Anglophones Attacked in Makenene, Properties Burned in Xenophobic Violence

By Tata Mbunwe

People, primarily from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, sustained injuries, their farms vandalized and their warehouses burned, after natives of Makenene in the Centre Region launched attacks reportedly aimed at purging Anglophone non-natives from the area.

Many of the victims are subsistence farmers from the English-speaking North West Region, who have long taken up residence in Makenene.

The roadside town, located in the Mbam-et-Inoubou Division of Cameroon’s Centre Region, is known for is fertile lands favorable for the growth of cocoa and maize.

Video footage and testimonies from victims show warehouses set ablaze, alongside huge quantities of cocoa and maize destroyed.

One man’s two-room farmhouse was torched alongside seven beds and other belongings. His newly constructed house was also set on fire before he could even move in.

A three-minute video seen by MMI shows nothing but destruction, with the voice of a man—believed to be the house owner—lamenting the cost of the violence.

He shows his burnt house and then points to an empty plot covered in ash where he says his maize warehouse once stood.

“There was maize here, not less than 50 bags of maize, which had not been crushed. The maize is gone—50 bags. God have mercy,” he can be heard saying, his voice filled with despair.

He also shows freshly cut cocoa trees near the burnt structure, blaming the vandals for the destruction.

Other video footage seen by MMI shows young maize plants slashed down during the violence, as well as damaged motorbikes.

The violence reportedly began after the Chief of Makene gave Anglophones a June 1, 2025, deadline to vacate the area. Reports say that on June 5, after the deadline passed, the chief led his subjects to attack Anglophone farmers who had failed to leave.

The Cameroon government has remained silent since the attack, which occurred just two weeks after the country celebrated National Day with calls for peace, tolerance, and social cohesion.

The Divisional Officer of Makene Subdivision is said to have visited the sites of the destruction in an attempt to comfort the victims.

However, reports suggest he downplayed the attacks and failed to condemn the violence or call for arrests.

The incident has triggered outrage among Anglophones and civil society advocates, who are calling for justice and an end to xenophobia.

Foremost Cameroonian civil society leader Esther Omam condemned the Makenene attacks as both dangerous and divisive.

“Let us not let hate divide us. Let us not let fear consume us,” she wrote.

“What is happening in Makenene is heartbreaking and dangerous. No Cameroonian should be chased from their home because of where they were born or the language they speak.”

She called for the restoration of peace and the protection of all civilians in Makenene, urging traditional leaders and authorities to take immediate action to diffuse the tensions.

Vocal film promoter Agbor Gilbert also condemned the violence as deplorable, citing long-standing grievances by Anglophone Cameroonians against marginalization by the majority French-speaking government.

“Anglophones have sought peace and equality. But the loud voices spewing this hate are too many to ignore. And let’s be real, Cameroon is a twin nation and the assimilation of Anglophones will never work. The focus here is on this specific, destructive behaviour that’s gone unchecked for too long. We must reject hate, and call out this denigration wherever it shows up. Every region and tribe deserves dignity. Cameroon thrives when we stand together, not apart,” he wrote.

With over 240 ethnic groups, Cameroon’s cultural and linguistic diversity, coupled with political tensions, makes the country prone to xenophobic outbreaks.

Past xenophobic attacks have primarily targeted Anglophones and people from the French-speaking Bamelike tribe.

After a separatist armed conflict started in the country’s two Anglophone Regions, which had massively protested against systemic marginalisation, the government created a consultative body to consolidate national Unity, promote bilingualism and multiculturalism.

However, critics say the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism (NCPBM), created in 2017, has done very little to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Cameroon.

The institution has often been criticised for not actively calling out perpetrators of xenophobia.