On Friday, January 23, 2026, the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung, Emmanuel George Magloire, appeared in Gidado, claiming to act as an envoy of President Paul Biya. He handed over foodstuffs and basic household items, reportedly relief supplies from the Head of State, to victims of the recent tragedy.
According to a report attributed to the Ministry of Territorial Administration, the SDO conveyed a message of compassion and solidarity from President Paul Biya. He reassured the population of the government’s commitment to restoring peace and security in Gidado and its surrounding areas.
This action is pure pretence.
Since the tragic incident in Gidado that claimed at least 14 lives, La Republique du Cameroun has made no official statement to the affected population. There was no presidential address. There was no national mourning. There was no acknowledgement of responsibility. Silence has been the government’s official response.
Only after time passed did the regime dispatch a local administrator with food items to stage a performance of sympathy. This is not care. This is political theatre designed to manage outrage, not to heal wounds.
For years, the Biya government has perfected the exploitation of pain in Ambazonia. Tragedies are turned into publicity moments. Grieving communities are reduced to political tools. Human suffering is used to push colonial narratives and assert control.
The people of Gidado know this pattern too well. Supplies announced as relief for victims rarely reach those who lost loved ones. They are quietly diverted. They end up in the homes of colonial administrators. They feed members of the defence and security forces deployed in the area.
What is presented as presidential compassion becomes food for the very system that oppresses the people.
This is not a mistake. It is a deliberate plan.
The government of Paul Biya has always left the population in deep pain while officials grow rich from their vulnerabilities. Ambazonians bury their dead while state agents share rice, oil, and supplies among themselves.
This is hypocrisy. This is opportunism.
While the people of Gidado are still healing from their loss, colonial administrators and security forces are busy exploiting their pain to advance malicious agendas. But the population is watching. The memories are fresh. The wounds are still open.
Woe betides those who take advantage of suffering communities today. History will not forget. Accountability may be delayed, but it will come.
