The All Women Together Movement has raised alarm over the continued detention of two infants inside the notorious Bamenda Central Prison in Mezam County, a facility located in Ground Zero. The organisation is advocating for immediate justice for Serah and Laetitia, the babies imprisoned alongside their detained mothers.
Activities marking the International Women’s Rights Week highlighted the campaign. Activists used the moment to launch what they described as Phase Two of the “No Babies Behind Bars” campaign. According to the movement, the continued presence of infants in a prison environment is both morally unacceptable and a clear violation of basic child protection standards.
The two babies at the centre of the campaign are Serah, aged two months, and Laetitia, aged three months. Rights advocates insist that these infants have committed no crime and should not be forced to grow their first months of life inside a prison facility run by the authorities of La République du Cameroun in the occupied territory of Southern Cameroons.
Campaigners argue that a prison environment exposes infants to serious health risks and psychological harm. They insist that babies require proper care, nutrition, and medical attention in a safe environment, not confinement within overcrowded detention centres in Bamenda.
Through posters and public messaging, the movement is calling for the unconditional and immediate release of the babies from the prison. They also urge authorities to adopt non-custodial measures for detained mothers with infants. According to the group, this approach would align with Cameroon’s own legal commitments and international human rights standards protecting children and mothers.
The campaign message is clear. Babies belong in care, not in prison. Activists say the continued detention of these infants is an injustice that must end immediately. They are urging civil society organisations, women’s groups, and international human rights defenders to raise their voices until the two babies walk out of Bamenda Central Prison as free children.
For many observers across Ground Zero, the case has become another painful reminder of the humanitarian concerns surrounding detention practices in the conflict-hit regions of Ambazonia. The All Women Together Movement says it will continue mobilising until justice is served and the babies are released.
By Lucas Muma l BaretaNews
