Cameroonian Separatists Sentenced To Life Imprisonment

A leader of the separatist Cameroonian movement, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and nine of his supporters were sentenced to life by a military court in the capital, Yaoundé.

They were convicted of rebellion, among other charges.

Their lawyers accused the judge of bias and withdrew from all court proceedings.

The English-speaking separatists argue that they are marginalized by the bureaucracy and the school system in the predominantly French-speaking country.

The defendants were arrested in Nigeria in January 2018 and deported to Cameroon.

The court session, which began on Monday, continued until 5:30 am (04:30 GMT) local time on Tuesday morning, at that time, the defence lawyers had already withdrawn from the proceedings but continued to remain in the courtroom as spectators.

Defence lawyer Joseph Fru said there were irregularities in the proceedings but the military court rejected his arguments.

The long list of charges included acts of rebellion, complicity in terrorism, financing of terrorism, revolt, insurrection, hostility against the state, spreading false news …

The court also sentenced the ten men to pay a fine of 250 billion CFA francs to the government for civil damages and 12 billion CFA francs for legal costs.

Among the 10 people convicted was Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the head of the Ambazonia Governing Council – the name the separatists gave to the English-speaking regions of North-West and South-West Cameroon.

Anglophones in Cameroon claim to have been marginalized for decades by the central government and the French-speaking majority.

The current crisis began in 2016 when lawyers and teachers went on strike to use French in courts and schools.

In October 2017, activists declared the autonomy of the two English-speaking regions – a decision rejected by Cameroonian President Paul Biya.

Some took up arms in 2017 and the crisis forced more than 500,000 people out of their homes.

Why does Cameroon have Anglophones and Francophones?

On January 1, 1960, the French colony of Cameroon gained independence and became Cameroon.
On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom also controlled the former German colony of Cameroon.
At independence, its citizens had the choice between Nigeria or Cameroon.
Southern Cameroonians have chosen to unite in Cameroon, while Cameroonians from the North have joined Nigeria.