‘Amba Soldiers’ feed passengers/travelers, halt traffic, carryout their routine checks….

This is an eye witness account from this writer as once again, I came face-to-face with a group of ‘amba soldiers/forces’.

It was exactly 5:37pm on Wednesday 13, 2018 as the Ayah Foundation embarked on a very dangerous journey to Belo to pick up Mama Sam Soya and kids from their hideout in the bushes, after which we then left straight to Buea, through another dangerous road, the Mamfe-Kumba stretch, when suddenly, we met a graveyard silence at the abovementioned time.

About a hundred cars were parked on the road, several passenger on their feet, others seated, as I moved to the front to find out for myself what the halt was all about. No one dared give me an answer as I progressed to the front asking what was the matter, as I could feel fright in the eyes of many. Suddenly, a loud voice from the bush answered my unanswered questions.

‘Everybody should step down from his/her car, turn off his/her phone, hold his/her ID card, neither make nor take any calls, step by the side of the road and sit down for a while…. ‘, the voice said. Then and only then did I understand what was going on, for I had come across a similar scenario before. The voice repeated the instructions several times, insisting they would harm nobody unless they are provoked to so do.

I immediately moved to the car like several others, took late Sam Soya’s kids with me and obeyed the instructions to the letter. I feared for the widow and kids who had been through a lot already, saying to myself that all must be done to ensure their safety, even if it meant laying down my life for them. They had been through a lot and on no account should they be hurt.

Then the ‘amba soldiers’ started doing the rounds, repeating the instructions and insisting they won’t hurt anyone, and begged us not to provoke them to act. They showed a spot at every sitting point where all phones were kept, insisting that no phone will go unaccounted for. Then suddenly, one of them came and stood exactly before my sitting point, with his gun, to the dead silence of us all. We stirred at each other for a while as if to communicate through witchcraft, when suddenly I chose to interrupt the communication by tilting my eyes to another direction. He didn’t move an inch until we left, as he kept repeating the instructions to all and pleading for our cooperation.

Then, what I feared the most occurred: among the Cars that kept adding to the lot, came a ‘francophone’. His poor English betrayed him. Strangely, the ‘Anna soldiers’ didn’t act brutally to his person as most of us anticipated until he refused to obey instructions that all others had obeyed. He was told to step down with all his phones and ID card, turn off the phones and sit by the side of the road. Not only was he strangely sluggish in the face of armed men especially knowing the context, but he equally refused to sit down after been told to do so on several occasions. Two guys jumped on him as another rushed to the ‘soldier’ who was standing before us asking for his gun in order to ‘waste’ (in his own words) the said life. I knew it could be over for the francophone in a couple of minutes if no one intervened.

Suddenly, I made myself off the ground to plead for his life to be spared but didn’t offer a word to the ‘Anna soldier’ standing directly before me, fearing I could provoke him. He told me to sit down, seemingly very offended by the fact that I stood up, while telling his colleagues to let go the ‘francophone’. In his own words, he said: “wuna no waste ye, he’s not our problem. But wuna warn ye say we no wan hear da language for here. If e no fit langua we language, make ye silence….”, He said…

Then came super, as they called it. They offered to all passengers who were seated some whisky. At least 3 cartoons got the lower section wherein I was seated with the widow and orphans, much to the relief of many after been overpowered by fear. They told everyone to drink and have fun while firmly insisting that their instructions must be obeyed. They served us all beginning with the francophone who was in an ugly situation minutes earlier. They said those who needed more could ask for more. They them apologized for keeping us there, adding that they were giving their colleague who had just been killed a befitting burial, reason why they needed no movement as they equally were in search of people they consider traitors.

About two hours later, the Armed men then asked us to all stand up an pick our phones from the ground. They then asked repeatedly if there was anybody who had not gotten into possession of his/her phone. They repeated the question several times and got no negative answer. Then that loud voice, whose face I have never seen, apparently their boss, said from the bush: ‘make all man make sure say e Don take e phone and ID. A no wan make any man go talk say amba boys den don tif ye phone. We no b tif pipo. So man whey e nova see ye phone make e talk’. As they got assurance to the positive, they then asked us all to leave and wished us a save journey.

Before we left, I moved towards cobra, as he was called by his colleagues (the soldier who was standing directly before me) and thanked him for sparing us all while adding that he should thank the others for sparing the life of the francophone who was in deep shit. It would have been very messy for him if he didn’t intervene. Then we left.

After about a minute drive, just a stone throw from where the ‘Amba Soldiers’ stopped us, we met a mixed control check point. Therein, we all noticed that the military were well aware of what was happening just before their noses as they laughed at us and told us it’s good we have an idea of what they undergo daily. It appeared there was some some of “don’t-step-on-my-territory” mutual agreement between the two camps. One mum was even heard saying to them: ‘so wuna b know say Amba dem just dey for down here hein!”. And yes off course they knew it. For over two hours, no car moved toward either direction of the road. Only one reason can explain why they didn’t dare intervene, which reason you’ll best understand if/when ever you meet the fierce and armed “Armed Forces”

By Ayah Ayah Abine