February 10, 2017
Confirmed report

I have spoke with a trusted and respected friend who confirms the key elements of what has been reported so far regarding events in Bamunka. He confirms that local Ndop youths went and burnt down a classroom in a francophone school where some students had been struggling to defy the strike and attend class. In response the Bamunka Fon went around the community pointing out those he considered guilty to be arrested by the gendarmes.

It is widely believed that, in fact, he took the opportunity to punish families with whom he had pre-existing disputes. by falsely pointing out their children as guilty.

Many are in detention and at least one child was beaten severely almost to the point of death but local knowledge is that to date no deaths have occurred.

In response to the arrests and mistreatment the palace and Fon were surrounded by much of the population. The Fon has fled and there are now threats to burn down his properties in town.

As has been reported to be case with many other Fons in the area he had been forcing his own children to attend school and it is again widely believed that these ‘auxiliaries of the State’ have received large cash bribes to defy the teacher’s strike.

Elsewhere in the area people are engaging in ghost-town or ‘sit down/stay at home’ resistance. Tomorrow is Youth Day and also the anniversary of the 1961 Plebiscite the terms and outcome of which have arguably led to the current dire political situation the anglophone find themselves in. The general population will boycott both events and there is an expectation of greatly increased tension and violence.
I.F.