After Killing of Lysoka Chief:

Buea Mayor Wages War on “Amba” Boys

By Boris Esono in Buea

Populations of Buea marching against Ambazonia at the behest of Buea Mayo

The Mayor of the Buea council Patrick Ekema Esunge has promised retribution to what he calls “maquisards” who continue to abduct and kill traditional authorities of the municipality. The mayor was speaking Sunday 29 July 2018 during an All Bakweri Forum that brought together youths, men and women of the clan.

            Beginning his speech the Mayor called for a minute of silence in honour of the departed especially chief Mbanda of Lysoka who died in captivity on 27 July.

The Mayor described the chief’s loss as a sacrilege committed by the ‘Amba maquisards’.

            Mayor Ekema Patrick added that: “We are now looking forward to retaliation because we cannot sit and fold our arms in the face of the abductions and killings in our community. Maquisards cannot take our chiefs, assassinate them and put others at gun point to make inflammatory statements against the state… Enough is enough,” Mayor Ekema charged, saying “we shall go to the field and have a direct confrontation with these guys and see who is going to be the loser. We the Bakweri people are going to mobilize ourselves this Tuesday July 31 and take a common stand in view of the release of the abducted chiefs and to sanction the assassination of the chief of Lysoka. The demonstration will definitely be peaceful but 24hrs after it will be violent,” Mayor Ekema noted

Another topic of interest to the Bakwerians at the forum was the issue of Buea being used as a political ground especially by what they termed “church leaders”.

            Mayor Ekema Patrick sounded a strong warning to the church leaders especially to retired Christian Cardinal Tumi to desist from holding the planned All Anglophone Conference that has been scheduled to hold in Buea this August.

            “As the people’s representative, we have been mandated to stop the so-called All Anglophone Conference purported called by the retired Priest. We are going to restrict his visit to the municipality”.

            He recalled that at the beginning of this crisis, the clergy met several times in Bamenda to frustrate school resumption and we have a strong feeling that meeting again in August at the eve of school resumption is another ploy to destabilize the effective resumption of schools.

            “They should go and hold it in Bamenda or Banso. We will not allow them whether it is the head of state that authorizes him, we do not want to hear it,” the Mayor maintained.

            The town of Buea Monday July 30 was still marked by ghost town despite repeated calls from the council for business premises to open for work. Shops, bars, townships taxis and most commercial motorbikes all retired for the day for fear of retributions from the “separatists”.

            Last July 23, Mayor Ekema Patrick and other council staff sealed business premises in the municipality who are respecting the day as ghost town in compliance with many resolutions and meetings that were organized. Most of these business premises are yet to be unsealed.