Limbe resident weeps for detained, tortured ‘brother’

Levis, a resident of Limbe in Cameroon’s South West Region says his “brother”, Lawrence has been in detention for weeks now.

Levis says his brother Lawrence who was a butcher was picked up in his house in Santa in the North West Region by the military in their search for separatist fighters in the area.

After several days, they finally discovered that he was being held at the Santa Gendarmerie Brigade and had unfortunately been tortured.

“He is not in good condition because he was shot on the leg,” Levis tells Mimi Mefo Info.
Only Lawrence’s wife has been allowed to see him. Lawrence is reportedly being accused of being a separatist fighter, a charge he has denied.

Lawrence’s wife, Levis says, “is still trying to see if she can raise some money by selling some of their properties at home, so that she can take care of him in the cell”.
He adds that he is now taking care of his brother’s kids to relieve their mother of the financial burden.

In addition to the challenges the family is already facing, Levis tells MMI that his brother will likely be transferred to Yaounde.
In addition, “his health is not the best … and he has not been given any medical attention,” says Levis.

Though not an Anglophone by birth, MMI gathered that Lawrence, lived in Bamenda for over six years before being arrested.
To Levis, what made the military spare Lawrence’s life in the first place, is his language, Eton. “When he was shot, he spoke in Eton and one of the soldiers understood what he said and decided to have him arrested instead,” he says.

Like many others whose friends and family members are detained as a result of the Anglophone crisis, Levis says all he wants at this point is to see his brother out of jail and have him get adequate medical attention.