Catholic bishops in Cameroon have warned of spiraling violence in their country’s troubled Anglophone regions and urged law enforcers and local residents to show “greater responsibility.”

“The population can no longer take it — it is time to stop this spiral,” Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda told Fides, news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

“Anyone here now feels they have a right to violate the life of others. The police and the army must stop shooting civilians — they are there to protect civilians, not kill or injure them.”

The heads of five English-speaking dioceses making up the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference issued a statement “observing with great bewilderment the growing spiral of violence caused by the irresponsible use of weapons” by armed groups and by security forces — the people who were supposed to limit violence.

Fides published the statement Oct. 18, four days after a policeman killed a 5-year-old girl in Buea, near the cathedral. The policeman was later lynched by an angry mob.

In a separate statement, Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Buea said he had witnessed the aftermath of the killing of the girl, Enondiale Carolaise, shot in a taxi “simply because the driver did not comply with security checks.” He also condemned the mob lynching of the police officer.

“The civilian population has continued to pay the price of reckless actions of shocking violence from either security forces or armed groups — this has contributed to radicalizing some of them,” Bishop Bibi added.

“As we continue to pray for justice, peace and harmony in our country, I urge security agents to show more restraint in carrying out security operations that could put at risk the lives of innocent civilians.”

In October 2017, separatists in Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions declared an independent state, Ambazonia. Since then, up to 3,000 people have been killed, 680,000 forcibly displaced and 2.7 million left needing food assistance, according to U.N. data released in July.

Church leaders and human rights groups have condemned atrocities in the territories, which are home to a fifth of Cameroon’s population of 25 million. One-third of the country’s population is Catholic.

Several senior clergy have also been abducted by armed groups, known as Amba Boys, while attempting mediation with the Yaounde-based government of 88-year-old President Paul Biya, in office since 1982.

Source: Catholicphilly

Metropolitan Archbishop Andrew Nkea has fired back at Cameroon Concord News Group over recent editorial comments on the role of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea reportedly read the editorial and released a document on Thursday  to Cameroon Concord News and in a short statement blamed poor media reporting for stigmatising the Cameroonian bishops.

If you keep blaming the bishops, you don’t fix the problem Archbishop Nkea wrote to Cameroon Concord News.

Below is the document sent to Concord by the Archbishop

BAMENDA PROVINCIAL EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE [BAPEC]

THE SECRETARIAT

ARCHBISHOP’S HOUSE

P.O. BOX 82, BAMENDA

NORTH WEST REGION

C A M E R O O N

BAPEC/PRES/2016/30                                                   22 December 2016

MEMORANDUM PRESENTED TO THE HEAD OF STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT PAUL BIYA, BY THE BISHOPS OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF BAMENDA ON THE CURRENT SITUATION OF UNREST IN THE NORTHWEST AND SOUTHWEST REGIONS OF CAMEROON

Your Excellency,

For almost one month now there has been a series of unrests and violence in some towns of the Northwest and Southwest Regions[1] of Cameroon occasioned by the strike of the Anglophone Lawyers and of the Teachers’ Trade Unions of the English Sub-system of Education. These have led to the loss of human life andto the destruction of property of some of our citizens. There have been flagrant abuses of human rights, as demonstrated by credible eyewitness accounts and by pictures on local television channels and social media. This has led to a premature end to the first term of the school year and paralysed the court system in these regions to the detriment of school children, students, parents and the administration of justice. At the moment, it seems that the government and the striking groups have reached an impasse and it is not likely that the schools are going to open even when the second term begins for the rest of the country. These unrests are symptomatic of a deeper unease among the inhabitants of this geographical circumscription of our nation.

We, the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, which is coterminous with the Northwest and Southwest Regions, where we hold responsibility as Shepherds, cannot remain indifferent to this situation. The Church,in this season, celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. She has as mandate to proclaim the message of peace (Luke 10:5; Matthew 5:9), and has always stood for justice and peace, and worked for the attainment of the common good of society.Because of her role and competence, the Church is not identified in any way with the political community nor bound to any political system[2]. This places her in a uniquely privileged position to provide a balanced perspective on the current problem between the government of Cameroon and the population of significant segments of the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon. It is for this reason that we have presumed to seize the moment and to make the following submission, with a view to assisting the government to seek a lasting solution to this problem and enable its citizens to live in peace and harmony.

Historical Background of the Problem

Most of the territory known today as the Republic of Cameroon was a German protectorate from 1884. However, German Kamerun also included British Northern Cameroons, which elected to become part of Nigeria in the plebiscite of 1961. This protectorate was divided into British and French Cameroons in 1916 and confirmed, with some slight modifications, by the Milner-Simon Agreement of 10 July 1919. British Cameroons, which was comprised of Northern and Southern Cameroons, was one fifth and French Cameroun was four-fifths of the entire territory. They were Class B Mandated Territories of the League of Nationsuntil 1946 when they became United Nations Trust Territories.

British Cameroons and French Cameroun were separate legal and political entities and historians have postulated that although this partition was said to be temporary Britain and France instituted two different administrative styles and systems which were to impact on any subsequent movement towards eradicating the provisional nature of the partition and facilitating reunification.[3] After the Second World War, the United Nations (Article 76, b) explicitly called on the British and French to administer their respective spheres of Cameroon towards self-government. It called on the Administering Authorities to “promote the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants of the Trust Territories, and theirprogressive development towards self-government or independence as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each territory and its peoples…”

Before the London Constitutional Conferences of 1957 and 1958, three political options had emerged in British Southern Cameroons, namely independence as a separate political entity, independence in association with Nigeria, and independence by reuniting with French Cameroun. The Mamfe Conference of August 1959, which was called to hammer out consensus among Southern Cameroonians on one of the options, did not succeed to arrive at a consensus. The three political options persisted, with the most popular being independence as a separate political entity, the next being association with Nigeria and the least popular being reunification with French Cameroun.

Paradoxically, the UN General Assembly Resolution 1352 (xiv) on the British Cameroons’ Plebiscite of 1961, clearly ruled out the separate independence of Southern Cameroons[4], the most popular of the three options. This was thanks to the British who tactfully blocked every chance of the Southern Cameroonians voting for independence as a separate entity, convincing the United Nations that Southern Cameroon was not economically viable and could only survive by leaning on Nigeria or the Republic of Cameroon, and recklessly steering the Mamfe All Party Conference of August 1959 to ensure that the parties did not achieve consensus[5]. In fact, the British wanted Southern Cameroons to gain independence in association with Nigeria. Consequently, the two questions adopted for the plebiscite were:

1. Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Federation of Nigeria?

                                               OR

2. Do you wish to achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroun?

Southern Cameroonians were apprehensive of this move and put pressure on John Ngu Foncha to lead a delegation to London in November 1960 to include the option of independence as a separate political entity. The request was rejected. Nevertheless, according to United Nations Resolution 1541(XV) Principles VII and VIII, Southern Cameroons was qualified to achieve independence either through association or integration which “should be on the basis of complete equality between the peoples of the erstwhile Non-Self-Governing Territory and those of the independent country with which it is integrated. The peoples of both territories should have equal status and rights”. It was with this understanding that on the 11^th of February 1961 British Southern Cameroons voted to join French Cameroun while British Northern Cameroons voted to join the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Foumban Conference of 17^th– 21^st July 1961 agreed broadly what the “marriage” between the two Cameroons was going to look like. The Yaoundé Tripartite Conference of 2^nd-7^th August 1961 put this agreement in legal form. Worthy of note here is the fact that the draft 1961 Constitution was never presented to the Southern Cameroons House of Chiefs (SCHC) and the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly(SCHA) for deliberation and approval as should have been the case. Further, it was signed by President Ahidjo on the 1^stof September 1961 as President of the Republic of Cameroon when the Federal Republic of Cameroon had not yet come into existence. Be it as it may, the two territories came together in this union as a Federation of East Cameroon and West Cameroon (1961 Constitution, Article 1-1)[6].

 In September 1966, all the political parties went into dissolution to form one party in the Federal Republic of Cameroon (the Cameroon National Union), giving birth to one party rule. In 1968, Honourable Solomon Tandeng Muna was appointed to replace Honourable Augustine Ngom Jua without the required Parliamentary endorsement and in contravention of the law which did not permit Muna to handle the posts of Federal Vice President and Prime Minister of the State of West Cameroon concomitantly. Southern Cameroonians saw these moves as dictatorial and undemocratic. They had come from a multi-party democratic society where free debate, alliances, consensus, and respect for the Constitution were the accepted modus operandi. 

Referendum of 20^th May 1972

While West Cameroonians were still bracing themselves for life in a political dispensation which they regarded as imposed on them by circumstances beyond their control and struggling to cope with the manoeuvres of President Ahmadou Ahidjo, he proposed a Constitution that would make the Federal Republic a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. As we all know, in those days it was politically unwise and even unsafe to hold and express views different from those of the President on any issue, and so there was no public debate on the constitution. This constitution was voted on in a national referendum organized and conducted by the Cameroon National Union (CNU), by now the sole political party in the Republic. The results show that the overwhelming majority of the electors in East and West Cameroon voted in favour of a unitary state. Looking back at what happened, many Anglophone Cameroonians now believe that this was the high-water mark of Ahidjo’s deceit and manipulation of West Cameroonians, and some have linked the birth of separatist movements in Anglophone Cameroon to this referendum. 

Subsequent Constitutional Amendments

Three years later, the Constitution was amended to include the post of Prime Minister, appointed by the President. Following another amendment in 1979 the Prime Minister would be the constitutional successor of the President of the Republic.In 1984, a constitutional amendment changed the country’s name from the United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon. In the eyes of West Cameroonians, Law No 84-1 of 4 February 1984, was incontrovertible evidence that the original intentions of our Francophone brothers and sisters were to absorb Southern Cameroon and not to treat with it as equals. After thirty-threeyears of union, we had all ended up as citizens of the Republic of Cameroon or East Cameroon.

The Anglophone Problem

It should be clear, from the brief historical sketch presented above, what the crux of the so-called Anglophone Problem is. No matter what some self-appointed elite and spokespersons for Anglophone Cameroonians as well as government Ministers say in public, the participation of various strata of the population and the growing popularity of separatist movements among young and older members of the Anglophone community demonstrates that there is an Anglophone Problem.  There is a consciousness among Anglophone Cameroonians that all is not well and something needs to be done about their plight.

What it is

The Anglophone Problem is:

1. The failure of successive governments of Cameroon, since 1961, to respect and implement the articles of the Constitution that uphold and safeguard what British Southern Cameroons brought along to the Union in 1961.
2. The flagrant disregard for the Constitution, demonstrated by the dissolution of political parties and the formation of one political party in 1966, the sacking of Jua and the appointment of Muna in 1968 as the Prime Minister of West Cameroon, and other such acts judged by West Cameroonians to be unconstitutional and undemocratic
3. The cavalier management of the 1972 Referendum which took out the foundational element (Federalism) of the 1961 Constitution.
4. The 1984 Law amending the Constitution, which gave the country the original East Cameroon name (The Republic of Cameroon) and thereby erased the identity of the West Cameroonians from the original union. West Cameroon, which had entered the union as an equal partner, effectively ceased to exist.
5. The deliberate and systematic erosion of the West Cameroon cultural identity which the 1961 Constitution sought to preserve and protect by providing for a bi-cultural federation.

The Management of the Anglophone Problem

It is our conviction that the Anglophone Problem would have been solved, or at least mitigated, if it had been well managed by those concerned. A lack of proper management seems to be what has aggravated the problem.

The Government and Government Ministers

It is unfortunate to note that the government of Cameroon seems to have made every attempt to downplay or even deny the existence of an Anglophone Problem. Government Ministers (even those of former West Cameroon extraction) have denied the existence of any such problem in the media and in public speeches. Furthermore, it is widely believed in Anglophone Cameroon that government has consciously created divisions among the English-speaking elite, remunerating some allies with prestigious positions in the state apparatus previously reserved for Francophones only, and repressing all actions designed to improve on the status of Anglophone Cameroonians in the union. This seems to have been proven true in the recent unrests by the utterances of government Ministers in the Press Conference on CRTV, in the dispatch of an Anglophone Elite delegation to the Northwest Region, and in the brutal suppression of protests by certain professional groups and sections of the Northwest and Southwest Regions.

Secessionist Groups

In the face of this denial of the existence of an Anglophone Problem by government and the consequent deafening silence from the government to the cries and protests of Anglophone Cameroonians, certain groups have emerged in Anglophone Cameroon that call for the secession of Anglophone from Francophone Cameroon. The Southern Cameroons Youth League, the Southern Cameroons National Council, and the Ambazonia Movement are some of the most strident of these groups and are currently members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) in The Hague.

Federalists

There are different forms of federalism, and federalists in Anglophone Cameroon will differ as to the specific nature of the federal state they would want. However, they are all agreed that they do require a federation which recognises and preserves the region’s peculiarity, as did the 1961 Federal Constitution.

Unitarists

Successive amendments to the Constitution up to and including the Amendments of 1996 insist on the fact that Cameroon is one and indivisible (Article 1-2, 1996). Cameroon is described as a decentralised unitary state. Unitarists believe that everything must be done to avoid federalism or secession. However, even the decentralisation announced by the 1996 Constitution has not been implemented, and government and administration have been highly centralised.

Symptoms of Discontent

What some people mistake for the Anglophone Problem are just symptoms pointing to the fact that an overwhelming majority of Anglophone Cameroonians are not happy in the union which they entered with East Cameroon in 1961. They have complained against widespread and systematic marginalisation in various areas of public life which point to the existence of a huge problem. Some of these symptoms include the following:

Marginalisation in Human Resource Development and Deployment

1. Anglophone Cameroonians have complained about the fact that National Entrance Examinations into Schools that develop the human resources of this country are set per the French Subsystem of Education which makes it very difficult for Anglophones and Francophones to compete on a level playing field. Majority of the membership of these Examination Boards are Francophone so that the interests of Anglophone candidates are hardly, if ever, protected.
2. Out of the five Ministries concerned with Education, which is the means of the transmission of culture, none of the Minsters is Anglophone and none even qualifies to be a deputy or Secretary of State. This gives the impression of a calculated attempt to kill Anglophone culture.
3. In human resource deployment, there is a gaping inequality in the distribution of posts of responsibility between Anglophones and Francophones. Of the 36 Ministers who defended the budgets for the Ministries last month, only one was Anglophone. In addition, there seem to be key ministries that have been reserved for Francophone Ministers only and Anglophones do not even qualify to be Secretaries of State under them. These include, but are not limited to, Defence, Finance, Territorial Administration, and Economy.
4. In the 1961 Constitution, the Vice President was the second most important personality in state protocol. Today, the Prime Minister (appointed Anglophone) is the fourth most important person in State Protocol, after the President of the Senate and the President of the National Assembly. Even so, Anglophone Cameroonians believe that he wields no real authority and, like was the case with J.N. Foncha as First National Vice President of the CPDM, finds it “impossible to use [his] exalted position to help in any way shape or influence the policies of the party and nation.”[7]  There are clearly Francophone ministers who wield more power than he does. This seems to have been proven true in the last Teachers’ strike. When the Prime Minister was in Bamenda negotiating with the Teachers’ Union Leaders, a group of Francophone Ministers were giving a Press Conference in Yaoundé on the same issue, giving the impression that the negotiations of the PM in Bamenda were of no consequence.

The Treatment of the English Language

There have been widespread protests about the way the English Language has been treated in the public life of the nation.

1. State institutions produce documents and public notices in French, with no English translation, and expect English speaking Cameroonians to read and understand them.
2. National Entrance Examinations into some professional schools are set in French only and Anglophone candidates are expected to answer them. Sometimes this happens even in the English-speaking regions.
3. Visitors and clients to government offices are expected to express themselves in French, even in the English-speaking regions, since most of the bosses in the offices speak French and make no effort to speak English.
4. Most Senior Administrators and members of the Forces of Law and Order in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are French-speaking and make no effort to understand the cultures and customs of the people they are appointed to govern.
5. Members of Inspection Teams, Missions and Facilitators for Seminars sent from the Ministries in Yaoundé to the English-speaking Regions are generally predominantly French speaking, and expect to be understood by audiences which are predominantly English speaking.
6. The Military Tribunals in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are basically French courts.
7. Basic Finance documents which businesses and other institutions are expected to work with are all in French. Examples include the COBAC Code, the CIMA Code and the OHADA Code.

The Flooding of Anglophone Cameroon with Francophone Administrators and Workers

Apart from the fact that Ministers, Directors General, Heads of Parastatals, Senior Divisional Officers, Heads of Law Enforcement Institutions, etc. are disproportionately Francophone, there seems to have been a conscious effort made to flood the Northwest and Southwest Regions with Francophone Heads of Service.

1. The Magistrates in these Regions are disproportionately Francophone. So are the Senior Divisional Officers, the Divisional Officers, Commissioners, and Commandants. In the educational sectors, there are increasingly Francophone principals posted to Anglophone schools. Personnel in Hospitals, Banks and Mobile Telephone Companies (even those which originate from Anglophone countries), are predominantly Francophone. And this extends to even non-expert workers in petrol stations.
2. The situation is aggravated by the fact that these Francophone administrators are often overbearing, very arrogant and treat people as if they were second-class citizens, and have no iota of respect for the dignity of the human person.

Mismanagement of ‘West Cameroon’ Patrimony

Apart from neglect of infrastructure in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon and the mismanagement and ruin of buoyant companies like Cameroon Bank, West Cameroon Marketing Board, WADA in Wum, West Cameroon Cooperative Movement, etc., oil revenues are alleged to be used by those in power to feed ‘the bellies’ of their allies, and to stimulate the economy in other regions. In addition, there is also great anxiety in Anglophone Cameroon that its major agro-industrial enterprises, especially the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) and Plantations Pamol du Cameroun Ltd (Pamol), are sold or their headquarters moved elsewhere.

The ‘Francophonisation’ of the English Educational Subsystem and the Common-Law System

The flooding of state Anglophone educational and legal institutions with French-trained and French speaking Cameroonians who understand neither our educational subsystem nor the English Common Law undermines Anglophone education and legal heritage and subverts the original intentions of the founders of the nation to build a bi-cultural nation, respecting the specificity of each region. This is the cause of the current strikes by common law lawyers and teachers.

Admissions into State Professional Schools

The exclusion of qualified Anglophones in admissions into state professional schools (especially Schools of Administration, Medicine and Medical Sciences and Higher Teacher Training) even in the Anglophone Regions is a glaring example of marginalisation which the Teachers Unions cited.

These, and many others, have led to the unease and discomfort of the people of the Northwest and Southwest Regions. They perceived this marginalisation as institutionalised as they have been labelled “Biafrans”, “enemies in the house” and “traitors” by highly placed government officials and ministers who were never reprimanded for doing so.

Gradual Erosion of Anglophone Identity

There has been a misleading argument from some quarters where some have argued that an Anglophone is anyone who can speak English, as a way of countering Anglophone Cameroonians who protest the issues we have enumerated above. It might be helpful, for the purposes of our presentation and future discourse, to note here that ‘Anglophonism’ goes beyond the mere ability to speak or understand the English language. It speaks to a core of values, beliefs, customs, and ways of relating to the other inherited from the British who ruled this region from 1916 to 1961. ‘Anglophonism’ is a culture, a way of being which cannot be transmitted by merely learning a language. In fact, as Dr. Anthony Ndi intimates, Southern Cameroonians had “a distinctive outlook and way of life that went further than the mere fact that the educated ones among them spoke the English Language or a version of it. So, therefore, language could not even be the qualifying factor”.[8] This Anglophone identity is the reason most Southern Cameroonians who voted to join the Republic of Cameroon in 1961 did so. It was to preserve their cultural identity as a distinct people.

Anglophone Cameroonians are slowly being asphyxiated as every element of their culture is systematically targeted and absorbed into the Francophone Cameroon culture and way of doing things. These include the language, the educational system, the system of administration and governance (where appointed leaders are sent to lord it over people who cherish elected leaders), the legal system, and a transparent democratic process where elected leaders are answerable to the electorate who put them there in the first place.

Anglophone Cameroonians have seen through this and are raising their voices in protest. The two All Anglophone Conferences (AAC I and II) of the early 1990s, the rise and popularity of the SCNC and other secessionist voices are born of the frustration of Anglophone Cameroonians of being ignored and ridiculed for asking for what they deem to be theirs by right, namely the preservation of their culture. You would remember that, in his resignation letter from the post of first Vice President of the CPDM on the 9^th of June 1990, J.N. Foncha cited in point 9 of the letter, as a reason for resigning, the fact that the constitution was “in many respects being ignored and manipulated”.

A Natural Reaction

The reaction of Anglophone Cameroonians to preserve their culture can only be described as ‘natural’. Is it any surprise that the first Opposition party that forced the door open for multi-partyism in Cameroon, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), came from Anglophone Cameroon? Following the formation of the party, the architect who brought Southern Cameroonians into the union with the Republic of Cameroon, John Ngu Foncha, resigned in disillusionment as the First Vice-President of the CPDM. He explained:

The Anglophone Cameroonians whom I brought into the union have been ridiculed and referred to as ‘les Biafrians’, ‘les ennemies dans la maison’, ‘les traitres’ etc., and the constitutional provisions which protected this Anglophone minority have been suppressed, their voice drowned while the rule of the gun replaced the dialogue which the Anglophones cherish very much.[9]

This is not to say that we do not see the other side of the argument. In any polity formed bytwo or more ethnic, cultural, religious, or linguistic groups, there is bound to be a majority versus minority problem. In any such situation, the wise thing to do would be to make constitutional provisions which would protect and safeguard the existence and rights of the minority, rather than trample on them. The Church teaches that “not even the majority of a social body may violate these rights, by going against the minority, by isolating, oppressing, or exploiting it, or by attempting to annihilate it.”[10]Cameroon prides itself as a state of law. In this area, she is at one with the Church which teaches that society should be organised on the principle of the “rule of law”. This is the principle “in which the law is sovereign, and not the arbitrary will of individuals”[11]So, apart from the plethora of issues which enhance Anglophone disaffection with the union, there is the additional problem that they are a minority in that union.

Proposed Way Forward

It is not for us to dictate to the Cameroonian people what form the government of this countryshould take or what solutions should be provided for the problems we have highlighted. The Church respects the legitimate autonomy of the democratic order and is not entitled to express preferences for this or that institutional or constitutional solution. Her contribution to the political order is precisely her vision of the dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the mystery of the Incarnate Word[12]. That notwithstanding, we feel obliged in conscience as the religious and moral leaders in this part of the country, who exercise care over a people who are hurting, to propose the following lines of action which, hopefully, should lead to peace and harmony among our people.

Honesty in the face of the Anglophone Problem

One of the most disingenuous things any enlightened Cameroonian, talk less of educated Cameroonian of Anglophone upbringing, can do is to deny that there is an Anglophone Problem. If former French President, Jacques Chirac, the Commonwealth, the European Union, and many others have recognised that there is an Anglophone Problem and advised that the government of Cameroon and the discontented Anglophones engage in dialogue, how can Cameroonians deny that there is a problem? To play the ostrich and bury our heads in the sand is to sow disaster for the future of the nation we all love. It is to give way to extremist tendencies in the Anglophone community born of frustration at not being listened to or understood. Is it possible that the government has not heard the cries of distress of the All Anglophone Conferences which represented a broad base of Anglophone Cameroonians? Is it possible that the government has not heard the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), the Common-Law Lawyers, the Teachers’ Trade Unions, Students, and others who are not only uncomfortable but are choking under the present dispensation?

Is it possible for us to look this beast in the eye, confront it together and overcome it for the sake of peace and unity in our country? The government’s continued denial of any Anglophone Problem, and its determination to defend the unitary state by all available means, including repression, could lead to an escalation of Anglophone demands past a point of no return, and this is not something any responsible citizen would wish for their country.

The All Anglophone Conferences (AAC) of 1993 and 1994

In May1993, the 65-member Anglophone Standing Committee established by the AAC submitted a draft constitution which would provide for major political, financial, and fiscal autonomy for the two federated states, for the provinces inside both, and for the communities inside each province. Theyproposed the usual separation of powers between the executive, legislative, and judiciary, and a senate and national assembly for each federated state, as well as a rotating presidency for the Federal Republic, whereby after at most two consecutive mandates of five years an Anglophone would succeed a Francophone (or vice versa). This proposal was even reiterated for each of the federated states to ensure alternation between the provinces. This would be for us a lasting solution to the irksome Anglophone Problem, and would be acceptable to the majority of Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians.

The Implementation of the 1996 Constitution

We know there is never a perfect constitution and that is the reason why constitutions are amended to make them responsive to changes in time and situation. The 1996 Constitution, even though some have had issues with sections of it, is good enough as an immediate remedy for the ‘woes’ Anglophones are listing and which make life together in this nation burdensome to them. As the second-best option, we recommend an urgent and immediate implementation of the 1996 Constitution. We recommend that all the institutions created by that constitution be put in place, and that those put in place be empowered with persons charged with rendering them functional. This would include the Regions, the Senate and, by extension, the constitutional council, administrative courts, the minor courts of accounting/auditing. It is important for Cameroonians, especially those who seek protection under the ‘rule of law’ and of the Constitution, to know that the constitution has really been deployed as a means of regulating the political process in Cameroon. It is our firm belief that if this is done immediately, it would satisfy the majority of Anglophone Cameroonians and silence the calls for secession which have characterized this period of unrest.

Constructive Dialogue and the Establishment of a Roadmap

In the short term and, because the Lawyers and Teachers Strikes have paralysed our legal and school systems, it is imperative for the government to dialogue with the Lawyers and Teachers as soon as possible and agree a possible roadmap regarding their legitimate and genuine demands. We cannot solve a problem if we are unwilling to talk to each other. In the spirit of the African family, we would expect the father of the family to find out from a hurting (even if errant) child what the problem is and what they can do to alleviate their pain and suffering. There are a good number of the problems raised by our lawyers and teachers which can be solved now and there are others which can be solved later, but we need to agree a roadmap and respect it. This will enable the Teachers’ Unions to call off the strike and permit our children, who have already lost four weeks of schooling, to return to school. Indeed, openness to dialogue and to cooperation is required of all people of good will, and in particular of individuals and groups with specific responsibilities in the areas of politics, economics and social life, at both the national and international levels[13].

Respect for Human Rights

While it is the duty of administrative and law enforcement officers to maintain peace and order in their areas of jurisdiction, many of them have been unnecessarily overbearing and arrogant. Issuing orders and threats for teachers to return to school, for instance, is not the way to solve their problem. Further, the current unrests have shown up a very ugly and embarrassing side of our administrators and the forces of law and order. Without any provocation from the lawyers or students at the University of Buea (who carried placards saying ‘No to Violence’ and raised their hands in the air), the forces of law and order brutalized some of them so badly and so inhumanely that seeing the pictures one would have thought they came from the Stone Age. It was shameful to see law enforcement officers drag female students in the mud, spray students’ rooms with tear-gas and contaminated water, and then lock some up for days just for exercising a basic human right to make their voices heard in a peaceful manner.

The Church teaches that

“A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent dignity of the human person… Every political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of each human being over society… For this reason, neither his life nor the development of his thought, nor his good, nor those who are part of his personal and social activities can be subjected to unjust restrictions in the exercise of their rights and freedom.”[14]

Our administrators and the forces of law and order need to be called to order. In the exercise of their duties for the common good of all citizens, they must never trample on the rights of those citizens and deal out subhuman treatment to them. Such behaviour contravenes the law and provides a seedbed for deep resentment which later manifests itself in very ugly ways.

It is in light of this that we propose that the government should immediately withdraw the forces of law and order from the streets of the Anglophone towns to which they have been deployed, open proper investigations into any abuses of human rights by the forces of law and order, and release or charge those who have been locked up as a result of the recent unrests. In this way, we would have a better climate for the negotiations which have been proposed between the government and the teachers and lawyers.

Justice for All

Every Anglophone group that has raised its voice in protest has chronicled a number of perceived injustices which either the group or the Anglophone community in general suffers. Again, if the government gives them a listening ear, it would become clear to all whether these perceived injustices are founded or just imaginary. As long as these people, rightly or wrongly, continue to feel that they are the victims of injustice, we cannot build ‘the Island of Peace’ in Central and West Africa we have been proclaiming that we are, and we cannot develop our country without this peace either. We do not believe, in conscience, that locking up people who speak up against injustice (real or imagined) will kill dissent and bring peace. Maybe some examples will help clarify the point we are making.

On the 14^th of December 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr. made a statement outside a California prison where Vietnam war protesters were being held. He said: There can be no justice without peace and there can be no peace without justice.On the World Day for Peace, 1^st January 1972, Pope Paul VI had as theme for his Message: if you want peace, work for justice. These great crusaders for social justice teach us that without justice, peace will be an elusive goal.

Of course, you would remember the Apostolic Visit of Pope St. John Paul II to Cameroon in August 1985. In his Address to the President, Constituted Bodies, and the Members of the Diplomatic Corps, he said:

« Devant les conflits qui demeurent ou renaissent, tout le monde doit se poser honnêtement la question de leurs causes. Les injustices commises par certains régimes, concernant les droits de l’homme en général ou les revendications légitimes d’une partie de la population qui se voit refuser la participation aux responsabilités communes, déclenchent des soulèvements d’une violence regrettable, mais qui ne pourront être apaisés qu’avec le rétablissement de la justice. »

These examples show that we need to examine, in a dispassionate manner, the root causes of the unease and unrest in the Anglophone Region of Cameroon and, if these causes are connected to injustice in any form, do all we can to root out those injustices.

Conclusion

Your Excellency,

We stated at the beginning of this Memorandum that it is our bounden duty as Shepherds of the people in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon where there are unrests and dissatisfaction, to make a contribution to the solution of the problems that have been posed. We hope that you will find our contribution helpful as you try to navigate this very sensitive and delicate period in our nation’s history. We are aware of the gravity of your responsibility before the people of Cameroon and before History, and that is why we tried to do all we could to help. In addition, we commend you and the people of Cameroon to God in prayer, in the belief that He will give you the wisdom you need to carry out this task. We can only add that in this case, time is of the essence as some of our children have already missed school for a month.

A certain religious leader is credited to have said: There really can be no peace without justice. There can be no justice without truth. And there can be no truth, unless someone rises up to tell you the truth.What we have set forth here is what we believe to be the truth, told as part of our prophetic mission, in the hope that it will bring justice, peace, and harmony to this country which we all hold dear to our hearts.

May Mary, Queen of Peace, and Patroness of Cameroon, intercede for us and for our country.

+George Nkuo                                                                         +Cornelius Fontem Esua

Bishop of Kumbo and                                                               Archbishop of Bamenda

President of BAPEC                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

+Immanuel Bushu                                                                     +Andrew Nkea

Bishop of Buea                                                             Bishop of Mamfe

+Agapitus Nfon                                                                       

Bishop of Kumba                                                                    

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[1] The territory which covers the Northwest and Southwest Regions has been called various names in the History of Cameroon: British Southern Cameroons, West Cameroon, Anglophone (English-speaking) Cameroon. These names will be used in this document as appropriate to the historical period in question.

[2] Gaudium et Spes, No. 76

[3]  Ngoh, J. V., (2011:4), The Untold Story of Cameroon Reunification: 1955-1961, Limbe, Presprint Plc.

[4] Mukete, V. E., 2013:419, My Odyssey: The Story of Cameroon Reunification With Authentic Letters of Key Players, Yaounde, Sopecam.

[5] Ndi, A., (2013:6) Southern West Cameroon Revisited (1950-1972): Unveiling Inescapable Traps, Volume 1, Bamenda, Paul’s Press.

[6]  Constitution reproduced in: Ndi, A. (2013), Southern West Cameroon Revisited (1950-1972): Unveiling Inescapable Traps, Volume 1, Bamenda, Paul’s Press. See Appendix IV

[7] J.N. Foncha, 9^th June 1990: Letter of Resignation from the CPDM

[8] Ndi, A., (2005:249-50), Mill Hill Missionaries in Southern West Cameroon (1922-1972): Prime Partners in Nation Building, Paulines Publications Africa, Nairobi.

[9] J.N.  Foncha, 9^th June 1990: Letter of Resignation from the CPDM

[10] John Paul II, Centissimus Annus, No. 45.

[11] John Paul II, Centissimus Annus, No. 44.

[12] John Paul II, Centissimus Annus, No. 47.

[13] John Paul II, Centissimus Annus, No. 60

[14] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Teaching of the Church, Nos 128, 133

Reverend Father Etienne Khumba who transitioned into the eternal glory of the Lord on 19 September 2021, like Stephen in the Holy Bible, was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”( Acts of the Apostles, 6:2 v.5) . It pleased the Lord whom he served with unreserved tenacity to call him home to eternal rest for the glory of His Holy name. Alleluia! Amen.

It is hard to pontificate on the life and times of Father Etienne, because he was a total man of God at the service of the Lord.   His life and times do not therefore need pontification. I will therefore leave pontification and medals of honour to the occasion of the death of politicians whom their earthly political leaders, peers and lackeys often rely on to attempt to counter the reality of the parable of the rich fool. Mathew.19: 16-30, Mark 10: 17-31 Luke 18: 18-30.

Father Etienne was neither a politician, a cleric-politician nor a rich fool. He was a servant of the Lord, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a fervent spirit of true justice and the truth. With all the frailty of an ordinary human, I will attempt to offer the following humbling words in honour of a man whom I know for sure was indeed “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”, so help me God.

He has bequeathed to humanity, a life of faith and service which will remain indelible for our living memories and those of generations unborn.  Father Etienne transcended constraining barriers to reach out for all souls who were in need of the healing WORD of the Lord which were ordained by the Lord Himself. (Mathew 10: 1 – 1  “He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of disease”. He did so in total respect of the injunction” at Mt 10 v.8, “Freely you have received, freely give”).

In this ministry, he was conscious of the fact that he needed faith in the Lord and the  power of the Holy Spirit to realize the Devine Biblical injunction within a Church of God which St John Paul II described as perfect but which is nevertheless a Church of Saints and Sinners.  He was aware of and did encounter strong opposition in carrying out this ministry but did not relent as long as his faith in the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit guided his actions and the needs of God’s people for spiritual guidance, help and healing. His faith, the Holy Spirit and the order of the Lord, “freely you received, freely give”, were his staying power until he was called home to the Lord whom he loved and served. 

Those who strongly opposed this ministry, whom they wrongly perceived as a social function of the Church as opposed to a Biblical function which the Lord gave to the Apostles, as well as persons who were ordained with this same missionary authority, did not know then that floodgates of blasphemy would open for quacks and profiteers to enrich themselves, professing to possess power over the sick, possessed souls, power mongers, fortune seekers and adventurers of all manner. They did not anticipate the extent to which this category of individuals would supplant ordained ministers of the Word of the Lord, and draw away from established churches, millions of Christians who genuinely sought spiritual help for their health needs, social and religious direction. They have realized the need on a stampede, confusion and chaos caused by their paucity of faith, lack of vision, purposeful biblical enquiry sensitivity to the condition of Christians entrusted to their care. These are spiritual matters requiring profound interpersonal prayers and relationship with the Lord.  What went wrong?

 The prevalence of mental health challenges, spiritual challenges and social problems afflicting Christians and non-Christians in our society is troubling. Yet, a majority of victims are not even aware of the fact that they may be suffering from these conditions with devastating impact on them, their families and the community at large.  Although many established Churches already had hospitals and social services to provide therapy to the victims of some of these challenges, thousands of clerics who may themselves be suffering from these challenges may not know until the situation leads to cases to suicide ideation or other traumatic experiences before they seek professional help. Some of the situations may be due to spiritual attacks arising from varying situations in life and even evil spirits which are out to destroy.

The complexity of the situations and the lethal nature of these conditions require engaged clerics who are full of faith and the Holy Spirit to lead and help the people of God in their spiritual, mental and physical healing and wellbeing, so that the bodies of God’s people serve as the temple of the Lord for which they were intended.   Father Etienne fully understood and embraced this mission of the Lord.

The clamour for positions and the administration of Church funds has been known to be one of the bane of the missionary mandates of many clerics. He was not distracted by the obstacles he encountered as a minister in the Church of Lord while serving the people of God. He sought no personal wealth, position, personal glory, or easy life of luxury.  He told me that he did not take Church money for himself and that even during times of his travails; he kept complete accurate accounts and records of all Church money which came into his custody. I knew about this because, His Lordship Bishop Lysinge (then Father Lysinge) and I intermittently, acted as confidential peace facilitators during the painful so-called Bojongo crisis.  His Lordship Bishop George Nkwo ( then Fr George Nkwo)  who provided spiritual help to needy Christians and played a very positive rule in crisis management, met me at the Bishop House in Soppo one morning when I came to see the Bishop shortly before rushing to the airport to fly out of the country. 

Father Etienne did not seek retribution and bore no rancour against any of his peers or anyone whatsoever, for what was done or not done against him. He perceived his stand as actuated by the adherence to his faith, his mission as an ordained cleric, and the guidance he received from the Holy Spirit. Some persons perceived the problem as a social, administrative or even political problem. More opportunistic and sycophantic persons perceived and used the crisis as ladders to attain personal ambitions and objectives. 

In the end, Bishop Pius Awah and Father Etienne thought all of us, that it is unwise to get blindly involved a disagreement between a father and a son.  The presence of retired Bishop Awah on a wheel Chair during the funeral celebration of the deceased father of Father Etienne’s father in Bolifamba Mile 16 brought tears in the eyes of most of the people present.  The news went viral worldwide.  In the end, it was the lesson of the public appearance of father and son during that occasion, which God chose to manifest the magnanimity of his love that has endured than the acrimony that arose on a disagreement on a fundamental matter of faith and mission of the Church.

Father Etienne affirmed at all times, that the healing powers of all ministers of the Word of God were ordained by the Lord. He explained that the Lord in the Holy Bible gave the mandate and conditions under which the mandate must be executed. Anything which is inconsistent with the mandate of the Lord contained in the Holy Bible and in accordance with Faith and the Holy Spirit is not of the Lord. He was resolute about this until the end. 

I met him a number of times in the United States of America.  The first time was during a heavily attended birthday ceremony which was organized for him in Maryland which was attended by many persons from the USA and Canada. The sheer number of persons in attendance and the memorable sermon he gave on that occasion was very touching.   I met him again when he came over to California and was at St Mathias Catholic Church Laham Maryland. I invited him to have a dinner with my family.  We spent about three hours together during which time, he told me how grateful he was, with Bishop Emmanuel Bushu who granted him permission to pursue a very rare specialised course in counselling in a Jesuit University in California. He was grateful for the advice and support of Bishop George Nkuo as well as the support which a distinguished Jesuit Priest in Douala Father Nkeng gave him during moments of dire need in his priestly mission.  He told me that he appreciated the assistance that Arch Bishop Andrew Nkea, then Bishop of Mamfe, gave him during a visit in the US. They both met during the ordination of Reverend Father Achanyi as a Priest of the Diocese of New York.

While in the USA Father Etienne mended many broken matrimonial relationships, counseled people of all nationalities and preached the Holy Word of God in many Churches and occasions.  He healed, counseled, preached and served.  His strength came from his fullness of faith and in the Holy Spirit.  Every person who approached him for healing will related that Father Etienne said that it was God, and God alone who is the ultimate healer, but the afflicted person should have faith in the Lord. He provided special prayers for the personal circumstances of each afflicted person directly from the Holy Bible, and both of them prayed and fast for the healing which often occurred to the glory of the Lord.

He advised me to pray as often as I could at least three times a day because, every time we pray, we invite the angels of the Lord who are always present whenever we call on the name of the Lord. When we sin, they withdraw.  I learned about guardian angels during my catechism days in primary school but did not learn about the circumstances under which they perform the mission assigned to them by God in my life. I did so many years after, through Father Etienne. How many people are conscious of this simple, reality?  We need clerics such as Father Etienne to counsel, and guide us how to sustain the presence of the Holy Spirit of God and the angels of the Lord around us, our homes and communities.  This how we can really keep the devil at bay and in trouble all the time.

A moving moment in our discussion came when I told him how his late mother supported me when I was completing my primary school education in Catholic School Laduma CDC Mukonje Estate. Father Etienne was her only child. She treated me as her own child in the CDC harsh environment.  When we met in Maryland, our both mothers had departed this world to meet God the Creator, leaving us their offspring to continue the spirit of love and service in which they raised us. Father Etienne joined them with a teaming record number of ancestors who preceded them yesterday.

With the death of Father Etienne, the Royal Family of Fontem has lost yet another distinguished son two weeks after we  lost another cousin Dr George Atem (Ndi Nkem Atem Asong) on September 7, 2021). This is the sovereign will of God who created them and indeed all of us for his eternal glory. We bow to His will therefore with all humility and pray for a reprieve, good health and protection over all members of this royal family. 

May Father Etienne’s record of service in the fullness of faith and the Holy spirit within the Church and the world at large is greatly appreciated.  He will be missed but his service in the house of the Lord will live forever. May his soul rest in peace

By Chief Charles A. Taku

Presbyterian pastors of Bali origin have called on Ambazonia Restoration Forces to lift the ban on activities of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC.

The plea is contained in an emotional epistle to the Southern Cameroons Self Defense group in Bali written on behalf of Presbyterian pastors of Bali origin by Rev. Babila George Fochang (President) and Rev. Elvis Voma (Secretary).

On September 4, 2021, Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Bali Subdivision banned all activities of the PCC on grounds that the leadership of the church failed to blame the Francophone dominated Cameroon military for the August 22 incident at PC Ntanfoang which left a Christian death and the parish pastor injured.

On Sunday, September 5, 2021, the PCC Moderator Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba asked all pastors to leave Bali.

However, Rev. Babila George Fochang and Rev. Elvis Voma in a letter to the separatist fighters said the Church is a Divine institution in the hands of men with errors and flaws.

As such, they prayed that “the Holy Spirit should guide us to be careful that we do not throw the bathwater together with the child. May the Holy Spirit also help those who placed the ban and soften their hearts towards a reversal of their decision.”

Below is the entirety of the letter titled, “The Stance of PCC Bali Pastors on the Recent Happenings in Bali Nyonga”.

“In times like these, we the people of Bali, sharing our identity, culture and feeling the pains of times together, have the challenge to seek God’s face and make our community what we would want posterity to say of us. As the Scripture says:

“We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body…”(II Cor. 4:8-10).

“These words of Paul to the Christians at Corinth kind of comforts us that others have had similar challenges like the ones we are facing today as the Christians of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) in Bali subdivision.

“Our faith is being tested to see how as a people we remain steadfast in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Let us make a difference in the midst of the trials and rise more mature instead of being downcast. We are the ones to make our place better and we should stand tall for that goal as a people of one common ancestry.

“Way back during the First World War, British soldiers entered Bali on October 21, 1915. They captured the Basel missionaries and interned them on October 23rd.

“From then on, the Christians in Bali suffered great persecution.

“The church house was locked and the keys were given to the Divisional Officer in Bamenda. This did not stop the propagation of the gospel. Mr. Hunt, the Divisional Officer eventually handed back the keys, and Church services recommenced.

“Today we are faced with another harsh reality whereby the PCC Christians of Bali cannot worship in their own houses of worship. The land of Bali deserves better and God alone holds the key to chat a new way forward for us all.

“We pray that the Holy Spirit should guide us to be careful that we do not throw the bathwater together with the child. May the Holy Spirit also help those who placed the ban and soften their hearts towards a reversal of their decision as He did to Mr. Hunt. Our people should have the opportunity to worship the Lord in freedom with the opportunity to make intercession for Bali, the PCC, and the world at large plagued with crises.

“The Church is a Divine institution in the hands of men with errors and flaws. May all Bali people focus on making Bali grow in lips and bounds leaving a good legacy for our progeny.

“Let us, therefore, remember the Christian saints of Bali and the founders of Bali Nyonga now resting beneath the earth and live in forgiveness to one another where we have gone wrong in all ways. We should consider the faith of our kin and reason together for God’s Church doors to be opened, that is, the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon and all her institutions.

“There is no birth without labor pain and Bali is going through labor pain. Though tears may tarry for the night, joy comes in the morning (Cf. Ps 30:5).

“May the innocent blood of Ma Grace bring in greater fruits of righteousness, justice, and peace in Bali. She is thus one of the martyrs of our time and part of History which we cannot deny. Let us as Bali people take our community’s fate into our hands and bring in a rebirth of positive history. The PCC in Bali is for the people living in Bali and we should take it and make it grow despite the stake of time.

“May a new dawn to make peace with God and one another come on Bali Nyonga.

“May God console and speak to all of us in times like these.”

Culled from CIN with additional editing from Camcordnews

Rev Fr. Julius Agbortoko Agbor, Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe and current Vicar General of the Diocese of Mamfe who was kidnapped over the weekend by some unidentified armed men, has been released.

He was freed late on Tuesday following pleas by many Christians and other distinguished personalities including the Cameroon Concord News Group for his unconditional release.

Father Agbortoko, a faithful servant of humanity, was taken to an unknown destination by armed men believed to be separatist fighters, though many observers hold that those who kidnapped him were some rogue elements who have nothing to do with the fighting in the English-speaking regions of the country.

By Fon Lawrence

The Mamfe Roman Catholic Diocese in the South West region asked Monday for prayers for a priest abducted by suspected members of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces defending Manyu territory.

“Kindly join us in praying for the quick and safe release of Rev Fr. Julius Agbortoko Agbor, who was abducted by suspected members of the Ambazonia Restoration Force yesterday August 29, 2021” His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea, told local and international media earlier today.

Rev Fr. Julius Agbortoko Agbor, Priest of the Diocese of Mamfe and current Vicar General of the Diocese of Mamfe was ordained on April 14 2004.

Cameroon Concord News understands he served in various capacities including Parochial Vicar and Parish Priest.   The man of God also studied Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome and was appointed Spiritual Director and Lecturer at the St John Paul II Major Seminary, Bachuo Ntai Mamfe.

In 2018 he was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Mamfe , a position he has occupied till his abduction yesterday August 29, 2021.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files