By Chris Mbunwe
The Chairman of the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, Chief Ayamba Ette Otun, 82, and 23 other activists were Thursday, January 28, arrested and detained in the Bamenda central police station. A few of them were reportedly badly beaten, including a cameraman who sustained a broken leg.
The activists, 23 men and a woman were reportedly whisked off from one Mbisah Anthony Tawie residence by heavily armed soldiers comprised of a special squad while the activists were welcoming their Chairman from the United Nations, UN. One of the activists, Joseph Ayuk, told The Post that the meeting was convened to welcome their Chairman and to take stock of the council's activities.
He said their Chairman was presenting a memorandum and pictures of some of their fallen comrades during their struggle. "While we were deliberating, a contingent of policemen led by Police Commissioner, Pascal Andi, who must have been tipped off, stepped in and seized a video camera from our cameraman.
The Commissioner also barricaded the entrance to the house and called for reinforcement from a special military base in Tiko that came in a truck. They seized all of their documents, tortured, bundled them into the truck and drove away," said Ayuk.
The Post also gathered that when the Commissioner seized the camera, he went out and brought in five other policemen including a photographer, to shoot their pictures, but the activists stopped him. A quarrel ensued between them and the policemen, during which a policeman spanked one of the old men. The youngest of the activists Armstrong Esapa Akwo insulting the men in uniform, for this reason, he was seriously beaten and handcuffed.
The Commissioner reportedly refused one of the activists from going out to relieve himself. Frustrated by the Commissioner's firmness, The Post learnt, the activist decided to piss in front of the policeman with some of the urine splashing on his (Commissioner's) trousers.
The Commissioner is said to have became furious and ordered one of his cohorts to arrest the man.
The activists said their meeting was going on just at the time when the new DO for Bamenda, Augustine Awa Fonka, was being installed. They said the DO, the Brigade Commander, whose only name we got as Jean, and the Mayor came to the scene and asked Ayamba if he had obtained permission to hold the meeting, but the Chairman told him that their meeting was not illegal and that he was simply giving the UN instructions to his militants.
Ayamba is quoted to have told the Mayor and the DO that it is rather the authorities of "La République's" government who are supposed to request for permission from the Southern Cameroons government before carrying out their activities in the Southern Cameroons region, which, according to him, is their country.
Those arrested together with Ayamba were James Sabum, 64, (National Organiser) Mathias Arrey, 59, (National Secretary) Emmanuel Fongoh, 62, (County Chairman, Victoria), Laurence Nwellem, 37, (Assistant Youth President) Sylvester Taku, 68, (Zonal Chairman) Mary Bati, Aluis Ngoe, 62, Lucas Ngoye, 59, Linus Ndikum, 70, John Babila, 62, Joseph Ndifor, 68, Wilson Fokum, 60, Fothung Agbor, 81, Jacob Sama, 70, Freeboy Acho, 62, Stephen Mbah, 56, George Tambo, 40, Moses Tindati, 36, Andrew Fokum, 45, Bless Tamfu, 55, Christian Nji, 62, Jaspa Ofon, Peter Yume 64, Armstrong Esapa Akwo, 35 and Dorothy Neba, 40.
Many more Cameroonians have suffered thesame fate for being attached to the course for change. It should be recalled George Tambo and the youngest of them, Armstrong Esapa Akwo had been arrested, tortured and detained several times, keeping their families on constant threat and surveillance. George Tambo told us that while in detention, they were subjected to various forms of inhuman treatment.
The Post learnt from a police source that some government officials monitored Ayamba's movement from the airport when he arrived, right to Bamenda, a day before the raid.
The source also said the activists are going to be charged with organising an illegal meeting, non-procession of national identification cards and insolence to government officials.
He said the activists had but foreign ID cards (Southern Cameroons ID), instead of the Republic of Cameroon national IDs. All attempts to get to Chief Ayamba failed as this Reporter was not allowed to get into the police detention facility. The Post was reliably informed that Linus Ndikum , Armstrong Esapa Akwo and Sylvester Taku were later taken to the hospital for medical attention. We visited the hospital in vain for no trace of them could be found. The medical officer in charge instead referred us to go back to the police station, for he is in no position to give an answer. This has caused some family members of those arrested to be worried about the safety of their love ones.
It should be recalled that on Saturday, January 20, heavily armed police, disrupted a massively attended press conference and arrested Nfor Ngala Nfor, Humphrey Mbinglo and thirty nine others. The SCNC has been protesting for the restoration of the independence of Southern Cameroons. Over the years, there has been a constant brush between the government and the Southern Cameroon National Council Activists. The SCNC is committed to the peaceful restoration of statehood and sovereignty of Southern Cameroons. Many of its members have been killed with some dying in detention.
According to Human right reports, Cameroon has one of the worst human right records. The government has been illegally arresting, brutalizing and jailing SCNC supporters for unjust reasons.
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