Cameroon military and human rights violations

International non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch, HRW has condemned both Governments of Cameroon and the United States for “serious” human rights abuses they have committed against Cameroonians who sought asylum in the US during the past three years.

A group of lawyers, led by Barrister Edward Lyonga Ewule, have taken the Gendarmerie Legion Commander in Buea and the Superintendent of the Buea Central Prison to court over the torture and imprisonment of a heavily-pregnant woman, Antoinette Kongnso Gohla, on flimsy excuses that she dated the now dreaded separatist commander, ‘No Pity’, five years ago. The case comes up in Buea on October 22, 2021.

The killing which received wide condemnation and even caused a day long protest was unfortunately not the first in Buea, and certainly not a rare one in the ongoing war against separatist fighters in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. Like several other victims who have been killed in similar circumstances, little Carolaise was killed in a situation that was uncalled for.

She was punched severally and the 8-month unborn baby kicked by Moja Moja, before she was surrendered to Gendarmerie officers. Her crime for now, we learned, is that in some episode of her life, she had dated the now renowned Separatist commander, self-styled ‘Field Marshall No Pity’. That was years before she married her husband, Clovis Sima Shiynyuy.

Videos of the incident amateurishly taken by wailing Christians showed a worshiper, identified as Grace Titalabit lying in a pool of her own blood. She was later proclaimed dead. The Church’s Pastor, Rev. Simon Voma Montoh was also shot in the arm. A statement from Cameroon military spokesperson, Navy Captain Cyrille Atonfack, said another Christian was wounded in the foot, as a result of the bullets that were rained on the church during worship hours on that Sunday August 22.

In the video filmed by the officers, Tata is being tortured into a coma, by the officers who demand that he tells them where in the bush his brother, a supposed separatist fighter, is hiding. Tata was beaten on the soles of his feet, his buttocks, his back, and even his belly, with a machete. He was also kicked severally on the head. The officers poured water on him while torturing.

Whether accused of a crime or not, mass arrest victims are treated the same way; under the guise of fishing out Separatist fighters. Many locals, especially those who cannot afford the bribe, or who refuse to bribe their way out, end up behind bars in police and gendarmerie stations.

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