Amba Threats, Scary Military presence:

Buea Goes Dead As Race of Hope Comes & Goes

Insecurity across the restive South West region coupled with threats from separatists’ activists dealt a severe blow to the ambiance and turnout at this year’s Mountain Cameroon race of Hope that was staged in Buea on Saturday 23 February.

                This 24th edition of the race had an outlook never seen before in decades of the age-old race. The festive atmosphere that saw huge crowds feasting, partying and feeling at home was completely absent this time.

                In the MolykoOmnisport Stadium where most of the activities were staged, the seats at the tribunes remained empty all along. Despite the beautiful and attractive sports infrastructure, too few persons bothered to come.

                The city of Buea remained completely deserted with most people functioning within the comfort of their home.

                The absence of the populations only exposed the unusually heavy military presence at all strategic corners of the city. Some of the military paraphernalia that moved up and down the hilly slopes of Buea were at times frightening to say the very least.

                The Minister of Sports and Physical Education Professor NarcisseMouelle Kombi was escorted in out of the stadium by a security motorcade comprising state-of-the-art armoured vehicles.

                Just a handful of people mustered the courage to attend the ceremonies. Most persons stayed within the safe confines of their balconies from where they caught a glimpse of what was happening.

                This happens in the wake of heightened separatists’ campaign for boycott of the event. Separatists’ activists had taken to the social media promising mayhem should the event be staged. The separatists’ claimed that Buea is the capital of their self-proclaimed country ‘Ambazonia’ and that no event had been permitted there by the Interim Government.

                A participant at the event opined that “from the way things are unfolding here, it is very certain that immediately after the race, the atmosphere around the stadium will go dead. The minister and those from Yaoundé will be escorted out of town by the military, while denizens of Buea will remain indoors.”

                Another observer said “the atmosphere of today and what I know of the Mountain Race shows that things are not moving at all. We use to arrive here from Bamenda and sleep in the open. Dance groups usually animated all through the night. But look at Buea today, the environment is dry. People are afraid to come out. I pray things change by next year”