Arming civilians, is a calculated strategy to deepen repression, promote impunity, and sabotage the Ambazonian struggle for self-determination.
MUEA, BUEA – By Fontem Asonganyi
The recent installation of 36 so-called “vigilantes,” branded the “Peace Keeping Force” by the colonial Divisional Officer of Buea and other regime operatives, has triggered serious concern about the growing militarization of civilians in Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia).
While the colonial government in Yaoundé claims this move is intended to “enhance community security,” human rights advocates and local observers view it as yet another calculated strategy to deepen repression, promote impunity, and sabotage the Ambazonian struggle for self-determination.
A Colonial Security Strategy Disguised as Local Policing
The ceremony at Upper Muea Palace—attended by colonial administrators, pro-regime traditional rulers, and security operatives—was presented as a community-driven initiative in response to persistent insecurity. But beneath the spectacle lies a deeply troubling strategy: arming civilians and embedding military agents in civilian clothing to conduct covert operations.
By embedding these forces within local communities, the regime in Yaoundé achieves several objectives:
Deflecting Responsibility: Atrocities can be pinned on “unidentified gunmen” or “community vigilantes,” allowing the state to deny direct involvement in extrajudicial actions.
Manipulating Global Perception: Presenting these actors as grassroots “peacekeepers” gives the false impression of local empowerment while masking state-sponsored repression.
The use of vigilantes and covert armed groups in Southern Cameroons is not new. Their track record is marred by unresolved atrocities and silence from the regime:
St. Theresa Massacre, Kumba (2020): The killing of schoolchildren shocked the world. Despite claims by the regime blaming Ambazonian fighters, no independent inquiry has produced conclusive findings. The cloud of suspicion still hangs.
Mautu Killings (2021): Eyewitnesses reported collaboration between state security forces and shadowy armed groups. Yet investigations stalled, leaving survivors without justice.
Bambili and Bamenda Incidents: Arbitrary arrests followed attacks by “unknown gunmen,” even as credible reports pointed to the involvement of undercover state-linked operatives.
These cases reveal a disturbing trend: violence without accountability, narratives without truth, and a security strategy based on manufactured chaos.
Weaponizing Disorder to Discredit a Liberation Movement
The Muea vigilante initiative appears less about security and more about delegitimizing the Southern Cameroons independence movement.
By engineering a climate of fear and manufactured lawlessness, the regime:
Criminalizes Ambazonian self-defense forces, lumping them together with bandits and state-backed militias.
Presents itself as the only authority capable of restoring order, despite being the principal architect of instability.
Undermines international sympathy, reframing a legitimate decolonization struggle as mere “community crime.”
This strategy is not accidental—it is deliberate, manipulative, and dangerously effective unless exposed.
A Call for International Oversight and Accountability
The international community must act. Silence is complicity.
We call upon:
The United Nations and African Union to mandate independent investigations into the role of vigilantes and undercover operatives in both historic and recent atrocities in Southern Cameroons.
Global human rights organizations to expand documentation of abuses tied to these militias and press for real accountability from the Cameroonian state.
Diplomatic partners and donors to reject the false security narrative and recognize this strategy for what it is—a tool of colonial repression, not community protection.
Conclusion
The installation of vigilantes in Muea is not a neutral security measure. It is part of a broader colonial playbook to militarize fear, suppress dissent, and criminalize a people’s legitimate quest for freedom.
This dangerous strategy must be confronted before it leads to further violence and the complete erosion of trust in civilian life.
Southern Cameroons deserves justice, not militarized manipulation.
Fontem Asonganyi
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