Nearly 200 Anglophone detainees in court today

Hundreds of Anglophone detainees are expected to appear in court in Yaounde today.

Held at the Kondengui Central prison in Yaounde, among those to be tried are Ngalim Felix, George Nfor Tang, Germaine Dzenzo, Chi Emmanuel and Ewin Dubila, all claiming to be Ambazonians or Southern Cameroonians.

Ambazonia is the name adopted by indigenes of former British Southern Cameroons seeking to form a break away state.

Their leader, Sisiku Ayuk declared the independence of the Republic of Ambazonia on October 1, 2017.

Ayuk Tabe and some separatist leaders were arrested in Nigeria in January 2018 and extradited to Cameroon.

After spending 10 months at the dreaded SED, they were transferred to the Kondengui Central Prison and later handed life jail terms with heavy fines.

Hundreds of Anglophones accused of being secessionists are also being held in detention centers awaiting trial.

The separatist movement has always met with brute force by security forces, a move partly blamed for an armed resistance by separatist groups that has led to a nearly four-year old war that has seen thousands dead.

Over 30,000 refugees have reportedly escaped to Nigeria, with thousands more spread across other regions of the country as IDPs.

Mimi Mefo Info