Buea: Man arrested for bearing separatist-like name to clock three years in detention soon

A man picked up by the forces of law and order in Cameroon’s South West region three months ago has cried out against the poor treatment given him.

Buea: Man arrested for bearing separatist-like name soon clocks three year months in detention

The father of three was arrested in June 2020, in the town of Ekona.


Amba Denise, as he is called, a worker of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC was picked up weeks ago because of his name. This is as separatist fighters are often referred to as amba (short form for Ambazonian fighters).

At the time of his arrest, Denise cried out saying he wasn’t responsible for the name given to him at birth but the security officers didn’t listen.

His identification documents, as well as a birth certificate, were at the time of arrest, seized by the forces of law and order, and to date have not been returned.

For three months now he has remained behind bars at the Buea Central Prison as his court proceedings drag on.

Without any family to look after him, Denise says his life in the facility is a living hell. In addition to lack of proper feeding, he pleads to be assisted in any way possible by persons of goodwill.

Denise is one of the hundreds, if not thousands, of young Anglophones, languishing behind bars due to the armed conflict in the country. Many continue to be arrested without warrants, and jailed for long periods under deplorable conditions without being charged to court.

Several families have declared some of their loved ones arrested missing, as the government has failed to provide their bodies.