28, May 2020
Archbishop Andrew Nkea: the truth behind the Audio 0
Where there is war, there must be criminality and impunity, and this is the case in Southern Cameroons where a separatist insurgency has been raging for almost four years. The Southern Cameroons crisis has transformed a once-upon-a-time oasis of peace into a playground for criminals who are really making hay while the sun shines. A criminal enterprise, some of which is government-sponsored, is booming as the country’s government and organised criminals are feeding fat on Southern Cameroons resources. A solidly established underworld of warlords and trade-offs is sprouting as ragweed, leaving many innocent civilians in a tough and hopeless situation that is characterized by fear. On April 22, 2020, the French Cameroon government published a dubious and exceedingly bogus report on the massacre of 24 civilians by its military in the village of Ngarbuh, Dunga Mantung, on February 14, 2020. The report was a clear indictment of the French Cameroon government which shamelessly admitted that it recruited and utilised vigilante groups in its operations in Ngarbuh.
The government’s admission of guilt has left it with a bloodshot eye and its military actions in Southern Cameroons are a clear manifestation of desperation against an insurgency that is not going away anytime soon. It is no surprise that drafting armed vigilante groups is reckless and perilous in a region that is awash with sophisticated weapons. Guns, lawlessness, poverty and testosterone constitute a hazardous and explosive mix and the temptation for those under the influence of these to engage in criminal activity is exceedingly high.
Earlier this week, there were audios circulating on social media, allegedly from Amba boys calling for the head of the Archbishop of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, Andrew Nkea. The contents of those audios were disturbing and Cameroon Concord News Group had to publish a detailed editorial outlining the political ramifications to the Southern Cameroons if the man of God is attacked by Amba boys or any group that is acting under the cover of darkness. The urgency of the matter prompted a statement from the Ambazonia Interim Government, calling on any persons involved in such an ungodly enterprise to think twice before acting.
Later on Monday, May 25, 2020, Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report launched a joint investigation into the source and rationale behind the audio. Our team of top-class investigators quickly established that Archbishop Andrew Nkea was ordained a Priest in Buea in April 1992. He served the Church, the Lord and the people of Buea until August 2013 when he was ordained Bishop of the Mamfe diocese. The investigation revealed that it was in Mamfe that the new Bishop flourished in his work for mankind and The Almighty. In Mamfe, his determination to rejuvenate farming delivered huge dividends. Our investigators can reveal that the Archbishop’s work and influence in his diocese was monumental. The palm nuts, maize, cassava, poultry, goat farms he established were not only profitable, but also revolutionary.
Wherever there is hard-work and success, green-eyed monsters are never far away. Our team uncovered that his work in Buea and Mamfe dioceses brought plaudits from the congregants but built a steady army of resentful adversaries within Ecclesiastical ranks. Cameroon Concord News Group uncovered that some years back, the opposition within the church to the then Reverend Father was excessive and exhausting emotionally.
The man of God’s appointment to the position of Archbishop of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province in February this year was a reward for his hard work in the Mamfe diocese. But this was not well received by many within the church. Many within the Church consider his rise as meteoric and undeserved.
The position of Archbishop, splendid and powerful, was coveted by numerous established bishops. Cameroon Concord News Group uncovered that there were many who believed that they or their close associates should have been appointed to the position instead of Archbishop Andrew Nkea.
Our undercover reporters cross-examined many people within the church in Buea, Mamfe and Bamenda who elected anonymity said they were convinced that the audio calling for the head of the Archbishop to be blown off was the work of dark forces within the Church. Blood-stained disputes are not uncommon in the ranks of the church. In 2017, Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Balla’s body was discovered in a river days after his disappearance. Cameroonian bishops issued a statement after claiming he was murdered saying “we have the impression that the clergy of Cameroon in particular is pursued by obscure diabolical forces”.
The insecurity in Southern Cameroons is a textbook heaven for criminal elements within the Church to bring their plot against Archbishop Andrew Nkea to fruition. It will be the supreme offence if these dark forces within the church committed the ultimate crime only to pin it on innocent Ambazonian self-defence forces. But the huge net of Cameroon Concord News Group is closing in on them and they will be exposed.
By Isong Asu in London with intelligence files
28, May 2020
Ngarbuh Villagers Flee Military Base at Site of Massacre 0
Cameroonians are fleeing the northwestern village of Ngarr-buh after the military began building a base this week near where troops in February massacred at least 13 civilians. Cameroon says the base is needed to stop separatists from getting supplies in neighboring Nigeria. But, villagers fear they may once again be targeted or get caught in crossfire.
Twenty-two-year-old Cameroonian farmer Emelda Tatah says she and her family were among around a hundred villagers who fled Ngarr-buh on Sunday morning after several military trucks full of troops arrived.
The troops began constructing buildings for a military base to fight off anglophone rebels in the area.
Speaking via a messaging application from the neighboring village of Ngondzen, Tatah said the military’s massacre in their village was still fresh in their minds.
“On the 14th of February, military people entered Ngarr-buh and killed many women and innocent children,” she said. “The military has built a camp in the village again and the villagers think that this same military that was supposed to protect them [villagers] they [military] are the very people killing them [villagers]. So, they have to flee to neighboring villages where they feel they will be more secured.”
Cameroonian rights groups and opposition political parties have criticized the base in Ngarr-buh, saying it will only increase tensions with villagers.
They estimate over 300 villagers have fled Ngarr-buh within the past week.
National President of the United Socialist Democratic Party Prince Ekosso says the military presence in the village is uncalled for.
“Why establish a military base in Ngarr-buh, where the military has been accused of massacring civilians, children, women, pregnant women,” he said. “We are calling on the government to retrieve [stop] the initiative of establishing a military base in Ngarr-buh. And we call on the international community to put their eyes [pay attention] on this particular situation in Ngarr-buh. The use of force has never resolved any conflict.”
Despite the ongoing tensions between the villagers and military, Cameroon authorities say the new military base is needed to stop rebels from re-supplying in neighboring Nigeria.
Speaking Sunday on state radio, Cameroon government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi defended the base as a needed defense against the rebels.
Although troops had killed civilians, said Sadi, most atrocities in the area were committed by the separatists.
He said most of the rebel fighters in Ngarr-buh disguised themselves as Cameroon troops to commit atrocities on villagers just to give troops a bad image and make civilians hate their military. Sadi said the troops are out to protect civilians from the rebels, who are stealing, raping, abducting for ransom, and making life very difficult in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. He says the troops will protect Cameroon’s border with Nigeria and stop the separatists from using the border for supplies.
Human Rights Watch said in April the attack in Ngarr-buh was part of a larger pattern of rights violations by Cameroon’s military in the anglophone regions.
Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, admitted in April troops committed the massacre after an international outcry when authorities initially denied it.
Biya ordered the arrest of troops that attempted to cover up the deaths by burning homes and filing a false report.
Some 600 villagers in Ngarr-buh had fled immediately following the atrocity. The separatists have been fighting since 2017 to carve out an English-speaking state from French-speaking-majority Cameroon.
The United Nations says the fighting has cost more than 3,000 lives and forced half-a-million to flee to French-speaking regions or into neighboring Nigeria.
Source: VOA