Statement on the Conviction of Our Comrades in Kansas City

For Our Brothers: The Road to Justice Continues injustice must be corrected. That is why appellate courts exist. My sorrow is the pain these brothers and their families must endure while the process unfolds. But I am confident of one thing: If we do not abandon them, if we remain organized, lawful, and focused, justice will rise at the appellate level. Our duty now is clear: Support them. Stand united. Reject despair. Finish what we started.

By President Dr Samuel Ikome Sako

My fellow Ambazonians,

Today, a judge in the United States steered a case to what many legal minds now describe as an inevitable conviction. One attorney who followed the session told me, “I have never witnessed anything like this in the history of the judiciary.”

Our three brothers were detained for three long years without bail and without trial. During that time, three public defenders walked away from the case because they were given only one assignment: pressure the accused into a plea deal. Our brothers refused. They stood firm. They chose truth over convenience.

But what kind of justice demands that innocent men must plead guilty before they can be set free? And if they must plead guilty, to what exactly?

A Trial Without Context Is Not Justice

When the prosecution finally secured a plea from one of the three, that individual became their lone cooperating witness. There were no true witnesses for the prosecution except this “collaborating witness” and an “expert” flown in from Rwanda — a man who claims his organization has representatives in Cameroon despite never having set foot in Cameroon.

The judge removed the terrorism-related charge. Yet from the start, she shaped the proceedings in ways that shocked seasoned legal observers.

She forbade the defense from introducing the Southern Cameroons struggle or any liberation struggle on earth.

On the surface, it sounded neutral. In reality, it stripped the defendants of the right to explain the context of their actions. Without context, there is no self-defense. Without context, there is no motive. Without context, there is no truth. This was not a minor error. It was a monumental miscarriage of justice.

A Muzzled Defense Cannot Produce Fair Judgment

Under this gag order, our comrades gave no statements in court. I believe their lawyers advised them to remain silent to preserve their grounds for appeal.

Yet in a jury trial, where the accused stands as the living testimony of the struggle that shapes him, one might have chosen to speak boldly before the jury and let the judge interrupt publicly. Instead, here is what happened:

Every time the judge wanted to restrict the defense, she dismissed the jury from the courtroom first.

When a defense attorney attempted to explain the Southern Cameroons context by referencing the American Civil War, the judge removed the jury and silenced the comparison outside their hearing. The jury never saw the pressure. They never witnessed the silencing.

To deepen the imbalance, the defense was forbidden from calling its own expert witnesses. Two experts sat in that courtroom, fully prepared to testify, yet barred from speaking.

The result was a lopsided process. The jury received a record that was almost entirely prosecution and scarcely any defense. The verdict was predictable. But was it justice Absolutely not.

A Lesson for Our People: Law Enforcement Is Not Your Comrade

Our brothers were not convicted for “fighting for Ambazonia.” They were convicted based on allegations tied to them individually, and sadly, much of the evidence used against them came from information they voluntarily offered to law enforcement — without warrants and without understanding the implications.

Let this be a solemn lesson to our people:

Law enforcement officers are not your comrades.
Do not volunteer information. If the law requires a warrant, let them obtain a warrant. This is not rebellion. It is knowing your rights.

The guilty verdict is a legal opinion based on filtered facts. But the true verdict rests on truth. Facts can be suppressed, manipulated, or weaponized. Truth cannot. Truth is divine. And truth will prevail.

History Provides Strength

I spent today reflecting on the journeys of Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela. Both were branded villains by global powers. Both were dismissed, ridiculed, and condemned. Mandela remained officially labeled a terrorist by America until after he became President of South Africa.

So I ask again: Who told you that our freedom depends on other people deciding whether we are right or wrong? Who gave any nation the divine authority to define justice for a people fighting for survival and dignity? History’s real judges are not courtroom officials. They are future generations.

Call for Calm, Commitment, and Discipline

We will continue to defend our people. We will continue to exercise our right to self-determination. We will continue to respect international humanitarian law. We will continue to obey the laws of the countries we reside in. We will act with discipline, because reckless actions can unjustly indict me, this government, and the entire struggle. This is the season to fight smart, not merely fight hard.

A fish does not stop swimming because rain is falling. A fish understands the water. A fish is not intimidated by the storm. We are that fish. This struggle is our natural terrain. The rain is not our fear.

A Word on America and the Struggle

There are leaders of this revolution who operate openly in the United States. If America as a state were against us: We would not be holding gatherings. We would not be organizing publicly. We would not be engaging policymakers in Washington.

Many of us have been reported to the FBI repeatedly by internal and external enemies. But the FBI does not arrest people because of gossip. They require probable cause. They require warrants. They require admissible facts.

If the United States wanted to criminalize our movement, they would: Move against all of us. Shut down our organizations. Designate the movement as a terrorist entity. They have not done so. They are not preparing to do so. We must not terrorize ourselves by imagining shadows.

For Our Brothers: The Road to Justice Continues injustice must be corrected. That is why appellate courts exist. My sorrow is the pain these brothers and their families must endure while the process unfolds. But I am confident of one thing: If we do not abandon them, if we remain organized, lawful, and focused, justice will rise at the appellate level. Our duty now is clear: Support them. Stand united. Reject despair. Finish what we started.

A Golden Opportunity to Finish Strong

Despite this bitter moment, listen to me clearly: This is a golden opportunity to finish strong. The enemy’s power is eroding politically, morally, and militarily. This is not the time to scatter. This is the time to tighten ranks, strengthen discipline, uphold our prisoners of conscience, and advance with courage and wisdom. We are not defeated. We are being refined.

May God comfort our brothers in chains, strengthen their families, and guide our legal teams. May He grant us the grace to stand for truth until truth stands publicly for us.

Long live the people of Southern Cameroons and Ambazonia. Long live our prisoners of conscience.
The struggle continues — and justice will speak the final word.

President Dr Samuel Ikome Sako