Capo Daniel

Last updated
"Capo Daniel"
Birth nameNgong Emmanuel [1]
AllegianceFlag of the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroons.svg  Ambazonia
Service/branch Ambazonia Defence Forces (?–2023)
Ambazonia Dark Forces (from 2023)
RankAmbazonia Defence Forces deputy commander and spokesman (until 2023)
Commands heldAmbazonia Dark Forces
Battles/wars Anglophone Crisis
Other workPresident of the "Ambazonia People's Rights Advocacy Group"

Ngong Emmanuel, [1] better known by his pseudonym Capo Daniel, [2] [3] [lower-alpha 1] is an Ambazonian separatist and political activist who served as member of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) and deputy commander of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) until 2023. Following his resignation from the AGovC and ADF, fighters loyal to him formed the Ambazonia Dark Forces. In 2024, he called for an end to the armed struggle. [6] Daniel has generally operated from exile in Hong Kong.

Contents

Biography

Cameroon's Anglophone regions have long been the subject to a separatist movement calling for the establishment of a state termed "Ambazonia". In the 2016–17 Cameroonian protests, calls for separatism reached a new height, fuelled by militant online activists. [7] Ngong Emmanuel adopted the pseudonym "Capo Daniel" [1] and became one of these early militant online activists, with notable others being Mark Bareta Barra, and Tapang Ivo. [7] In September 2017, tensions escalated into a civil war known as "Anglophone Crisis" between the Cameroonian government and Ambazonian separatists. [4] Daniel became a member of one rebel political faction, the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), and was appointed deputy commander and spokesman of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), an alliance of separatist militias. [3] Over the course of the civil war, Daniel has been mainly based in exile in Hong Kong. [4] [3] A Cameroonian loyalist and lawyer, Christopher Nsalai, made repeated though unsuccessful attempts to force the government of Hong Kong to extradite Daniel to Cameroon. [1]

Daniel seemingly maintains a Facebook page and a YouTube channel, using them to spread separatist announcements and propaganda. However, journalist Zane Irwin pointed out that the tone between Daniel's Facebook and YouTube presence differed considerably, speculating that the two were possibly not run by the same person. [7] [lower-alpha 2] Despite living in exile, Daniel has seemingly been involved in directing separatist military operations. [4] [5] He has occasionally been described as an Ambazonian "general". [1]

In 2020, elements of the Ambazonian separatists allowed the reopening of local schools in the Anglophone regions. These had previously been targeted by the rebels as Francophone institutes of the Cameroonian state. Daniel was among those rebels who expressed opposition to the school reopenings. He stated that his forces would only permit "community schools that have been approved by the Ambazonia Governing Council education board. We shall not tolerate any alien institution any longer. Our forces on the ground shall enforce this order". [8] In 2021, forces associated with Daniel fought in Operation Bui Clean. [9] [5]

In 2022, Human Rights Watch attempted to contact several Ambazonian leaders to complain about crimes against civilians committed by rebel forces. Only Daniel responded to HRW; he apologized for an attack on the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services by the ADF and an allied militia, the "Buffaloes of Bali", but also stated that he considered the kidnapping of Senator Regina Mundi by the ADF as a legitimate operation. [10]

In April 2023, Daniel resigned from AGovC and, by extension, the ADF, in order to pursue independent activism. He publicly declared that disagreements with the rest of the AGovC and ADF leadership had made it "impossible for me to continue serving our Liberation Movement in those capacities", though clarified that he continued to support and involve himself in the separatist rebellion. AGovC leader Ayaba Cho Lucas acknowledged his resignation and thanked him for his years of work. [3] By May, Daniel had become President of the "Ambazonia People's Rights Advocacy Group" [11] and founded a new militant group called the Ambazonia Dark Forces. He openly called on his fighters to abduct journalists for ransom. He explained this policy as a reaction against allegedly hostile journalism after separatists had "accidentally" killed Anye Nde Nsoh, the regional bureau chief of The Advocate newspaper. [2] By June, Daniel was openly criticizing Ayaba Cho Lucas for obstructing negotiations between the Cameroonian government and the rebel forces; he subsequently declared himself "the new leader of the war for the liberation of Ambazonia". [12] [13]

In a statement released in May 2024, Daniel called for an end of the armed struggle against Cameroon and a switch to nonviolent resistance. Daniel said that the struggle had failed both militarily and diplomatically, and that pending negotiations, fighters should only use their weapons in self-defense. [6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Alternatively written Daniel Capo, Daniel Caapo, [4] or mononymously as Capo [5]
  2. ↑ Irwin considered it possible that the "Capo Daniel" Facebook page was actually run by "Fimba", an anti-separatist online activist who was well known for virtual identity theft to undermine separatist activities. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambazonia</span> Political entity proclaimed by Cameroons Anglophone separatists

Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or State of Ambazonia, is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists who are seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon. Since 2017, Ambazonian rebels have engaged in armed conflict with the Cameroonian military, in what is known as the Anglophone Crisis, attempted to set up a Government-in-exile and supportive militias have exerted control over some remote regions of the claimed territory. No country has recognized Ambazonia's existence as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayaba Cho Lucas</span> Ambazonian activist (born 1972)

Ayaba Cho Lucas is an Ambazonian activist. He is the former Secretary General of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) and is the current leader of Ambazonia Governing Council, a separatist organization in Southern Cameroons. Ayaba was expelled from the University of Buea in 1993 because he had led a one-man demonstration against tuition increases; he has been in exile from Cameroon since then. He eventually ended up in Norway, where he studied human rights and development at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and from where he has based his activism ever since. In January 2017, Ayaba was allegedly targeted for assassination in Brussels, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglophone Crisis</span> 2017–present separatist conflict in Cameroon

The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions between Cameroon Armed Forces and Ambazonian separatist groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.

The Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) are a military organization that fights for the independence of Ambazonia, a self-declared independent state in the Anglophone regions of the former Southern Cameroons, Cameroon. It was formally established by the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) on 9 September 2017, the same day as the organization declared a war of independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivo Mbah</span> Ambazonian general (died 2018)

Ivo Mbah was an Ambazonian general who fought in the Anglophone Crisis. Reportedly one of the first separatists to go to war against Cameroonian authorities, he fought for more than a year before he was killed in combat with the Cameroonian Armed Forces.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia is an Ambazonian independence movement, and claims to be the provisional government in exile of the internationally unrecognized state. Formed in the early days of the Anglophone Crisis, the movement has since splintered into several factions that claim to be the legitimate Interim Government.

The Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC) is an Ambazonian independence movement. The movement has been known as "hardline" compared to other major Ambazonian separatist movements, and unwilling to engage with federalists. Starting off with a complicated relationship with the larger Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG), following the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis, the AGovC officially allied itself to the faction of the IG loyal to the first President of Ambazonia, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe.

Red Dragon is an Ambazonian separatist militia loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia, and is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. It was led by Lekeaka Oliver, and controlled most of Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region, driving away the traditional rulers and local administrators. The group was greatly weakened in 2022, with Oliver being killed.

The Ambazonia Self-Defence Council (ASC), also known as Ambazonia Military Council (AMC), Ambazonia Military Forces (AMF), and Ambazonia Restoration Forces (ARF), is an umbrella organization that consists of several militants that fight for the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, including the Red Dragons, the Tigers of Ambazonia, Seven Karta, the Manyu Ghost Warriors, the Ambazonia Restoration Army, the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces, the Bui Warriors, General No Pity's forces, and numerous others. Collectively, these militias possibly outsize the Ambazonia Defence Forces and SOCADEF.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lekeaka Oliver</span> Ambazonian separatist commander (1968–2022)

Lekeaka Oliver, popularly known as Field Marshall, was a Cameroonian army soldier and later an Ambazonian separatist commander and the leader of the Red Dragon militia. His armed group is part of the loosely-structured Ambazonia Self-Defence Council, and is loyal to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. The Red Dragon is mainly active in Lebialem Division, Southwest Region. Oliver was the brother of Chris Anu, former Secretary for Communications of the Interim Government. Throughout his time as a separatist leader, Cameroonian forces erroneously reported that he had been killed three times. He was killed on 12 July 2022, though it remains unclear whether he was killed by Cameroonian forces or in an incident of separatist infighting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Bamenda Clean</span> Part of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

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This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon during 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Bui Clean</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Transporter</span> Ambazonian rebel leader (died 2023)

Ayuk Ndifon Defcam, better known by his pseudonym "General Transporter" or "General Transporter of Meme", was an Ambazonian rebel leader. Mainly active in Meme department of Cameroon, he reportedly led one of the larger separatist militias in the region until his death in battle.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Qui est maitre Nsalai : l'avocat qui traque les séparatistes aux USA". CamerounWeb. 29 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Cameroon: 'Ambazonians' threaten journalists". Deutche Welle. 2023-05-11. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Frontline separatist commander, Capo Daniel, resigns from AGOVC". Cameroon News Agency. 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Moki Edwin Kindzeka (10 September 2020). "Cameroon Military Sweeps Northwest City to Weed Out Separatists". Voice of America . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 "Crise anglophone : prélats et chefs traditionnels indexés". Actu Cameroun. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Capo Daniel dumps Ambazonia armed struggle, embraces diplomacy". Mimi Mefo Info. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Zane Irwin (5 June 2023). "Cameroon: The keyboard warlords of the breakaway republic". African Arguments. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Moki Edwin Kindzeka (9 October 2020). "In Cameroon's Anglophone Regions, Some Schools Reopen After 4-Year Closure". VOA. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Moki Edwin Kindzeka (17 June 2021). "Cameroon Deploys Troops to Fight Separatists". VOA. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Cameroon: Separatist Abuses in Anglophone Regions". HRW. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Moki Edwin Kindzeka (10 May 2023). "Cameroon Journalists Protest Killing of Colleague by Separatist Fighters". VOA. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  12. ↑ Yves Plumey Bobo (8 June 2023). "Cameroon: Lucas Ayaba Cho, public enemy number one". The Africa Report. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "NOSO/ Contestation : Lucas Ayaba Cho dos au mur, des nouvelles révélations sortent". Africa Press. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
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