The Northwest town of Ndop was in disarray Thursday 9th February morning following the arrest of some on Wednesday 8th February night at about 10:30PM. The arrests followed the burning of the Francophone section of GBHS Ndop where some Francophone students in defiance of the sit-in strike by their Anglophone peers and teachers, were going on with classes.

A source in Ndop hinted the Cameroon Journal that Francophone students had been going to school in an unorthodox manner – wearing casual clothes while carrying their school uniforms in backpacks. They then get into their uniforms once on campus and their teachers give them lessons. According to our source, the population got very upset, though he said it was still unclear whether the burning of the school was in relation to this.

“We heard gunshots ring out in Ndop at about 10:30 PM and it seems a few youths who were either passing around GBHS Ndop were then arrested.” He continued, “In the morning today, the population was on a rampage at the Ndop police Station demanding that their brothers who were detained without questioning, be immediately and unconditionally released.” At press time, we learned that one of the youths arrested has died from the rough treatment he received from the hands of security officers.

Most Francophones in both the Northwest and Southwest always want to either defy the ghost towns by operating their businesses or going to school when the strike action is still going on. Our reporter was at GBHS Old Town Bamenda where he found out that the Francophone section was in full swing on Tuesday morning as heavily armed police patrolled the campus.

A school at Nitop, a neighborhood in Bamenda, was razed on Sunday evening as jubilations over the victory of the Lions reached fever pitch. The school bus of GBHS Atiela is alleged to have been torched Monday morning as it prepared to ferry students to school. No official comment has been made on the allegations.

As February 11th draws closer, so too is the heightening of momentum to see the largest ever boycott of the day and event which many West Cameroonians see as a black letter day of sorts in their history. The Cameron Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) has announced that starting February 10th to February 11th, the NW and SW Regions should observed the largest-ever boycott of the day by observing the most intense ghost town across the regions.

Hans Ngala
CJ