Ngarbuh massacre: Three years on, Justice still not served for massacred victims

By Laura Nde

On February 14, 2020, at least 21 civilians including 13 children and a pregnant woman were massacred in Ngarbuh a locality in Ntumbaw village in Ndu, Donga Matung division of the Northwest region.

The government initially denied that its security forces were responsible for the act but following pressure from the international community, on February 17, 2020, it announced that investigations would be carried out and the findings would be made public the perpetrators of the act.

On March 1st, 2020, the President of the Republic, Paul Biya established a commission of inquiry to disclose the killers Government Forces, Militia Responsible For Ngarbuh Massacre- Commission – Cameroon News Agency
The government went further to admit that its security forces bear some responsibility and announced the arrest of two soldiers and a gendarme in June 2020 who were placed under provisional detention at the Yaounde military prison in relation to the killings.

According to reports from the Human Rights Watch research, the government forces and armed ethnic Fulani killed 21 civilians in Ngarbuh, including 13 children and a pregnant woman, burned five homes, looted scores of other properties, and beat residents in a reprisal operation against the community suspected of harboring separatist fighters.

Three years on, the memory is still fresh in the minds of Cameroonians as the victims and their families are still awaiting justice.
The government said it has apprehended those who committed the act, though no further details have been revealed concerning the case.

The trial of 21 persons accused of involvement in the killings in Ngarbuh has dragged on for years.

According to reports, the Ngarbuh trial started on December 17, 2020, before the military court in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, and has had several court sessions. The defendants include two soldiers: a sergeant and a first-class soldier of the 52nd Motorized Infantry Battalion, a gendarme, a former separatist fighter, and 17 ethnic-Fulani vigilantes. They have been charged with murder, arson, destruction, violence against pregnant women, and disobeying orders.

Cameroon News Agency which was the first media to raise an alarm on the incident has continued to trail the process with n significant update.