Clampdown on Opposition by Biya: Ordeals of arrested CRM militant, Stephane Soh

The young politician who has pledged his allegiance to the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) has been under the knife in the hands of the police ever since he got arrested and his phone confiscated in 2020, Douala.

Upon reports of his arrest making rounds on national mainstream media and social media then, there have been further revelations of the torture and pain that the young CRM politician is going through in the hands of the police.

According to these revelations, Stephane Soh went to the police station on October 1, 2020 following his previous arrest to retrieve his phone which had been confiscated by police alongside his lawyer, Bar Tamfu Richard. His lawyer was brutally turned away and the politician was once more taken by the forces of law into detention.

Acting as instructions had already been given out, he was almost immediately plunged into a serious tirade of torture while seated on the floor handcuffed.

Perhaps most shocking is the degrading, xenophobic, and tribalistic curses directed at him by his torturers: “Dirty Bamileke” was the common slur used on him throughout his time in torture.

Stephane Soh was then asked to unlock the phone which he had come to retrieve. He initially resisted following the orders, but eventually cracked up with the inhumane beatings and blows which rained down on him by Police Officer Mekanda Joseph, first rank officer.

After having access to his phone, the young politician was then transferred to Bonanjo. He was then thrown into a cell where he spent a total of 65 days while being tortured, deprived of visits, and starved for several days, all these without the knowledge of his whereabouts by his close collaborators, friends, and family.

It is reported that his wife finally made out where her husband was, and went there to visit him and took some food along. However, she was also arrested and roughly beaten by a female police officer on duty, claiming that she was a spy. She was detained and interrogated. Her phone too was also confiscated and has sadly not been recovered to this day.

It is believed that Stephane Soh was tortured on a daily basis by police officers who asked him to cooperate if he wished to be released. The interrogations are reportedly carried out late at night till the early hours of the morning.

Exhausted and completely broken, Stephane Soh will finally agree to sign a document, under pressure from Boyogueno Bender, who guaranteed him that he would regain his freedom after the document gets approved.

He got his release on December 4, but his phones and other personal properties were not given to him. On December 18, he was called back at Bonandjo to retrieve his belongings, so he went not knowing it was another trap set for him. He was again thrown into a cell where he spent several days. He was brought to the military tribunal on December 29 where he was asked to sign a remand warrant. He was later sent to the New Bell prison where he has been to date.