes and to neighbouring Nigeria, fearing ghastly reprisals and collective punishment by state forces.

            The U.S. ambassador to Cameroon last week accused the Yaounde regime of targeted killings, arson and looting. The government has denied the allegations, condemning ‘undue interference’ into the internal matters of a sovereign state.

Cameroon was colonised by Germany in 1884 and then split into British and French protectorates after World War One.

            Following a referendum, British-run Southern Cameroons joined the French-speaking Republic of Cameroon in 1961, while Northern Cameroons voted to join English-speaking Nigeria. But the Soutjern Cameroonians have since the union complained of marginalization and assimilation by their brothers of the republic of Cameroon.