Simon Emile Mooh, Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Mezam in the crisis-stricken North West region, has established stringent conditions that must be met before lifting the nighttime ban on motorcycles.
During a meeting with transporters on Tuesday, June 18, he reinforced the ban and cautioned against complying with separatist demands to change taxi colours from yellow to blue and white—a symbol of the Ambazonia separatist movement.
The meeting, which MMI learned was not interactive, saw the civil administrator outline several requirements for commercial motorcycle riders to meet before the nighttime ban could be reconsidered.
He stated, “All commercial motorcycles must be identified by painting the tanks of their bikes yellow, matriculating, putting on jackets with registered numbers, possessing driving licences, and also forming a peace community to identify themselves and fish out intruders.”
Regarding the separatist directive for drivers to change their taxi colour from yellow to blue, the SDO firmly reiterated, “Taxi colour remains yellow.”
The administrative measures taken by the Mezam SDO have coincided with renewed violence in Bamenda in recent weeks.
On May 27, 2024, he issued a prefectorial order banning the circulation of motorcycles in Mezam at night.
This decision prompted a counter-move from armed separatists, who issued a ban on vehicles along with a notorious order for taxi drivers to switch colours.
These conflicting directives have led to violence against civilians by both separatists and government soldiers.
While separatists have been attacking and burning vehicles, government soldiers have been seizing vehicles displaying any semblance of blue and white, creating a challenging situation for transporters and car owners.
