Anglophones in Douala Allegedly Targeted by Police

Anglophone Cameroonians living in Francophone-dominated cities, especially in Douala say they are being targeted by law enforcement officers for varied claims.

While the Anglophone Regions have been plagued by an armed conflict that has now clocked 5 years, many others who have migrated to other parts of the country complain of being haunted by the crisis in their regions by security forces in other regions.

“Anglophones living comfortably in Douala and driving cars like Blade, Runtz, Vitz, etc are the prime targets. The last time they pulled me over and seized my phone and went through my messages. They charged me for money laundering and said I have been receiving money rampantly,” an Anglophone victim in Douala told MMI.

“They detained me and my friends and we had to pay 400,000FCFA to be released. They also said we are the ones funding Amba activities in the Anglophone Regions, ” he added.

Most youths in some Anglophone towns like Buea especially have become prime targets of the security forces. Many youths are often arrested and accused of fraud. A good number of youths have lost lots of money through these means devices by security forces, who do all these without checks and accountability from higher authorities.