Before the so-called reunification with La République du Cameroun, the people of former British Southern Cameroons operated one of the most respected and community-based police forces on the African continent. The West Cameroon Police Force stood as a symbol of professionalism, discipline, and service to the people. Officers spoke the language of the communities they served, understood local realities, and maintained law and order without terrorising civilians.
Historians say the force operated largely under the British policing model, in which officers carried batons and whistles during patrols rather than assault weapons. Their duties centred on protecting civilians, directing traffic, enforcing local regulations, and maintaining peace within communities across the Southern Cameroons territory now known as Ambazonia.
The force also had a strong mobile wing, which functioned as a specialised paramilitary unit responsible for advanced training, discipline, and tactical drills. Unlike what is seen today under La République’s occupation system, the police in West Cameroon were widely regarded as allies of the population. The slogan “the police is your friend” was not propaganda. It reflected the reality on the ground.
However, everything reportedly began changing after the controversial union between former British Southern Cameroons and French-speaking East Cameroon. Though the union was presented as one of equals, many Southern Cameroonians now believe it was the beginning of a calculated annexation project orchestrated from Yaoundé by then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo.
The British-oriented West Cameroon Police soon found itself in direct conflict with the French-style gendarmerie system introduced in the territory by the Yaoundé regime. The two institutions reportedly held opposing philosophies on security management. While the West Cameroon Police emphasised civil interaction and community protection, the gendarmerie model relied heavily on militarisation, intimidation, and centralised control.
Critics of the union point out that while Ahidjo rapidly deployed gendarmes into West Cameroon, there was never any effort to send West Cameroon police officers into East Cameroon. To many Southern Cameroonians, this exposed the true nature of the so-called national unity. Rather than a merger between equals, it increasingly appeared to be an imposition by East Cameroon over West Cameroon.
In 1969, Ahidjo reportedly disbanded the West Cameroon Police Force and replaced it with what would later become the General Delegation for National Security. Three years later, the controversial 1972 referendum abolished the federal structure and completely erased the political identity of West Cameroon.
Today, 54 years after the referendum, memories of the West Cameroon Police remain alive in the minds of many Ambazonians who see the destruction of the institution as part of the broader dismantling of Southern Cameroons’ identity.
Around Ground Zero today, civilians routinely complain of French-speaking police and gendarmes who communicate almost entirely in French, even in English-speaking communities. Armed officers carrying rifles through neighbourhoods, streets, checkpoints, and civilian spaces have become the norm under the occupation administration of La République.
Many Southern Cameroonians believe these practices stand in sharp contrast to the policing culture that once existed under West Cameroon. To them, the promises of unity have instead produced marginalisation, militarisation, and cultural erasure.
As La République prepares to celebrate May 20 National Day, many in Ambazonia say the painful history of the destruction of West Cameroon institutions cannot be ignored. For countless Southern Cameroonians, the collapse of the West Cameroon Police Force remains one of the clearest symbols of a failed union and one of the root causes of the ongoing conflict ravaging the Northern and Southern Zones of Ambazonia.
