The genocidal war waged by French Cameroun against the people of Ambazonia has reached the doorstep of one of Yaoundé’s most vocal anti-Ambazonia figures. Jean De Dieu Momo, French Cameroun’s Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Justice and leader of PADDEC, has buried his son, Second Lieutenant Wamba Momo Kaïnol, who was neutralised while serving in the occupying forces deployed against the people of Ambazonia.
The burial took place in Bafou, located in French Cameroun’s West Region, where Momo, accompanied by his wife, family members, regime officials, political allies, and local residents, paid his final respects to the fallen military officer. The funeral was marked by grief as the family laid to rest a son who died while fighting for the occupation army.
Although French Camerounian authorities have not officially disclosed the exact circumstances surrounding the officer’s death, it occurred amid ongoing military operations across Ground Zero, where Ambazonia Restoration Forces continue to resist what they describe as the illegal occupation of their homeland by the Biya regime.
For many Ambazonians, the death carries a powerful sense of irony. At the height of the liberation struggle, Jean De Dieu Momo drew widespread condemnation after arrogantly declaring that the war in Ambazonia would not prevent him from “drinking good white wine.” The statement was viewed by many as a heartless dismissal of the suffering of thousands of Ambazonians who had been killed, displaced, or forced into exile by French Cameroun’s military campaign.
Years later, the conflict he once trivialised has inflicted a painful personal loss on his own family.
Since the outbreak of the war in 2017, thousands of Ambazonian civilians have been killed, hundreds of villages have been razed, and millions have been displaced internally or forced to seek refuge abroad as French Cameroun intensified its military offensive against the breakaway territory.
Despite sustained military operations by Yaoundé, Ambazonia Restoration Forces have continued to mount resistance across Ground Zero, insisting that the people of Ambazonia have the right to self-determination and independence.
To many supporters of the Ambazonian cause, the death of Second Lieutenant Wamba Momo Kaïnol underscores what they describe as the human cost of French Cameroun’s continued military occupation. They argue that every soldier deployed to fight in Ambazonia becomes part of a war that could have been avoided through meaningful political dialogue and respect for the people’s right to determine their own future.
For Ambazonians, the struggle for independence continues, with many maintaining that the sacrifices made by the Restoration Forces and the population bring them closer to their ultimate objective of restoring Ambazonia’s sovereignty.
By Lucas Muma l BaretaNews
