One of the longest-serving Ambazonia separatist commanders in the English-speaking Regions of Cameroon, ‘General RK’, was killed by soldiers of Cameroon’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) on September 23.
Ralph Ngumba, who was popularly known as ‘General RK’, was reportedly killed alongside five other separatist fighters, including his brother and second in command, Njimbeh Jackson, popularly called ‘Colonel Jackson’.
They were killed at their native village, Mbuini, in the Boyo Division of the North West Region.
Diaspora-based Ambazonia leader Capo Daniel said he was ambushed and killed by BIR soldiers.
“General RK died in action. He was killed in Mbuini, his village, where he has his base,” Capo Daniel said in a video posted on YouTube on Sunday.
“He died alongside his brother, ‘Commander Jackson’, who was his second in command, alongside other well-known commanders. They died during an ambush,” he added.
A picture that surfaced online showed his body, and some separatist channels on Facebook confirmed his death.
Before he was killed, ‘General RK’ had been absent from public view for some time, and information circulated that he had abandoned the separatist fight and travelled to Ghana.
Who Was ‘General RK’?
The self-styled ‘General RK’ was the commander of the British Southern Cameroons Resistance Forces (BSCRF), one of several separatist groups fighting across the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon since 2017.
He became popular in 2019 after he staged a flamboyant event on October 1, accompanied by dozens of armed fighters, to celebrate the ‘independence of Ambazonia’, a separate country they aim to carve out of the English-speaking Regions of Cameroon.
He was one of the few separatist fighters who had attained a university education, with some reports claiming that he had obtained a degree in marketing before joining the separatist quest.
Increasing Attacks
‘General RK’ was killed a few days after Cameroon military officers in Kumba, in the South West Region, killed another popular Ambazonia commander, ‘FM Bitter Kola’.
His body was displayed in Kumba, headquarters of the Meme Division, where the military has traditionally displayed bodies of other popular separatist fighters.
Cameroonian soldiers have intensified attacks against separatist groups in the English-speaking regions during the past months, dismantling many of their hideouts.
Earlier this year, they dislodged the hideout of a dreaded separatist commander, ‘No Pity’, in Bambalang, freeing a traditional ruler who had been kidnapped for more than one year.
The increasing use of improvised explosive devices by separatist fighters to target military trucks has also inflicted fatal casualties on Cameroonian forces recently.
