Ebenezer Akwanga

Last updated
Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga
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Born1970
Tiko, Cameroon
NationalityCameroonian
EducationPhD Political Science 2014 University of KwaZulu-Natal [1]
Occupation(s)Chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, Secretary General of the Organization of Emerging African States and leader of SOCADEF

Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga is an Ambazonian independence activist. [2] He is the chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement, and heads its armed wing, SOCADEF. [3] A former student at the University of Buea, he and fellow activist Ayaba Cho Lucas founded a pro-independence student association. Their movement was soon outlawed, and in 1997, Akwanga was imprisoned for six years. [4] Following his escape from prison, he joined forces with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). When the SCNC split into several factions, he became the leader of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL). [5] The SCYL eventually transformed into the African People's Liberation Movement (APLM). In March 2019, he oversaw the APLM taking part in founding the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, in an attempt to form a united front. [6] Akwanga is also an advocate of the Biafran case, and has spoken in favor of an alliance between Ambazonian and Biafran independence movements. He has called for referendums on independence in both the former Southern Cameroons (including Bakassi) and Biafra. [4]

Contents

Political career

Ebenezer Akwanga became a political activist in 1993, initially campaigning peacefully for the rights of the people of Southern Cameroons as a student leader of the University of Buea Students Union which worked together with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). He took an active part in the uprising of March 1997 against oppression and discrimination by the Cameroun government. . [7] He was arrested and tried by a military tribunal. For the next six years he suffered a range of serious human rights violations at the hands of the Republic of Cameroun. These included torture, incommunicado detention, and a variety of forms of abuse in prison including being held in grossly overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, lack of proper food and wholly inadequate medical care. He suffered paralysis of his lower limbs and impaired vision as a result of torture and spent over 700 days in solitary confinement. In 1999 he was sentenced by the military tribunal to 20 years in prison. In 2003 he escaped to Nigeria and from there, after some 30 months evading arrest, he was re-settled in the USA where he lives today. [2] From the United States, Akwanga continued the struggle for the Southern Cameroonian people. The NGO REDRESS lodged a petition on Ebenezer's behalf with the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) for multiple breaches of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including torture, over the period 1997 to 2003. [2] In a unanimous decision made on 22 March 2011 UNHRC upheld the petition brought by REDRESS on behalf of Ebenezer against Cameroon. The petition averred multiple breaches of the ICCPR. In 2011-2014, Ebenezer Akwanga, Ayaba Cho Lucas and other independence advocates founded a Southern Cameroons Government affiliated with an armed wing, SOCADEF. The government signed agreements with two Canadian public companies to promote future assets and resources in Southern Cameroons and legally contest ownership. [8] The Camerounian government-controlled press later credited Akwanga's government with being one of the primary movers of the October 2017 Declaration of Independence of Ambazonia. [9]

As of 2020, he heads the Organization of Emerging African States (OEAS), which advises African separatists. [10] As of 2016, the organization is based in the US, and has campaigned for a referendum regarding an independent Biafra. [11]

Assassination attempts

The government of Cameroon has attempted to eliminate Akwanga on several occasions; in Buea, Southern Cameroons by poison in 2003, [12] in Lagos, Nigeria in 2005 with at least three attempts by Cameroonian agents, [13] and in South Africa in 2012 with a murder and kidnapping plot. [14]

Ambazonia campaign

The October 2017 Ambazonia Declaration of Independence resulted in Akwanga revitalizing and arming SOCADEF (Southern Cameroons Defense Force) as a self-defense force. According to International Crisis Group, SOCADEF, is one of the largest armed units operating in Ambazonia. [15]

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">Southern Cameroons</span> 1916–1961 British mandate in west-central Africa

The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southwest Region. Since 1994, pressure groups in the territory claim there was no legal document in accordance to UNGA RES 1608(XV) paragraph 5, and are seeking to restore statehood and independence from the Republic. They renamed the British Southern Cameroons as Ambazonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Cameroons National Council</span> Political organisation in Cameroon

The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) is a political organisation seeking the independence of the former anglophone Southern Cameroons from the predominantly francophone Republic of Cameroon and achieving the unification with neighbouring Nigeria. It is a non-violent organisation with the motto "The force of argument, not the argument of force." Because the SCNC advocates secession from Cameroon, it has been declared an illegal organisation by the government of Paul Biya. Security forces regularly interrupt SCNC meetings, arresting members and typically detaining them for several days before release.

<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 the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon between the Cameroonian government 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.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International reactions to the Anglophone Crisis</span>

From 2018, the Anglophone Crisis drew increasing international attention, and became a challenge to Cameroon's foreign relations. Triggered by a violent crackdown on the 2016–2017 Cameroonian protests, the conflict escalated from a low-scale insurgency to a civil war-like situation. While Cameroon enjoys support from African countries, no country has openly supported the Ambazonian independence movements. However, many countries have put pressure on Cameroon to talk to the separatists. In addition, the separatists enjoy support from officers in the Nigerian Army, who have helped arrange arms deals for them.

The Restored Government of Southern Cameroons 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Cameroons Defence Forces</span>

The Southern Cameroons Defence Forces is the armed wing of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement. It is led by Ebenezer Akwanga, who is based in the United States, Together with the Ambazonia Defence Forces, it was one of the most prominent militias fighting in the early Anglophone Crisis. It is mainly active in Meme and Fako.

The African People's Liberation Movement (APLM) is an Ambazonian independence movement. It is the successor movement of the Southern Cameroons Youth League, with which it shares an almost identical logo. It is led by chairman Ebenezer Akwanga, who also commands its armed wing, Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF).

The Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL) was an Ambazonian independence movement, led by Ayaba Cho Lucas and Ebenezer Akwanga. While Ayaba went on to become the leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council, Akwanga saw SCYL transform into the African People's Liberation Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakassi conflict</span> Border conflict and separatist insurgencies in Cameroon

The Bakassi conflict is an ongoing armed dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula of Cameroon. Originally subject to a border conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria, Bakassi later became affected by insurgencies waged by local separatists against Cameroonian government forces.

The Ambazonian leadership crisis is an ongoing internal conflict within the Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG). The crisis started on 2 May 2019, when a document signed by the first president of Ambazonia, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, acting from detention in Yaoundé, declared the dissolution of the cabinet of interim president Samuel Ikome Sako and the restoration of Ayuk Tabe's cabinet. This effectively led to the existence of two interim governments, with neither recognizing the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2019 Cameroon prison riots</span> Two prison riots in Cameroon

The Kondengui and Buea prison riots occurred on July 22 and 24, 2019, respectively. While the first riot started off as a protest against poor prison conditions and unjust detainment, the second riot was carried out in support of the former. Both riots were violently quelled by security forces, and hundreds of prisoners were transported to undisclosed locations. The fate of these prisoners and rumors of casualties during the crushing of the riots had political implications in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis, and brought international attention to the prison conditions. Following the riots, many suspected participants were subjected to torture, and were brought to court and sentenced without their lawyers present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major National Dialogue</span> Part of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

The Major National Dialogue is the official name of a dialogue between the Government of Cameroon and various opposition parties, aimed at resolving the Anglophone Crisis. The event took place between September 30 and October 4, 2019.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2020.

This is a timeline of the Anglophone Crisis during 2021.

References

  1. ↑ PhD Thesis, From Autonomy to Independence: The Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, From Autonomy to IndependenceThe Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, July 2014. Accessed July 31, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Redress, Ebenezer Akwanga v. Cameroons. Accessed May 4, 2019.
  3. ↑ Who are Cameroon's English-speaking separatists?, Daily Nation, Feb 20, 2018. Accessed Apr 22, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Biafra and Southern Cameroons might 'join forces to achieve independence', International Business Times, Feb 25, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
  5. ↑ How one part of Cameroon still wants to hold on to its Anglo-Saxon roots, International Business Times, Dec 7, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
  6. ↑ Federalists Meet Restorationists, Which Group Will Perform The Osmosis?, Cameroon News Agency, Mar 29, 2019. Accessed Apr 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ March 1997 incidents in the north-west province CMR36066.E', Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Jan 31, 2001. Accessed May 10, 2019.
  8. ↑ Declaration of State of Emergency in Bakassi Region, April 4, 2013. Accessed May 10, 2019.
  9. ↑ Tout savoir sur Kilimanjaro Capital, la nébuleuse financière canadienne associée aux sécessionnistes camerounais, Investir au Cameroun, June 15, 2018. Accessed May 10, 2019.
  10. ↑ "African Conflict Zones in Need of Cease-Fires for Coronavirus Aid". Voice of America . 1 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Gaffey, Conor (20 January 2016). "EU Responds to Calls for Biafran Independence". Newsweek . Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  12. ↑ About the CEO, Ebenezer Akwanga Human Rights and Humanitarian Institute. December 5, 2012. Accessed May 10, 2019.
  13. ↑ , Cameroon: Akwanga Announces Assassination Attempt, All Africa News Service, Oct. 4, 2005. Accessed May 10, 2019.
  14. ↑ Murder for Hire Plot, Abakwa Times, Dec. 5, 2012. Accessed May 12, 2019.
  15. ↑ Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, International Crisis Group, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 10, 2019.
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