From Kondengui, Abdulkarim Ali Urges Archbishop of Canterbury to Help End Anglophone Conflict

Detained Cameroonian peace activist and muslim scholar, Abdulkarim Ali has called on the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, to use her visit to Cameroon to press for a ceasefire, the release of prisoners of conscience and inclusive negotiations to end the country’s prolonged Anglophone conflict.

In a letter addressed to the Archbishop from Kondengui Central Prison in Yaoundé, Ali said the Anglican Communion could play an important role in bringing the government, separatist movements, religious leaders and other stakeholders towards a credible peace process.

“We do not ask you to take political sides,” Ali wrote. “We ask you to take the side of the Gospel—the side of life, truth, justice and reconciliation.”

Archbishop Mullally is visiting Ghana and Cameroon as part of a pastoral tour of the Province of the Church of West Africa from July 26 to August 8, 2026. Her Cameroon visit was officially scheduled from July 31 to August 4.

Muslim prisoner appeals to Christian leader

Ali, a Muslim, said his appeal was grounded in the shared responsibility of religious communities to stand against injustice and work for peace.

“I write to you as a Muslim who recognises the continuity of God’s message in the scriptures, and who believes that people of faith share a duty to stand for justice and peace,” he wrote.

He welcomed Archbishop Mullally to the region, describing her not as a “distant prelate” but as a religious leader whose visit comes at a time when communities are searching for healing, truth and reconciliation.

“Your upcoming visit to Ghana and Cameroon comes at a time when the people of God in the Province of West Africa are yearning for healing, truth and reconciliation,” Ali said.

Ali is serving a life sentence following his conviction by a military court in Cameroon. Amnesty International has described the sentence as an “affront to justice” and called for his immediate release, arguing that he was punished for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Three demands for peace

In his letter, Ali proposed three steps that he believes religious leaders should pursue urgently.

The first is a comprehensive ceasefire to allow humanitarian organisations to reach affected communities and enable displaced children to return to school.

The second is the unconditional release of people he described as prisoners of conscience, which he said would serve as a gesture of good faith.

His third demand is the opening of inclusive negotiations mediated by neutral international actors and supported by churches and other religious institutions.

“I respectfully urge the Anglican Communion, under your leadership, to collaborate with the Catholic Church, the Cameroon Baptist Convention, Presbyterians, Muslim leaders and traditional authorities who are already on the ground,” he wrote.

Ali said such cooperation could strengthen ongoing efforts by religious and traditional leaders to secure peace.

“The Anglican voice, with its global reach and moral weight, would strengthen that witness immensely,” he said.

‘A wound in the body of humanity’

The conflict in Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions grew out of protests by English-speaking lawyers and teachers in 2016 over the perceived erosion of the regions’ legal and education systems.

The crisis later developed into an armed conflict between government forces and separatist groups seeking to create an independent state.

Government forces, armed separatists and associated groups have all faced accusations of serious abuses, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, sexual violence and attacks against civilians.

Ali traced the conflict to the historical relationship between the former British Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroon, arguing that unresolved questions about the terms of their 1961 union continue to fuel the crisis.

“This is not merely a political conflict,” he wrote. “It is a wound in the body of humanity and in the family of faith.”

He claimed that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed, hundreds of villages destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict.

The exact casualty and displacement figures vary among organisations and are difficult to independently establish because of insecurity and limited access to some affected communities.

However, the United Nations continues to describe the humanitarian situation in the North West and South West Regions as severe. Recent UN reporting documents continuing armed attacks, displacement and difficulties faced by humanitarian organisations attempting to reach vulnerable communities.

Appeal for engagement with Biya government

Ali urged Archbishop Mullally to use her position and access to appeal directly to President Paul Biya’s government. In May 2024, Ali challenged the jurisdiction of the military tribunal in a letter, refusing to recognize its authority. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia, after he refused to appear in the military court.

“An appeal from the See of Canterbury—rooted not in partisanship but in the Gospel—can open doors that diplomats cannot,” he wrote.

“You can persuade the government that lasting peace is not secured by force, but by justice, forgiveness and dialogue.”

He argued that the Anglican tradition required the Church to be both pastoral and prophetic, respecting lawful authority while speaking out against injustice.

Ali said Archbishop Mullally’s intervention should not be interpreted as support for either the government or separatist groups.

Instead, he urged her to support a process through which the political causes of the conflict could be discussed without preconditions.

“As Anglicans, you confess in the Creed: ‘We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church,’” Ali wrote. “That oneness is broken when our brothers and sisters in Southern Cameroons live in fear.”

Calls for interfaith mediation

Religious leaders have repeatedly offered to support dialogue between the government and separatist movements, but no comprehensive peace process has been established.

Ali called for a joint Christian, Muslim and traditional mediation initiative capable of reaching communities and political actors on both sides of the conflict.

He specifically cited the Catholic Church, the Cameroon Baptist Convention, the Presbyterian Church, Muslim leaders and traditional rulers as institutions that could work alongside the Anglican Communion.

He also praised the Archbishop of Bamenda, Andrew Nkea, for efforts to bring Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders together around the search for peace.

Ali said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s international standing could give greater visibility and influence to local mediation efforts.

‘They are not forgotten’

Concluding his appeal, Ali called on Archbishop Mullally to ensure that her visit leaves a meaningful impact on communities affected by the conflict.

“May your visit to West Africa bear fruit,” he wrote. “May Canterbury and the Province of West Africa walk together in this hour, that the people of Southern Cameroons may know that they are not forgotten.”

He ended the letter with words attributed to Imam Ali: “We are either brothers in faith, or equals in humanity.”

Archbishop Mullally had not publicly responded to Ali’s appeal at the time of publication.

MMI News