Letter to the Editor
Re: Mimi Mefo’s Misleading Article on Ambazonia and President Sako
June 22, 2025
Dear Editor,
I am writing to express deep concern regarding the article published on June 21, 2025, by Cameroonian activist Mimi Mefo, which alleges that Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako, President of the exiled Government of Ambazonia, is implicated in atrocities committed by separatist fighters in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
This claim, which relies heavily on the Cameroon Database of Atrocities, is misleading and misrepresents the purpose and findings of that academic resource. The database itself does not name President Sako, nor does it link him—directly or indirectly—to any documented incident of violence. It is a tool for forensic documentation of war crimes, not a legal or political attribution mechanism.
More concerning is the omission of well-documented collaboration between the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) and Cameroon’s military intelligence, notably Brigadier General Emile Bamkoui. Independent investigator Cece Buckley has confirmed these links, including meetings held between ADF leadership and Cameroonian state operatives in Nigeria and South Africa. The involvement of regime-aligned journalist Ellie Smith in these media operations has also been verified. None of this context appears in Mefo’s article.
To falsely implicate a political leader in exile who has consistently championed diplomacy and peaceful resolution—while ignoring proven collaborators embedded within the actual machinery of war—is to distort the moral landscape of this conflict. It is both ethically irresponsible and politically dangerous.
As someone who has spent time in Cameroon and West Africa, including during my service with the Peace Corps, I am particularly alarmed by how rapidly conflict narratives can be manipulated. This kind of misguided activism undermines the very principles of free press and balanced reporting that journalists should uphold.
The international community must remain vigilant in separating fact from agenda. Liberation movements, especially those grounded in international law and decolonization frameworks, deserve accurate representation. Journalism must speak truth to power—not become its mouthpiece.
Sincerely,
Peter McMahon
Former Peace Corps Volunteer
Ontario, Canada
June 22, 2025
