NW House of Chiefs President rescued after 18 months in Amba captivity!.

The Governor of the North West Region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, confirmed news of the Fon’s rescue from Amba fighters’ dungeon yesterday. Lele Lafrique confirmed the development in an interview he granted the state broadcaster, CRTV. 

The senior civil administrator disclosed that the traditional ruler of Bambalang, in Ngoketunjia Division, was rescued thanks to the professionalism of the military. 

This, he said, was through a special operation which was carried out in Mbam, in Bui Division, on the high instructions of the Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, President Paul Biya. 

The operation, we further gleaned, was carried out by a special detachment of Airborne Battalion, BTAP. Governor Lele said the operation was successful, thanks to the collaboration of the population of the area. 

The Governor assured the population that the traditional ruler of Bambalang will in the days ahead be publicly presented to his subjects and his peers of the North West House of Chiefs. 

Lele said the rescue of the Fon lends credence to the progressive return of normalcy and peace in the Region and the fact that the population is heeding the Head of State’s peace call. 

He used the outing to vehemently condemn all acts of atrocities carried out by Amba fighters masquerading as Anglophone freedom liberators. 

Lele challenged the population to once more federate forces with the military to bring out the remaining Amba fighters from the bushes for a final return to normalcy. 

Fon Shumitang II who doubles as the Vice President of the North West Regional Assembly, it should be recalled, was kidnapped by a band of gun-totting Amba fighters on December 7, 2021.

The fighters were under the command of one of his subjects, the late self-styled separatist commander, Clement Mbashi, popularly known as ‘General’ No Pity.

They had stormed the inner chambers of Bambalang palace and whisked the traditional ruler to an unknown destination at nightfall. 

Shumitang II had visited the village to conduct a traditional ritual. He was picked up after spending about four days in the palace upon arrival. 

The traditional ritual, we gathered, was concerting with kingmakers on the 84^th edition of the Cultural Festival of the Mbaw Yakum People commonly known as the ‘Sha’atang,’. It had not taken place for about four years as a result of the armed conflict in the two Anglophone regions. 

Fruitless cry for help from captivity

A video of Fon Shumitang II, apparently released by his abductors, had gone viral in November 2022. In the one minute video, the Fon was seen calling on all the powers that be to facilitate his release from captivity. He equally stated some conditions outlined by his kidnappers to secure his release. 

“I am here today to cry because I am held captive under ‘General’ No Pity. He says if his family members who’ve been arrested are not released, he will not release me. He has said if his family members are released today, he would also release me. I am using this medium to cry and plead with the powers that be to facilitate the release process of his family members so that I can also be freed. Thank you very much,” the Fon had said in the video. 

Revisiting tough Amba fighters’ demands, failed negotiations 

Six months after his abduction, reports had suggested that elite of the Ngoketunjia Division and the North West Region had embarked on a campaign to secure his release. 

Such attempts by elite, we had learned, had hit the rocks due to tough conditions which are reported to have been made by the separatist fighters. 

Amba fighters are said to have first demanded a ransom of 20 million FCFA. The gunmen are also said to have requested the release of the late ‘No Pity’s’ mother and some of their fighters who are still in detention, as part of the conditions for them to free Fon Shumitang II. 

Then No Pity’s ex-girlfriend, Kongnso Antoinette, is also said to have been part of the demands of the gunmen. The Buea Military Court, it should be recalled, had in December 2021, granted bail to Kongnso. It was however not unclear if the move was linked to the reported developments in Bambalang geared towards the release of the Fon. 

Aside the tough demands of Amba fighters, we equally learned that negotiations which had advanced towards the Fon’s release ended in deadlock after the gunmen had reportedly collected the sum of about 20 million FCFA from those who fronted the talks. 

The fighters, reports we gathered hold, had raised the bar of conditions to release the Fon after reportedly collecting the huge sum. 

Fon Shumitang II, it should be noted, was overtly in support of Cameroon’s unity and indivisibility. 

His position not only as President of the House of Chiefs, but also as Vice President of the North West Regional Assembly, for the unity of the country, was unwavering. 

As President of the North West House of Chiefs, Fon Shumitang II never wasted time in issuing statements condemning killings and abductions in the restive Anglophone Regions.

Many were however shocked by Yaounde’s stony silence and his peers of the Region when he was kidnapped. Regime critics had accused Yaounde of playing to the gallery when the Fon was kidnapped and failing to issue a release or openly making moves to assure of the citizens of steps to secure his release. 

President Paul Biya, in his December 2021 end-of-year speech, weeks after the kidnap, failed to condemn the act or let alone even mention the capture of the Bambalang Fon in passing! 

 Aside Yaounde, it took the President of the North West Regional Assembly, Prof Fru Angwafo III, months to react to the abduction of Fon Shumitang II.

Prof Angwafo only publicly opened up on Fon Shumitang’s kidnap on January 11, 2022. Recall that he was arm-twisted to make a declaration on the fate of the Bambalang Fon, when during a press dinner the North West Regional Assembly organised for media men and women, inquisitive journalists evoked the ‘vexing’ silence from authorities.