The Buea Military Court has acquitted three men after their uncle accused them of links to the Ambazonia struggle.
The court also fined their accuser, Professor Chief Abangma Samson Negbo, 109,804 CFA francs for making the allegations. Failure to pay will result in a 9-month prison sentence.
The ruling was delivered on August 12, 2026. The three accused are Abangma Roland Akwonda, a senior GCE examiner; Abangma Sampson Negbo, Buea Taxi Union coordinator; and Abangma Louis Keto Kajang, a senior University of Buea staff member.
They faced charges of failure to report an act of terrorism and a simple threat.
However, the military court found no incriminating evidence against them. It consequently acquitted and discharged all three men.
Their lead defence counsel, Barrister Nicholas Ogbe Keme, said the case had nothing to do with terrorism.
According to Keme, the real dispute concerned their late father’s estate in Bache, Manyu. He said the terrorism allegations were used to blackmail the three men and damage their careers.
“These three have been fighting to reclaim the estate of their father in that same village in Bache,” Keme said after the ruling.
He added that the allegations were allegedly reshaped to portray the family dispute as a security matter. The court, however, rejected that narrative.
The case began on August 13, 2025, and lasted exactly one year. During the proceedings, the defence challenged both procedural and substantive aspects of the prosecution.
The defence also questioned the accused persons’ ability to confront and cross-examine their accuser. The court further examined whether their activities concerning their father’s estate could constitute terrorism.
In the end, the court found the allegations unfounded and cleared all three men.
The ruling once again exposes a painful reality in the ongoing conflict. Many Ambazonians continue to languish in Cameroon jails after allegedly being accused of supporting the restoration struggle.
In several cases, allegations of terrorism or separatist activities have become the gateway to lengthy detention and prosecution. Yet this case shows how allegations can collapse when tested in court.
For families caught in the conflict, the consequences can be devastating. A disputed property, a personal rivalry, or an accusation can quickly become a security case.
For the three Abangma men, however, the court has now established that the evidence presented against them could not sustain the charges.
By Lucas Muma | BaretaNews
