I am Just Back from my Hometown Mamfe, Where Colonial forces know the Battle Isn’t Physical – Eye Witness Report

As the land of Manyu remains under the siege of La Republique du Cameroun’s colonial forces, BaretaNews continues to receive eye witnessed accounts and personal experiences on the situation, from Ambazonians of Manyu origin, who have brave the odds to travel to Mamfe. The population of Mamfe town is completely trapped under a colonial military blockade, as explained in the narrative below, submitted to our News Desk by an illustrious citizen of Manyu County.

“I recently paid a visit to my hometown Mamfe, which has been the nightmare of LRC. On approaching Mamfe, from Bamenda/Kumba, I met several checkpoints on the way, with the most sophisticated/strict being the one at Okoyong, just at the entrance to Mamfe.

I immediately recognized that the land is under foreign occupation. A town in which every uniform terrorist at the moment speaks French, while the local population speaks English, pidgin, or the dialect. Particular was how nervous the terrorists at the checkpoints looked when a vehicle is approaching them. They dress in their colonial military outfits, carrying helmets on their heads, and bullet proof jackets on their chests/abdomen. They also had well loaded guns, with red piece of cloths tied at the nozzles. That clearly indicates that they know the battle isn’t physical.

Many other armed terrorists stayed around the town, and from stories I heard, they harassed the population daily, steal plantains, fowls and goats, and also specialize in raping young girls at night. An elderly person told me; “di stupid gendarme they no know thing wei di wait them. They don makam people don go back for make contri merecin them wei they be don troway because of Christianity.”

This is true following the story of a young man who was brutally murdered, then his dad decided to bury him with a knife and some traditional concoctions, and instructing his spirit not to rest until those who killed him are brought down. When information got to the colonial forces about the traditional ritual performed during the boy’s burial, the father was arrested and locked up.

Mamfe is deserted and a similar checkpoint is present on the outskirt of Mamfe, on the road to Ekok and to Nigeria. Roads through important parts of the town are blocked and access to them restricted. All these shows how afraid the foreign colonizers are. Truly, what awaits them this New Year is unknown and likely deadly because, as I went through every point, I saw potential corpses dressed in colonial military outfits.”

James Agbor