Bamenda UN Chief Exits Cameroon After Ngarbuh Massacre Press Conference

Jack Andrew Pendleton, reports say, has left Cameroon as his tenure with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, UN came to an end.

A day after the Ngarbuh massacre, he had granted a press conference in Bamenda where he said: “I think that the situation needs more verification and I believe that a very serious investigation should begin as soon as possible.”

“This needs to be investigated, this needs to be understood, this needs to stop now…It brings a new dimension into the work because the people in northwest Cameroon are severely traumatized,” he went on.

To Jack Andrew Pendleton, “it becomes a very psychological challenge for any humanitarian to work with all victims and survivors of this conflict because the social economic and psychological impact here in Northwest Cameroon is deep and is broad in anyplace that I have ever worked in 14 war zones around the world.”

While some say the press conference may have played a part in his departure from the country amid threats from government officials, the information has not been confirmed. “Speculations are rife that he must have had some pressure from the government after holding that meeting at 4:30 PM that fateful Saturday,” reported CNA adding that the information cannot be confirmed.

Jack Andrew Pendleton has over thirty years of experience in humanitarian emergency program management, with over twenty-seven years in senior UN coordination roles serving as head of the office and principal liaison officer for host governments.

He has for twelve years served in the UN OCHA, nine years in UNHCR, and eight years in the UN WFP.

Mimi Mefo Info