Preempting Kamikaze attacks:

K’ba on Red alert against Boko Haram!
-SDO prescribes dusk to dawn curfew, closure of bars and pubs among others
By Sirri NTONIFOR TANGWE and ATEMNKENG Evaristius in Kumba
The SDO for Meme, Koulbout Aman David has urged his collaborators to implement to the letter all the security measures prescribed by the Governor to check the Boko Haram menace. At an enlarged coordination meeting that brought security stakeholders of the Division, on Friday 31 July 2015, at his office, Koulbout Aman David exhorted participants to ensure that the measures are adhered to by all and sundry in their respective areas of command.
    The meeting brought together all the DOs of the division, Mayors, MPs, opinion leaders, heads of syndicates, activists, and leaders of legalised political parties. 
    The Senior Divisional Officer used the forum to appeal to denizens of Kumba to unite in the fight against Boko Haram, denouncing strange fellows and strange actions. He pointed out that since Kumba is a junction town and Meme, a division which borders on to Nigeria with several penetration points, it stands to reason that Kumba could easily become a recipient of insurgent attacks.
    Among measures decided upon was the suppression of public activities at late hours. Forthwith, off-licensed bars and churches are expected to shut their doors by 9pm while on-licences will close at 12 midnight. Defaulters would be sealed for three months.
    Motorbike riders, considered to be primary transporters of suspects, are also supposed to stop working at 9pm and to resume at 5am. The riders were called upon to convey suspected Boko Haram members to police and gendarme posts. These suspects, it was said, could be identified by the offering of large sums of money disproportionate to the distance to be travelled.
    The SDO equally directed the forces of law and order to enforce control around entrance points of the city such as Mbonge Road, Konye Road, Buea Road and around motor parks, with security posts constructed in the parks. In the quarters, vigilante groups shall be revamped.
    As in other parts of Cameroon, citizens without national ID cards in Kumba are making plans to rapidly acquire one. Hotel managers must now check ID cards of their customers, while forces of law and order in Meme have been mandated to insist upon the identification, not only of people and luggage, but also of uniformed officers during travel. The armed forces were also instructed to disregard Attestations of Loss of Identity Cards, constraining the population to go in for new ID cards.

    According to the Meme Boss, defaulters on the new order will face severe sanctions. For instance, bar-owners attending to customers after 9pm will have their licences seized and their business premises closed. Motorbikes on the road at ‘unconventional’ hours will be impounded, and of course, any security slip by the population may be a fatal one for citizens.
    These measures have been received by the people of Kumba with mixed feelings. While the need for such measures is acknowledged, some have questioned whether the measures are stringent enough to be effective in keeping at bay the common enemy. Others have openly declared that this may simply serve as an opportunity for the forces of law and order to line their pockets, suggesting that there should be measures in place to avoid this.