By Staff Writer | Joseph FitzBobe
What was marketed to the world as a programme for peace and rehabilitation has been exposed as a sinister apparatus of violence and repression. The so-called Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) centres established by La République du Cameroun (LRC) have now emerged as command centres for criminality, state-sponsored extortion, and psychological warfare against the civilian population of Ambazonia.
While DDR centres were ostensibly designed to receive former Ambazonian fighters willing to lay down their arms and return to civilian life, new investigations reveal a far more disturbing reality. According to an explosive report released by acclaimed international journalist and human rights investigator Cece Buckley, these centres are now recruiting and reprogramming individuals—not just former combatants, but civilians coerced or co-opted to spy on, betray, and eliminate supposed regime “enemies” within their own communities.
“These are not simply surrendered fighters seeking peace. Many of them are new recruits—rewarded with weapons and uniforms—whose sole assignment is to harass, fabricate allegations, and extort fellow Ambazonians under the pretext of rooting out separatism,” Buckley revealed after a recent fact-finding mission to the so-called Southwest Region (Ambazonia’s Atlantic Zone).
Who Are the DDR Detainees?
Rather than being safe spaces for reintegration, DDR centres in places like Buea and Kumba serve as indoctrination and militarisation zones. Those labelled as DDR detainees today are not just disarmed rebels—they include:
Co-opted civilians, blackmailed or recruited with promises of safety, food, or reward;
Youth forcibly detained and indoctrinated, often in exchange for immunity;
Former revolutionaries turned regime informants, given weapons to infiltrate and suppress their own communities;
Militia-style groups like “Ex-Amba” and “My Konti People”, used by figures such as Konda Titus to enforce state terror.
Findings from the Buckley Report and Ground Testimonies
Buckley’s findings, based on first-hand interviews, undercover footage, and cross-referenced accounts, confirm the following:
- Militarised Extortion Squads
Groups operating under names like Ex-Amba and My Konti People wear official military gear, are armed, and operate openly in coordination with Cameroun’s colonial Gendarmerie. Their mission is not peacekeeping but surveillance, harassment, and arrest-for-profit schemes. - Targeting of Influential Civilians
Local cocoa merchants, traditional council leaders, and small business owners in Meme County, especially around Mbonge Local Government Area, are being profiled and accused of collaborating with the Ambazonian cause. Once accused, they are abducted and subjected to ransom demands. - Terrorising Families
In multiple cases, parents and siblings of accused individuals are also arrested. One 63-year-old woman, the mother of a falsely accused cocoa buyer, was blindfolded and severely beaten for three days until her family paid a ransom. Children as young as 14 are reportedly threatened to testify against their own parents. - Ransom Economy and Abuse of Power
Victims are typically given a brutal ultimatum: pay bribes ranging from 300,000 CFA to 1.5 million CFA or face prolonged detention in Buea or Kondengui—one of the most infamous prisons in Central Africa. These bribes are often negotiated through military officers and anti-revolutionary intermediaries. - State Complicity
Gendarmes, DDR centre coordinators, and regime-appointed colonial administrators are not just turning a blind eye—they are active participants and beneficiaries of this system. In return for loyalty to the regime, these DDR operatives receive state protection, funding, and immunity from prosecution.
A Government’s Outcry
In response, the Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has issued a declaration stating that:
“The DDR programme of La République du Cameroun is not a tool for peace but a weaponised extension of its military occupation. The regime has outsourced brutality to those who once fought for freedom, turning them into tools of terror against their own people.”
The Government formally categorises these actions as:
Crimes against humanity, in violation of international human rights treaties;
Gross breaches of the Geneva Conventions, particularly in the targeting of civilians and collective punishment of families;
State-sponsored terrorism, masked as reintegration and reconciliation.
Demands and Call to Action
The Ambazonian Government urges the following:
The United Nations, African Union, and International Criminal Court to immediately investigate the operations and networks emerging from LRC’s DDR programme;
International media and rights organisations to publicise Cece Buckley’s findings and send fact-finding teams to Meme, Fako, and Kupe-Muanenguba;
All Ambazonian citizens and diaspora groups to document every incident of abuse, resist the tactics of intimidation, and expose all collaborators within their communities.
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