CHRDA Condemns Recent Extrajudicial Executions in Buea-Cameroon

 Find below a statement from the Center for Human Rights & Democracy in Africa(CHRDA) released today:

THE EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS AT CAMPAIGN STREET 2, GREAT SOPPO BUEA ON MONDAY THE 24^TH OF SEPTEMBER 2018 AND THE 27^TH SEPTEMBER 2018 MASSACRE AT BUEA TOWN.

On Monday the 24^th day of the month of September 2018, the military forces (BIRS) shot and killed two young men at Great Soppo, situated in Buea, capital of the South West Region. This incidence occurred in the early hours of the morning at about 9am to 10am.

In an interview conducted by CHRDA Human Rights Monitoring and Reporting team, an eye witness recounted that one of the victims, Mr. Emmanuel Ndasi Ndum Forton, born 13^th December 1979. He was a taxi driver who lived at Campaign Street 2, he left his house to the main road to empty a water reservoir tank at the ‘Car Wash Point’ owned by his elder brother. The elder brother had been warned by the Buea Municipal Council to remove the tank from the spot stating that it was obscuring a clear view of the poster of the CPDM candidate for presidential election Mr. Paul Biya. As he went out and open the tank for the water to pour out for an easy removal, he then returned to the house to keep the cock of the reservoir and to invite his friends to come and assist him pull the reservoir away.

From there, he was now going back to the site of the reservoir before he met his friend Mr. Ndam Ngoh Emmanuel, born 19^th April 1990, a taxi driver who resided in the same quarter and invited him to assist him push the reservoir away. Both of them were putting on bathroom slippers and as they were still standing at the spot, a military truck on patrol, carrying BIR soldiers and driving down from Buea town apprehended them on the suspicion that they look like Ambazonia soldiers and shot them both at the spot. Immediately after the killing, the soldiers disappeared from the scene leaving the victims by the road side.

It should be recalled that the extrajudicial execution of these two young men at Great Soppo in Buea, follows a series of widespread and systematic killings perpetrated by the Defence and Security forces against unarmed Civilians in the city of Buea. A classic case in point was that which occurred on Monday the 30^th day of July 2018 where four young men, to wit: Esembe Roland Ndobe, Mononno Emmanuel, Motombi Maya Woleta and Tambufor Eric where rounded up and shot dead by the BIR at Bakweri town under the pretext that they were caught smoking weed. Note should be taken that these killings are carried mostly on Mondays; a day widely observed as ghost town in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon. 

Another case of extrajudicial killing in Buea occurred on Sunday the 26^th of August 2018, wherein, the elements of the Defense and Security Forces (BIR) shot and killed a young man at Check Point, just in front of the Molyko Municipal Stadium called Nzometia Theophile. It is alleged that he was shot on grounds that he was dressed like a soldier of the Ambazonia Restoration Forces.

Extrajudicial executions on Monday the 24^th of September were also recorded at Ekona, a locality in the Muyuka Sub Division, Fako Division of the South West Region. In this locality, two young men were rounded up in a military expedition and shot death. From the testimony of residents of Ekona talking to CHRDA, the military forces raided the area at about 9am in the morning, in a search for members of the non-state forces, an as they were conducting the search, gun shots were being fired sporadically and causing panic on the local population. As the gun firing continued, some two unarmed young men got scared and attempted to flee but were spotted by the military and shot at close range from behind as they tried running into the bush.

27^TH SEPTEMBER 2018 MASSACRE IN BUEA TOWN.

On Thursday the 27^th day of September 2018, the military forces (BIR) targeted and killed 7 identified unarmed civilians in a compound at Ikundi Street in Babuti neighbourhood of the town of Buea, South West Region of Cameroon. This incidence occurred at about 4:30 AM where the military conducted a raid at the compound and 7 unarmed civilians were extrajudicially executed in the raid.

The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa visited the scene of the incidence in the early hours of the morning before the corpses were carried away, and interviewed some persons who prefer to remain anonymous, and they testified that the compound in which the incidence took place has been under military surveillance for quite a while, after the soldiers were alerted by an unidentified person that a particular individual (one of the victims) was dealing in hard drugs such as Marijuana and contraband drugs like tramadol which many young men including some gendarme officers come to buy and even consume it at his room. Aware of this, the soldiers had already targeted the compound with intent to capture the dealers.

The witnesses stated further that when the military arrived at the scene, they broke into all the doors in the compound and brought out about 6 young men from one room and a 50 years old man, one of the tenants from another room and executed them. One of the victims escaped with bullet wounds but died later at the Buea Regional Hospital. The names of the 7 victims were identified as:

1:        Alain Kumeta

2:        Bobga Francis

3:         Toh Nduko Moses (50 years)

4:        Enow Eric

5:        Ramadan

6:        Mesumbe and

7:        Batino