Ekema Patrick: Dead but the family’s agony lingers! ⁰

The once notorious mayor of Buea in Cameroon’s Southwest region, Patrick Ekema, might have died some six years ago, but his name is still on the lips of many residents of Buea for various reasons.

For the settlers who came from other regions of Cameroon and who could not adapt to the rules of the council, Patrick Ekema who died on October 27, 2019, seemingly of a heart attack, was a vilain who did not deserve to live.

In their view, Ekema was just against them because they held a different political point of view which did not tie in well with Ekema’s political perspective.

But for most natives of Buea, Ekema who belonged to the ruling Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement (CPDM) was simply working according to the dictates of his political party.

The locals who have been gradually reduced to a minority in their own land hold that the Buea Council needed a leader like Ekema Patrick to ensure that there are no land grabs and chaos on the city’s streets.

Over five years after his death, the Cameroon Concord News sent its correspondent, Rita Akana, to Buea to find out what the people of the city of Buea still think of Patrick Ekema of blessed memory.

“I am a small business owner. I deal in construction materials. During Ekema’s time he wanted us to open our shops on Mondays even when the separatist fighters threatened to burn our businesses if we disobeyed them. If we did not open our businesses on Monday, the mayor would seal our shops for a long period of time and this was a challenging period for us. We were caught between the government which wanted us to disrespect the separatist fighters and the separatists who were permanently threatening to burn down our shops,” a business owner in Molyko, Buea, who elected anonymity, said.

“Ekema was a millstone around our necks and many people really wanted him dead, especially the separatist fighters who saw him as someone who was hurting their cause. Many people who were affected by his policies and knew they could not hurt him thought he could be indirectly hurt. I heard that separatist fighters were even targeting his family but it seemed the family was well protected by the military,” he added.

Also speaking to our correspondent was a former separatist fighter, known by his nickname of ‘Dangerboy’ who was based in Fako Division. The fighter, who now keeps a low profile and operates a small business in Buea town said Patrick Ekema was a source of frustration to the separatists.

“Patrick Ekema made sure ghost town operations did not have the desired impact. We were frustrated. We wanted to demonstrate to the Yaounde government that we were in total control of our land and that the population was complying with our instructions,” he said.

“We had on many occasions plotted to take Ekema down but he had very good security around him and his family. We knew that if we hurt either his child or wife, he would have a change of mind. But we never succeeded. When he died, we thought we could take our revenge on his family, but we were told he had moved his family to another country. We were helpless as we could not do anything. I hear the family is either in America or the Canada. It is a good thing that they are out of the country because Ekema had stepped on many toes,” he stressed.

Our correspondent, Rita Akana, also went to the Great Soppo market which was adversely impacted by the separatists’ ghost town operations and a local vegetable saleswoman said she remembered that period which was very stressful.

“The battle between Ekema and the separatists was a very bad moment for us the small traders. Ekema, who was with the government, wanted us to come to the market on Mondays, but the separatists had warned that mondays were days where ‘ghost towns’ had been decreed throughout the two English-speaking regions of the country. We were scared of the separatists but we were also scared of Mayor Ekema Patrick who had the police and military behind him. It was stressful,” she said.

“The separatists wanted to kill Ekema if they had their way but state security was giving him the protection he needed. Many of us were scared for his innocent children and wife. If the separatists could lay their hands on his family, they would not hesitate to take their revenge. I don’t know if Ekema’s family is in Buea or Cameroon, but I pray that they should continue being safe wherever they are. Though things are getting better, it must be pointed out that there are still many bitter separatists who could hurt Ekema’s family if they had that opportunity. It is in the interest of the family to continue hiding wherever it is. The rebellion could be winding down but it is not over. I even hear that there are huge fights within Ekema’s family. I hear the huge house he built for his children has been taken over by his own family. There is a lot happening within the Ekema family too,” she pointed out.

Cameroon Concord News has plans to produce special papers on Ekema on the 6th anniversary of his death. He may be gone, but his family’s agony still lingers. Violence is on the rise in Cameroon and the government’s grip on the country is weakening. The two English-speaking regions of Cameroon may not be in the news as they used to be but security for families considered to be frontline workers of the abhorred government is almost non-existent.

The killings and abductions by separatists and government soldiers are slowly declining but life in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon is very uncertain.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor in Chief