Ambazonia activist Eric Tano Tataw has been sentenced to six months in jail in Maryland, United States.
A Montgomery County Circuit Court judge handed down the sentence on August 27. The court also imposed five years of probation.
However, authorities suspended the six-month jail term because Tataw remains in federal custody.
The Maryland case stems from repeated disturbances linked to parties held at Tataw’s home in Gaithersburg. It is separate from two federal cases currently involving him.
In April, Tataw pleaded guilty to bank fraud involving fraudulent COVID-19 relief loan applications. The applications were linked to his company, National Telegraph LLC.
US prosecutors said Tataw obtained $163,302 through the scheme. He also admitted intending to defraud lenders and the US Small Business Administration of about $313,302.
Tataw further admitted attempting to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation. Prosecutors said he provided a witness with false documents.
Meanwhile, Tataw faces a separate federal indictment connected to the ongoing conflict in Ambazonia.
US prosecutors accuse him of conspiring to provide material support to armed separatist groups. They also accuse him of making threatening communications against civilians.
Prosecutors allege that Tataw raised funds to support armed separatist fighters. They further allege that he used social media to call for attacks against people he considered collaborators with the Cameroun government.
However, those allegations remain unproven in court. Tataw is presumed innocent of the federal charges unless he is convicted.
The latest Maryland sentence concerns only the disturbance-of-the-peace case. It should not be confused with the pending federal case linked to the conflict in Southern Cameroons.
By Lucas Muma, Bareta News
