The Cameroon Concord News Group has just learned of the explosion in one of the University of Buea’s Amphitheater. 

According to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s permanent correspondent in Buea, the explosion has injured some students and there is total panic in the University.

University of Buea authorities have not yet issued a release regarding this act of terrorism which targets young, ambitious, and determined Cameroonians who simply want to acquire knowledge in order to have the tools that will enable them to serve their country in the future.

The Cameroon Concord News Group Board of Directors has met in an extraordinary session and has roundly condemned such unprovoked acts of violence and intimidation which are intended to “roll back our youths and children into the dark ages.”

“We have been duly informed that a bomb has gone off in the University of Buea, Cameroon, wounding some students. This is an act of violence and intimidation that is unnecessary. We cannot be working very hard to roll back our own children and people into the dark ages,” the Board Chairman said

“We are headed in the wrong direction. Schools are places where students acquire knowledge to serve their nation and a place where terrorists should not be using to express their political views. While the Cameroon Concord News Group agrees that Southern Cameroonians have faced marginalization over the last 60 years in Cameroon, it cannot allow people who act under the cover of darkness to intimidate children and students. Without knowledge, no country will develop. We cannot bring this terror into our schools. The Cameroon Concord News Group will use its news platforms to bring those who are hurting students and children in any part of Southern Cameroons to shame. Our schools are not battlefields, they are sacred locations for the acquisition of knowledge,” the Board Chairman said.

 “Those who are behind this senseless and shameful act must put an end to any other plans they may have. The University of Buea is the hope of millions of Southern Cameroonians and destroying its property or hurting its students borders on the absurd. The University authorities and government officials should take appropriate measures to ensure that such acts of barbarism do not get imported into our universities,” a visibly annoyed Board Chairman stressed.

“This act of barbarism in our university is uncalled for. There are talks currently under way to bring together all the factions involved in the Southern Cameroons crisis and the Toronto retreat was very much welcome by millions of Cameroonians who strongly believe that such forums should be organized to ensure that the different factions talk to each other with a view to finding a long-lasting solution to the Southern Cameroons crisis,” the Board Chairman said.

“Now that talks are underway, it is preposterous to continue with the killing of innocent civilians. It is wrong to kill our own people and it is even stupid to intimidate and hurt students who are the future of our country. Southern Cameroonians are hurting themselves by bringing bombs to schools and universities. The talks that are underway should serve as an opportunity for all and sundry to express their views so that the final documents will bear the opinions of all the factions. We should be encouraging our children to go to school at this time after more than four years of education black-out. No nation ever develops when its people are not properly educated,”  the Board Chairman said. 

Meanwhile, another explosive hit a taxi in Buea in the morning, killing the driver. For some time now, bombs have been going off in many parts of Buea, but nobody ever thought such an act could be committed in Cameroon’s citadel of knowledge.

By Isong Asu in London

It was supposed to be a very good week for Cameroon’s first family as the 88-year-old President Paul Biya celebrated his 39 years in office on November 6. Biya, who has been Cameroon’s president since 1982, is rarely seen in public these days. However, it has turned out to be a terrible week for the Cameroonian president. Brenda Biya, the first daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Biya is at war with her parents, presidential aides and has reportedly disowned her parents in a video she posted on social media.

By some strange happenstance, both the Biya family and the communications department at the presidency of the republic are not denying any of the details made public by Brenda Biya and they are also not saying whether the president and Brenda’s mum Chantal Biya are now directly threatened.

The president’s daughter has in the past made disturbing revelations about her parents but this time around she invoked some nasty aspects of her upbringing by parents who are only interested in political power and how to enhance their political image and concluded her story with the crisis in Southern Cameroons blaming all the atrocities on her dad.

Ordinarily, this was supposed to be a family affair but it is now connected to president Biya under whom the ruling CPDM crime syndicate keeping him in power is also in disarray. In her recent outing, Brenda Biya presented herself to the public as a young Cameroonian woman more sinned against than sinning. But her involvement in drugs and alcohol has now escaped the boundaries of personal or family affair to the public domain.

There is no way the Brenda Biya factor would not be used as evidence against President Biya as someone who has always had problems managing every other spaces of leadership. Frankly speaking, the Brenda Biya tragedy demonstrates how Biya’s leadership is leading to the breaking-up of the country. The party level is worse and Biya is the chairman. Today, they tell you the ruling party wants his eldest son Franck Biya to succeed the father and by morning of the following day, they same party tells you the CPDM is appealing for a national consensus for Biya to seek a new term in 2025.

The Francophone Beti Ewondo patriarch is now contending with disarray at both the domestic and international fronts. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group feel sorry for Mr. Paul Biya and we are aware that even the most sympathetic Biya followers know that this is no ordinary crisis.

It is shocking and difficult to understand how all these might be happening to the president’s daughter until she is now being moved to a psychiatric home and the president is totally unable to address the situation.

Very early in the life of the Biya regime, the late First Lady Jeanne Irene Biya made pronouncements that struck the chord with the Cameroonian people. The idea of her husband hijacked by a vicious cabal has since become the staple of the public sphere in Cameroon. Ever since her untimely death, nothing has been done to demonstrate anything to the contrary. The Biya family is crumbling at catastrophic rapidity at a time of grave, generalized insecurity across the Cameroonian nation.

For a leader who spends all his time abroad precisely at the InterContinental Hotel in Geneva to end up like this, is indeed shameful, disgusting and disgraceful. This begs the question:  what is that other thing that takes the little time President Biya has left for governance that disable him from keeping these sorts of creases from spilling over beyond his control to the public square?

To answer this question, you must first of all get an understanding of the mindset of the man on top. Biya enjoys conflict particularly those escalating to the proportion they do under him.

However, mindful of the fact that president Biya has nearly unlimited resources for managing fissures at whatever level, this whole Brenda Biya saga paints a picture of a man who has led himself down. Maybe he thinks history is too distant for him to worry about.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

English speaking journalists in Cameroon are reportedly confronting a growing spate of military violence and in many cases arrest over the last five years ever since the 88-year-old President Biya declared war against the people of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia. The fraternity hangs in balance with many questioning if truth is meaningful in Cameroon under Biya.

Soon after the Francophone dictator declared war against the English speaking minority in Southern Cameroons, his political acolytes including Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo realized that the war in Southern Cameroons can only be sustain by restricting freedom of speech and expression deep within the English speaking media community. And five years after the war in Southern Cameroons started, English speaking journalists are caught in a limbo not just about how to report but also what to report.

Many English speaking journalists have been killed, many detained and many now fear for personal safety including right to report the facts, while others are intimidated, harassed and even charged under draconian and sedition laws. The Francophone dominated army and memers of the Cameroonian Secret Service are threatening some aggressively-the list is long, Samuel Wazizi, Mimi Mefo, Tah Jarvis Mai, Asu Vera Eyere and Kingsley Fomonyuy Njoka.

According to the exiled leader of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Vice President Dabney Yerima, several cases of violence against Southern Cameroons journalists were recorded from January 2019 till July 2021. Human Rights Watch experts say press freedom has further diminished after the emergence of the all powerful Minister-Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

The last five years have seen a dramatic rise in violence against English speaking Cameroonian journalists, while they were covering stories on different aspects of the Southern Cameroons war. The state owned Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) media house has also become a tool for trolling or threatening not just English speaking journalists, but anyone, be it someone criticizing the poor preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations, someone talking about the need for a new leadership in Yaounde, or anyone critical of the government policies.

Many renowned Southern Cameroonian journalists and media personalities have now shifted their platforms from the pursuit of truth to praise singing (See our report on Ashu Theodore Nyenty).  Many more are now using pen names and are writing for independent media houses abroad while some have resorted to social media as an easy tool to put forth their side of the stories.

Experts say after the rise of Paul Atanga Nji as Minister of Territorial Administration, there is a sense of polarized environment where English speaking journalists find themselves more divided. While many like Ayukogem Steven Ojong, Sone Bayern, Charles Ebune and Ashu Nyenty are still confused if it’s all about patronizing the popular rather than speaking about the unpopular. The question remains how long someone can remain ignorant in a country like Cameroon where more people have access to international TV channels and social media than access to welfare schemes, healthcare and housing. But the never ending or perhaps unwanted ruling CPDM party debates find more space in Cameroon media platforms rather than the ones that make difference.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Interim Government Statement on the Leadership Retreat in Toronto, Canada

Fellow Southern Cameroonians/ Ambazonians,

A Retreat of leaders and other stakeholders of the Southern Cameroons liberation quest, facilitated by the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations (CDN), took place from October 30th to November 1st, 2021, in Toronto, Canada, and your interim government was present. The closed sessions were focused on defining the problem, building bridges, teamwork, internal dialogue, trust-building and principles for negotiations and consensus-building. The debates were frank, heated but focused solely on the dignity of our people and the future of Ambazonia.

It is regrettable to note that while we were working hard for the Ambazonian people during the retreat, some of us were busy misinforming our people through social media platforms. The Interim Government of Ambazonia is by this statement putting on record that;

1.            La Republique du Cameroun had nothing to do with the Retreat.

2.            The IG has never been against the Swiss Government’s initiative to facilitate a mediation process to end the war in our country. However, no one endorsed the Swiss initiative in Toronto. The Interim Government made it clear to the British, Canadian, and Swiss diplomats present at the retreat that the people of Ambazonia will not go into an initiative that lacks clarity and objectivity.

3.            We made it clear to the Swiss and other partners that we shall ONLY ENDORSE the Swiss mediation when it opens to other partners for a MULTI-MEDIATION PROCESS where the parties will operate internationally recognized best practices in matters of arbitration.

4.            We made it clear to the Swiss government and the international community that as a people, we prefer to be addressed as Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, not North-West and South-West regions of Cameroun. We also clarified that we are NOT the political opposition to the government of Mr Paul Biya.

We know what Ambazonians want–Absolute Independence. We shall only make decisions and take actions that guarantee the attainment of this objective. We are pleased to report that doors for consultation and collaboration were opened in Toronto. In the coming weeks, the IG will issue a final detailed report on the Retreat.

Thank You and God Bless You

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

As the dust from the Toronto Meeting settles, the Cameroon Concord News Group’s Editor-in-Chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, decided to interview a key observer of the Cameroon political landscape, Dr. Joachim Arrey, the Executive Director of the Global Think Thank for Africa, a not-for-profit public relations firm, who was in Toronto at the time of the meeting and kept a special eye on the deliberations.

Cameroon Concord News: It is always a pleasure talking with you. You were in Toronto when the meeting went underway. How was the atmosphere out there? 

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Thank you for granting me this opportunity to share my thoughts on the Toronto meeting which brought together key factions of the Southern Cameroons crisis that is in its fifth year and has been spreading death and destruction among the people of Southern Cameroons. Regarding the atmosphere in Toronto with regards to the meeting, thousands of Southern Cameroonians in Toronto have been looking forward to this meeting given that it will forever serve as the groundwork for further talks. I did speak with many Cameroonians and those with whom I met in affluent neighborhoods like Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon, Etobicoke, and others had one clear message – It is time to start talking if the Yaounde government is ready for frank and fruitful negotiations. Toronto has a huge rich Southern Cameroonian population which really wants the war to come to an end, but they want the war to come to an end not because they want to continue with the current  political dispensation in the country which is predicated upon hyper-centralization and control, but because they want genuine political transformation in the country which will enable Cameroonians  around the world to return home with their money with a view to giving the country’s ailing economy a shot in the arm. Cameroonians in Toronto may not belong to the same shade of political opinion, but they do agree that there will never be a military victory in Southern Cameroons. Some stand for secession and they are very vocal about it, while others hold that a federally united and indivisible Cameroon is possible and will very likely bring peace, stability, and prosperity to millions of Cameroonians if the government displays good faith and trust. However, despite the divergencies, there is a common thread that runs through these shades of opinion – war is not good for the country and peace through genuine talks is a huge possibility. 

Cameroon Concord News: Once news of the meeting became public, many people, especially extremists who think that secession is the only answer, said it was being sponsored by the Yaounde government and that those who were attending the forum had been compromised. What is your view?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I also read a lot on this on social media, but because I had details about the meeting which many of those contesting the holding of such a meeting did not have, I was indeed unfazed. I would like to let you know that whatever you want to do in life, go ahead and do it, especially if it will help humanity. Don’t forget that some people’s stock in trade is sabotage. Such people will even sabotage their own progress. Why would the Yaounde government which is facing mounting financial problems send people on a retreat to Toronto, one of the most expensive cities in the world? The quality of the countries and organizations involved in the preparation and implementation of the Toronto meeting speaks to the world’s determination to end this dirty war which is consuming youthful lives in a region of the continent which needs human and financial resources to give its development efforts a real boost. Some of the factions opted to boycott the event while others were deemed unfit to attend because of their uncompromising stance against the holding of any conference that might result in peace and security in Cameroon. It should be recalled that no war ends without talks and negotiations. The First World War ended with the Treaty of Versailles. The Second World War ended with the Yalta and Potsdam Agreements. Those who are against talks are clearly against peace and the people should consider them as enemies of peace. The meeting organizers included the U.S. State Department, the Vatican, Canada, Ireland, Britain, Switzerland, Norway, the United Nations, and Greenclee which negotiated the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. The quality of those who attended the meeting also inspires hope and I am confident that more of such conferences will be held and through such talks Cameroon will be pulled back from the brink of collapse. Let us not forget that for years Cameroonians across the globe have been scanning the horizon in search of hope and, based on what I know, the Toronto meeting is that bright spot which is telling Cameroonians that a solution to this senseless war is in the offing. There were informative and educative presentations by experienced Canadian conflict prevention and conflict management experts and discussions on the Irish experience regarding the liberation war involving the IRA and Sein Fein against the British were really edifying.

Cameroon Concord News: So, what was the objective of the Toronto meeting?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: The objective of the meeting was to help all the factions in the destructive war in Southern Cameroons to gain a better understanding of the situation and to ensure that the message of peace being promoted by internal and external stakeholders is clearly and fully understood by all the participants, including the Cameroon government which is using diplomatic channels to call for peace. All those who attended the meeting agreed that a military victory would be impossible in Southern Cameroons. If Southern Cameroonians need peace, they must be open to the idea of talks. No matter how hard the government and separatist fighters kill each other, they must know that they will at some point talk to each other to end the madness. As humans, we must rise above our egos if peace must return to the people of Southern Cameroons who have been suffering for five years because of a disagreement that could have been easily dealt with. There is nothing wrong in complaining. It was incumbent upon the government to listen to teachers and lawyers so as to better understand their needs. If the government had acted wisely, we would have avoided this situation which has unfortunately sent thousands of Cameroonians to an early grave. However, this is not the time to apportion blame. We should be forward-looking. The Toronto meeting has succeeded in its overall objective which was to bring together significant Southern Cameroonian groups in the Diaspora and on Ground Zero. I therefore think that there is hope on the horizon. 

Cameroon Concord News: So, what next?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: The Toronto meeting is just the beginning of a long and bumpy journey which will surely lead to a peaceful resolution. It will take time, but like other countries, Cameroon will emerge from its own ruins. The mistakes of the past have been understood and the lessons of this war are staring us all in the eyes. There is no point pretending that it does not hurt. When we see the number of people who have died, we all should be ashamed of ourselves that we lacked the courage and political will to do the right thing. Disagreement is as old as man and the only and surest way to address any disagreement is for the parties to come together to work out a few things. In this regard, the government must show leadership. Over the last five years, the Yaounde government has failed in its duties. It should be the one urging Cameroonians to work together, but in the Southern Cameroonian case, it had to bring out weapons to kill its own people. I see many estimates of those killed because of this war and whether the estimates are small or big, one life is very important. Nobody should die because politicians think they can perpetuate themselves in power. We have lost thousands of our soldiers in a very short time, and many have been maimed and scarred for life. Is this war necessary? Similarly, all the other factions which did not participate in the Toronto meeting should join the train of peace. They must stop the grandstanding. Life hasn’t a duplicate and those who are dying in the killing fields of Southern Cameroons will not be returning anytime soon. We all must work towards the resolution of this problem which has become a millstone around the government’s neck.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you, Dr. Joachim Arrey, for your insight.

Dr. Joachim Arrey: It is always a pleasure for me to share my thoughts with you. 

The Toronto meeting is finally over, with warring factions and stakeholders agreeing on key issues and the way forward.

The meeting, which brought together representatives of various groups in the Diaspora and on Ground Zero, has ended its deliberations and below is the official statement from THE COALITION FOR DIALOGUE AND NEGOTIATIONS (CDN)

TORONTO STATEMENT

Leaders and stakeholders of the Southern Cameroons met for a High-Level Leadership Retreat held from October twenty nine to November first, two thousand and twenty- one;

Reiterating their firm determination to ensure that the aspirations of the people of the Southern Cameroons are realized, through dialogue and internationally mediated negotiations that address the root causes, agreed as follows:

1. Improve Dialogue and Collaboration within the Leadership of the Struggle

The leaders and stakeholders recognizing the strength in diversity and collective engagement, oneness,

Agreed to:

-Work together to build trust, respect, tolerance, and courtesy as we work towards consensus.

-Commit to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Communications etiquette and the use of social media that would be elaborated.

2. Safeguarding education, access for humanitarian aid and human rights

Agreed to:

-Promote the right of children to education, including through community schools.

-Encourage parents to consider safety and security conditions in making educational choices for school children.

-Support provision of access for humanitarian workers and assistance to all victims of the armed conflict and call on aid workers to abide by international humanitarian law, especially in armed conflicts.

3. Guiding Principles for Negotiation

Agreed to:

-Recognize the importance of collective engagement in matters of negotiations founded on trust.

-Accept to explore and enhance avenues to build a team for internal and external negotiations.

-Create space to build from their different strategies to engage in external negotiations as one entity, representing the people of the Southern Cameroons and their ultimate interest.

4. Framework for International Mediation

The leaders and stakeholders discussed the ongoing Switzerland-led facilitation process and the lack of progress and commitment from the Government of Cameroon and agreed to:

-Work together to ensure international mediations are credible.

-Engage in an effort to improve the internationally mediated process facilitated by the Government of Switzerland, including adding like-minded partners. reconvene to reassess progress in alignment with the collective aspiration of the people of the Southern Cameroons.

While the leaders and stakeholders are working on the elaboration of the resolutions of the retreat, they collectively applauded the Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiations (CDN) for providing the space for these frank discussions and committed to work with the CDN to build synergy. They called on the CDN to facilitate another meeting within the shortest possible time to discuss more substantively on the relevant issues raised in this retreat.

DONE IN TORONTO, CANADA ON NOVEMBER 1, 2021

STAKEHOLDERS: GLOBAL TAKUMBENG, SCAWOL, SCEW, SNWOT, THE CONSORTIUM, SCNC, AGOVC/ADF, IG-CARE, AMF, 7 KATA, PSALMS 91, THE TERMINATORS OF AMBAZONIA, SCCOP,AIPC, IPOA, AYC, SCYC, SCAAF, WCA, DAC, CHRDA, CHRI, AYAH FOUNDATION REACH OUT, PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE REFUGEES, IDPS, BFU, BCA, INTER-RELIGIOUS FORUM, TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES

THE COALITION FOR DIALOGUE AND NEGOTIATIONS (CDN), IS A UNITED STATES BASED INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO) WHOSE GOAL IS TO FACILITATE DIALOGUE AND SEEK A NEGOTIATED RESOLUTION AND AN END TO THE CONFLICT IN THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS

This past week, the President of SOBA UK laid out a forceful case for the importance of unity and strong moral character in SOBA UK, his ability to continue on the successful path of SOBA UK President Emeritus Ako Arrey, and the threat that a Midlands chapter would pose to the great SOBA UK family. Did President Egbe Franklin – and his fellow Sasse Old Boys at the 2021 Residential  Convention who echoed his points – do so successfully?  We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think the 2021 Convention at St. Georges Park was a huge success.

Both Egbe Franklin’s convention declaration and the convention as a whole clearly were pitched toward the entire SOBA UK family and even some other Cameroonian groups, particularly in English speaking Cameroon . From the perspective of all the guests including Cameroon’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Egbe Franklin and his Sasse Old Boys led by Joe Foncha performed brilliantly.

Compared to past conventions, SOBA UK’s AGM held via zoom and was comparatively short and provided SOBA UK members enough time to concentrate on the Convention proper. We gathered that Egbe Franklin’s delivery was fluid and heartfelt during the AGM.

The rest of the convention at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent went off without hitches or glitches. Other leading Sobans including Chief Dr. Daniel Asua, Dr Enow Humphery and the Chairman of the 2021 organising committee Obale Ebai also spoke effectively and with great rhetoric on the passing to eternity of senior SOBA Sessekou John Tabi.

Overall, the SOBA UK 2021 Residential  Convention sent a strong message that Sasse Old Boys are firmly grounded in their traditions and values and will not make any concessions to any dissident group. To be sure, SOBA UK can be trusted with the development of Sasse College, they can revive prosperity among its members and distribute its benefits more widely to students currently in the academic establishment back home. They intend to increase bereavement package and institute greater social unity.

Holding an AGM before the convention was a huge gamble for the president and his vice, but the success which can now be assessed following the outcome paints a picture of two young SOBA UK leaders with a vision.

SOBA UK has had a good run under Egbe Franklin. Many of SOBA UK best qualities were on display at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent and in Egbe Franklin’s speech. We of the Cameroon Concord News and the Cameroon Intelligence Report are hoping we’ll have more conventions like that in the future.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Our dear sky daddy,aka Heavenly Father has given all of us life.That life is sacred.He has placed so much value in  life by commanding that “thou shall not kill”All we have to do is develop,harness,improve on this life so that we can present our bodies to him holy,acceptable as a living sacrifice.

God gives a chance to a little girl to live,grow and eventually contribute to society.A mature man,well equipped with arms handed to him by a rock state decides to prematurely terminate the life of our baby.

A Police officer 9 months ago had beaten to death a motorcycle rider at Bellow Foncha,Bamenda still on control palaver.If sanctions have to come from the delinquent state it will never.There’s complicity in the action of state and it agents in devaluing lives leaving the people to fight their battles.

All we now see is a huge machinery of defence and justification from some colleagues and Yaounde hierarchy, no sympathy,no excuses but provocative words blaming the lady,driver etc.What warranted  the release of bullets.

We know that the main issue in a control is not whether the driver has got all the papers but whether he has given money.We systematically arrived at an unfortunate level whereby money must be given, papers or not.We don’t eat documents they say.Officially carrying arms is now a license to kill.Let the state proof us wrong.

By Chief Charles A. Taku

Rejoinders to well researched write-ups provide helpful feedback on how the reading public appreciates an article from any credible publication. A rejoinder also offers an opportunity for any person who is the subject of a detailed investigative report to defend themselves or present contrary facts if they deem any part of a publication inaccurate or biased.  Under the title “Unmasking Barrister Emmanuel Agbor Ashu”, Cameroon Concord News Group made public a report on 25 September 2021 on all its media outlets.

The article was frank, candid and also provided a thoughtful key to understanding the dubious role currently being played by Barrister Agbor Ashu deep within the Southern Cameroons struggle and our readership has heaped praises for its meticulousness. However and by some strange happenstance, Barrister Emmanuel Ashu has taken issue with the report. But instead of presenting a rational rejoinder countering the arguments raised for the better understanding of the public, the French Cameroun based man of law has resorted to Facebook and TV studios in French Cameroun to present alternative truths and launched vicious and malicious attacks on the credibility of the Cameroon Concord News Group and its cream of well trained media experts.

Recently, Barrister Emmanuel Ashu said somewhat ridiculously, that the Cameroon Concord News Group‘s story on his exploits and treachery was akin to blackmail. This begs the question; does the barrister understand what blackmail is? His self-declared importance in a third-division enclave like Douala has given him the false impression that rational Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora would waste valuable time, money and energy on blackmailing a ruffian and unreliable loose cannon like him.

Barrister Emmanuel Ashu has spent the last few days reciting his overhyped and outdated pitiful so-called achievements to readers on Facebook and other social media platforms rather than address abundant and humiliating facts unpacked in our report.

The barrister has a reputation for making a mess out of every situation. And he has lived up to that standing again with flying colours. Demonstrating both his desperation and unfortunate inclination towards lies telling, over the last week, the barrister wrote amongst many incoherent statements that, “is it journalism to bundle a heap of lies and defamatory assertions spiced with hatred about a person you know nothing about?… I am a legal icon with a proven track record backed by 38 years of very legal practice….I am the best criminal lawyer in Cameroon…Politically, founding father of the SDF…etc.”.

Our flat write up stated that “Barrister Emmanuel Ashu requested that the Interim Government of Ambazonia(The IG) pay him CFA 2.5 billion, buy him a new car, and furnish an office in Douala for him; as compensation to lead a potential legal defense for the NERA10.” Barrister Ashu has still not challenged the correctness of this report. Instead, he has presented a lousy and farfetched excuse that he asked for CFA 2 billion from Sako and the IG to defend the NERA10 in Yaoundé. He revealed, somewhat misleadingly, that his primitive and cheap design for the NERA 10 was putting together a team of 10 lawyers to work for two years. How did he know that the lawsuit against the accused would last two years? We of this publication are calling on Barrister Agbonde to set the records straight by publishing his communications on this matter with the Ambazonia Interim Government.

The report inter alia stated that in the early days of the SDF, the barrister took Chairman John Fru Ndi to his village in Manyu for a visit. The SDF Chairman “did not spend an hour in Ewelle village because Barrister Ashu had nowhere to host the visiting SDF delegation.” The man of law has neither refuted this claim nor presented documents as evidence that he owns a dwelling in his village. As a man of law, Barrister Ashu is aware that one persuades a judge or an audience with hard evidence, not hot air on a TV studio or Facebook posts.

Cameroon Concord News Group’s reporter in Douala indicated that in 2015, she met Barrister Emmanuel Ashu in “unpardonably tattered shoes, a pair of trousers with countless patches in them, a dreadful body odour, and he looked desperately hungry”. Again, Maitre Ashu as he loves being referred to in French Cameroun has not refuted this claim. Last week, the ‘Senior Barrister’ was spotted wearing a coat of many colours on a French Cameroun TV appearing like Petit Pays where he put up a less-than-spirited defense of his record and integrity. To be accurate, Maitre Ashu on that stage simply needed a band like the Sans Visa to give him the full status of a pro Biya comedian.

It is common knowledge that under Paul Biya’s CPDM crime syndicate, standards and patriotism are in very short supply.  But the fact that Barrister Emmanuel Ashu now claims to be the best criminal lawyer in Cameroun is a considerable worry that cannot be dismissed as sheer flippancy. His record tells a completely different story and like our Douala City correspondent rightly puts it, “during his more than 30 years career, he has either been caught committing the same errors or falling into spectacular new ones.” This now explains why he is always around television and radio houses pontificating on political matters that bring him nothing in return.

Our report was unambiguous that Barrister Emmanuel Ashu belongs to an unenviable club of Manyu citizens in their sixties who have not contributed an iota of development to their villages. A close acquaintance of the barrister has confided in our Douala Bureau Chief over the last few days that the barrister is a symbol of ridicule within his clan due to his financial inadequacy and unreliable tendencies.

The barrister has also not rebutted our report that he “owns” a scam of a political party in French Cameroun while claiming to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Ambazonians. The barrister has now confirmed that he stands for a Confederation in the Cameroons, which is wholly inconsistent with the vision of the people of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. The $50,000 question is: why has it taken the man of law five years to make this position public?

Late Barrister Ben Muna, Barrister Halle Nico, Barrister Akere Muna, and many other Southern Cameroonian geniuses have distinguished themselves as legal giants on the national and global stage but never arrogated the title of Senior Barrister to themselves. For Barrister Emmanuel Ashu, a riff-raff and legal embarrassment to paint himself as such, betrays some ignorance and a lack of understanding of the Anglo-Saxon academic and professional traditions.

Agbonde Emmanuel Ashu has failed to present to both Cameroon Intelligence Report and Cameroon Concord News a rejoinder that persuades the public and our readers, in his own words, that this publication had purposely or inadvertently published material that is inaccurate about his person.

Ever since our publication, the barrister has been lurching from one emotional crisis to another, and he is patently not in control of his mind. It is rather intriguing how the man of law has the time and energy to process puerile adventures on Facebook and TV studios but has not the discipline and composure to produce an intelligible response to our investigative report on his duplicity and games. In failing to collect himself and present a coherent and factual statement countering what was written about him, Barrister Emmanuel Ashu has lived up to his reputation of being a man who lacks composure, integrity and is emotionally too erratic. He should either sit up or shut up!

By Isong Asu in London and Dr Patrick Ayuk in Johannesburg