Biya Urged To Release Incarcerated Teacher

By Kini Nsom

Human Rights activists have called on President Paul Biya to order for the release of Roland Fube, a Chemistry teacher of an English High School in Yaounde, who is being detained for "contempt of Head of State."

 

Roland Fube: Does Biya know that this man is being held captive on his behalf?

Fube was arrested January 31, for complaining that each time President Biya is either going or coming into Yaounde, police block circulation of traffic for many hours thereby slowing economic activities.

When the matter was called up at the Yaounde Magistrate Court on February 19, the presiding judge adjourned it to March 5, since the security officer who arrested him was not in court. Some three people who were arrested together with Fube and forced to testify against him, were nowhere to be found.

Speaking to The Post after the adjournment, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, CHRAPA, Joseph Chongsi, called on Biya to order for the release of the teacher whom he said the State is victimising.

Chongsi argued that the fact that Fube complained about Biya in his absence cannot be qualified as insulting the Head of State and others as his prosecutors claim."This is a typical case of violation of freedom of expression and opinion," the human rights activists observed.

He called on Biya to quickly intervene and rescue his image from the damage of an overzealous security officer who claimed to have arrested the young man on his behalf.
The Secretary General of the Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, CATTU, Simon Nkwenti, also condemned Fube's arrest as an infringement on the freedom of expression of a citizen.

He said: "We regret that a teacher is being treated in that ridiculous manner. It is a clear case of political victimisation of an Anglophone teacher." Nkwenti qualified the security officer who arrested Fube as a sycophant who wants to prove to President Biya that their security network is very good.

He said teachers all over the country were on the alert watching to see that justice reigns in the matter.Members of the diplomatic corps and civil society activists have raised eyebrows on the matter.After the court adjourned the case, Fube was taken back to Kondengui Prison.

The teacher, who has already suffered a month of pre-trial detention, looked sick and emaciated as he was taken away by warders.A close relative quoted him as saying he is suffering real psychological torture because he has been detained in a section in prison called "Kossovo" that is full of hardened criminals.

Teacher's Brother Reportedly Kidnapped

Meanwhile, the brother of Roland Fube, Ernest Gangoum Titagheb, was reportedly kidnapped and later freed by unidentified individuals on February 22.Titagheb told The Post that he received an anonymous call from an individual who said he was coming from a human rights organisation and wanted details about his brother's detention.

 

Gangoum Titagheb

He said he told the caller that he was attending a meeting at Biyem-assi neighbourhood.
According to Titagheb, he finally met the caller at the Biyem-assi Junction at about 10 pm beside a white Toyota Hilux pick-up.There, he said, he saw three people who sympathised with him for the arrest and detention of his brother.

 "All of a sudden, one of them, who was wearing a track suit, came close to me, showed me a gun and ordered me to get into the car. I was driven to an unknown destination in the Nsimalen neighbourhood," he said.

While there, Titagheb said, the three men removed him from the car, threw him to the ground and accused him of giving information to journalists about his detained brother. When he tried to deny the accusation, according to him, his kidnappers described how he was dressed on February 19 as he talked to a journalist of Mutations newspaper when his brother' case was called up in court.

The Post learnt that the kidnappers did not torture Titagheb but warned him not to reveal what happened to him.

Comments

[Klemenceau]

This is a typical case against a Southern Cameroonian. The case is like Roland was engaged in a monologue. These CPDM and French puppets are really stupid. The others who spoke along with him are francophones so they are more “human” than Roland. Poor boy managing to make ends meet. Don’t worry, justice shall prevail
What they are doing to (Southern Cameroonians) Anglophones is helping to proof the SCNC, SCAPO and etc case. They are helping to sensitize the Anglophone population and giving us more reasons why we need to separate.
They are all the devil's ambassadors.
Shalom
Klemenceau

[Tekum Mbeng]

The case of Mr Gangoum Titagheb indicates the over-zealous security forces are now embarrassed. They do not want the public to know about this violation of free speech.

An insider needs to reveal the names of individual officers involved in this fiasco. The idiots need to be fired. The Presidency needs to pull the reins.

[Ma Mary]

Mr Titagheb, start by not spelling your name like a frog's. I know, you think there might be safety in trying to blend in. See how far you went? This is turning out to be a huge embarrassment, that is why they are intimidating the family. The pride of bullies is a dangerous thing, because bullies really have no self-regard.

[Delors]

I'm very sorry for this poor teacher for what he is going through. Only persons who have been victims of this system will what he is going through especially if you are of the English Expression. The teacher forgot that he was in France and spoke in English also forgot that English speaking Cameroonians are not considered real cameroonians. Anglophones ministers have shown us that French is the only official language in Cameroon and that is why their public speeches are always made in French with the heavy accent. This poor teacher forgot that the same thing said in French is considered normal and adnormal in English especially if it's spoken by someone from the English speaking provinces or regions whatever they are called now. Regions with appointed governors and appointed everything is the same like provinces with appointed governors and appointed everything.

[balace]

Take Heart my dear brother. God will see you through. it shall turn back on them. just let God fight for you, your family and all of us southern cameroonians.
remain blessed

[obina]

FREE ROLAND FUBE, PREGEODISE LA REPULIQUE DU CAMEROON TO RELEASE OUR CITIZEN AND TEACHER THE STATE IS VITIMSING,ALL WE MOST SURELY COME IS FREEDOM FOR HUMAN RIGHT,PEACE AND ADVOCACY.

[obina]

SCNC MOST SURVIVE