Woman caught in Amba brutality says family is target
By Wilson Musa
KUMBA, October 16, Cameroon News Agency – The harrowing ordeal of Benedicta Okerie Wase, a resident of Kumba in Cameroon’s restive South West Region, exemplifies the brutal realities faced by civilians caught between armed separatist groups and government forces. Her story, a grim chronicle of abduction, torture, and ongoing extortion, paints a stark picture of life in a conflict zone.
On October 15, while returning from Keme, a camp for Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) workers in Tiko, Benedicta’s vehicle, carrying six occupants (two men, four women), was intercepted by a group of separatist fighters. The occupants were forced into the bush, where they endured severe torture, sexual assault, and the brutal severing of fingers. Their alleged transgression: association with the CDC, in defiance of Ambazonian separatist directives for the corporation to cease operations. What began as a simple trip to drop her son off with an aunt quickly devolved into a life-altering nightmare.
The omnipresent threat of these non-state armed groups is a daily reality. Ambazonian checkpoints litter the roads of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, making significant travel impossible without encountering them. Benedicta’s encounters with these fighters triggered severe psychological distress, the family noted.
The conflict had already displaced her family, CNA learned. Her father and the entire household were forced to abandon their home in their village after a self styled General Ebong Pascal Kunde, a notorious Ambazonian separatist commander from Kupe Manengouba Division, in the South West region, commandeered their residence. General Kunde subsequently took refuge in Makobe village, Meme Division, occupying Mr. Joseph’s home. This act of seizure rendered Mr. Joseph and his family internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The precarious position of this family is further compounded by state suspicion. Those accused of harboring separatist fighters face severe repercussions from Cameroonian security forces. Pa Joseph, fearing arbitrary arrest by the state, has been forced to take refuge in the bush – a testament to the pervasive fear of being falsely implicated.
Adding to her torment, Benedicta is now a victim of constant blackmail and extortion, exploited by individuals threatening to report her to authorities. The reason is that since the fighters are occupying their homes, they are tagged as enablers of separatist activities.
Though the separatists tried to play down the cutting of fingers, putting accusing fingers at government forces, alleding that their camps were no longer in Tiko, it is clear that Eric Tataw, US based Activist had declared that any worker who goes to work in the CDC lands, will have their hands chopped off.
In these daring moments, the government has also not assured the workers of safety should they be attacked by the separatists.
Just like Benedicta, the other six wounded victims now have their fate on the balance with no clear indication of government intervention.
Coupled with this, CDC workers have been asking for their pay, but all cries have fallen on deaf ears.
