Cameroon court slams 7 Anglophone activists with 15-yr jail terms

As part of a crackdown on budding Anglophone secessionist movements in the country, a court in Cameroon has slammed seven Anglophone activists, including their leader with 15-year jail terms.

Charged with rebellion and acts of “terrorism”, the convicts including Mancho Bibixy, a radio presenter in the English-speaking Northwest Region, and dozens of fellow activists were initially arrested in January 2017.

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The seven convicted were also ordered to pay a joint fine of 268 million CFA francs ($48,000) and must also pay the legal fees.

“The decision is excessive and pointless because it will not resolve the problem” of Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis, said Claude Assira, one of the lawyers representing the accused.

The movement accuses President Paul Biya’s predominantly Francophone government of marginalising Cameroon’s English-speaking minority with the Anglophone secessionist movement triggering counter protests by the country’s Francophone community.

 

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