Three Ambazonia Supporters Sentenced in U.S. for Funding Separatist Attacks
Three men of Cameroonian origin have been sentenced in the United States for their roles in a conspiracy to provide money and equipment to separatist fighters in Cameroon for the construction and use of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday that Francis Chenyi Sr., 52, Lah Nestor Langmi, 49, and Claude Ngenevu Chi, 43, were sentenced in federal court in Missouri.
Chenyi, of Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Langmi, of Buffalo, New York, were each sentenced to 180 months, or 15 years, in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Chi, of Kansas City, Missouri, received a 63-month prison sentence, also followed by three years of supervised release.
According to the Justice Department, Chenyi and Langmi, both U.S. citizens of Cameroonian origin, were convicted by a federal jury of conspiring to provide material support and resources intended to facilitate killings, kidnappings and maiming in a foreign country, as well as the use of weapons of mass destruction outside the United States.
The two men were also convicted of participating in an international money-laundering conspiracy involving the transfer of funds from the United States to Cameroon. Chenyi was additionally convicted of conspiring to provide material support for the use of a weapon of mass destruction abroad.
Chi had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support and resources for the use of weapons of mass destruction abroad.
Link to kidnapping of Cardinal Christian Tumi
U.S. prosecutors said court documents and trial evidence showed that Langmi sent an audio message to separatist fighters asking them to kidnap a traditional leader in Cameroon.
The traditional leader was later taken from his vehicle by separatist fighters following a confrontation with Cameroonian forces. Catholic Cardinal Christian Tumi, who was traveling with the traditional leader, was also abducted.
The Justice Department said Chenyi subsequently provided questions that were to be used during the interrogation of the traditional leader and Cardinal Tumi. He also approved the transfer of funds to separatist fighters through peer-to-peer transactions to support the kidnapping.
Chenyi was also involved in ransom payments for people kidnapped in Cameroon, prosecutors said, and communicated with Langmi concerning those payments.
Funding IEDs and weapons
The U.S. Justice Department said several requests were made for money to purchase IEDs and components needed to build them in Cameroon. According to prosecutors, those requests were approved and funded by Chenyi.
Chenyi also coordinated with people in Cameroon to ensure separatist fighters he supported received training in the use of IEDs.
The three defendants reportedly communicated with co-conspirators in Cameroon to coordinate the development, financing and logistical support required to deploy IEDs against targets in the country.
Around Dec. 3, 2020, Chenyi was asked to provide money for the construction of several IEDs that were intended to help enforce a lockdown ahead of an upcoming election.
The Justice Department said Chenyi and Chi agreed to provide the money, with Chenyi coordinating transfers from the United States to separatist fighters in Cameroon through peer-to-peer transactions.
Langmi, meanwhile, coordinated with an unnamed co-conspirator and provided funds for the development of IEDs and rocket-propelled grenades in Cameroon. He also kept Chenyi informed about the development of the weapons, prosecutors said.
Planned attacks during AFCON
The U.S. government also said Langmi attempted to coordinate attacks around the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which was hosted by Cameroon.
He also allegedly attempted to coordinate attacks in several towns across Cameroon’s Northwest region in the spring of 2022.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean T. Foley and Joseph M. Marquez for the Western District of Missouri, with assistance from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The FBI’s Kansas City Field Office investigated the case.
The sentences represent one of the latest U.S. prosecutions involving alleged financial and logistical support provided from the United States to armed separatist activities in Cameroon’s restive Northwest and Southwest regions.
