Cameroon government crams heavily congested prisons further with arrests in NW/SW Regions

While Amnesty International and other foreign bodies continue to criticize the government of Cameroon over the poor, inhumane and over congested state of prison facilities in the country, the regime 84years old Paul Biya rather than seeking solutions and embarking on measures to increase the capacity of these detention centers is rather chocking it with daily and continuous illicit arrest.
Their victims, agitated Anglophones who complain of over 60 years of gross marginalization and injustice. It all started in November 2015 when common law lawyers decided to embark on a sit down strike until certain demands are meet. Planned peaceful demonstrations in Bamenda, Buea, Limbe, Kumba and Muyuka by the lawyers met with stiff resistance from the regime as dozens of lawyers were publicly beaten as some got arrested.
Reports have it that the arrested lawyers were later released. In solidarity with the lawyers strike and in a bid to restore the Anglo-saxon values of the educational sector in Cameroon, trade unions and teachers groupings in the North West and South West Regions declared an indefinite sit-in strike.
The light autumn wind was still been neglected by the government but never did they know it will soon become a tornado. Maters escalated when a radio comedian and pidgin news broadcaster, Mancho Bibiyin, popularly called Mancho BBC, staged a coffin revolution on Monday November 21, 2016, by matching with a coffin on the streets of Bamenda calling on the Government Delegate, Vincent Nji, to provide answers as to the undeveloped status of the town. Matters got out of hand as riot police officers tried to restore peace. Lives were lost and a handful arrested.
November 29, 2016 eight days after teachers of the North West and South West decided to embark on an indefinite strike action, violent protest erupted in the University of Buea, South West Region of Cameroon. Over 20 students were severely injured as security forces open fire to disperse protesting unarmed students who staged a peaceful match to table certain demands to the vice chancellor among them being her immediate replacement.
Hundreds of students got arrested, but were later released after spending days at various detention centers in the region. Unconfirmed reports however hold that at least three of the arrested students were remitted in custody. After the failed CPDM rally in the North West regional capital of Bamenda which took place on December 8, 2016 massive arrest were made with reports of some of the arrested youths been ferried to Yaounde and Baffussam.
Massive arrest took place towards the end of last year but the epitome has been this January.  With the creation of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC, headed by Barrister Agbor Felix with Secretary General, Dr. Neba Fontem, matters seemed to have gotten out of hand as violent protest erupted in towns like Bamenda, Limbe, Kumba and Muengene during Ghost Town days declared by the consortium. As a result dozens of youths got arrested in all towns with some taken to unknown destinations.
While the number of those arrested is still unknown since the government smuggles some out of the region by night, parents continue to weep while others pray for the released of their children as reports flood the social media that some of them might have lost their lives due to the inhumane living condition.
Tuesday 17 January, a day never to be forgotten
Until now, those arrested were merely civilians but that was about to end and the government had put in place a well mapped out strategy to this effect. Tuesday 17, January 2017 was indeed the day the struggle took another twist. At exactly 1PM after a press conference granted by Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a release from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization declared null and void the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.
As the sun set and Anglophones tried to digest the news of the banning of the consortium, Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho and Dr. Fontem Neba, president and Secretary General of the consortium were arrested in Buea. Before the information could get out, internet connection was disconnected in throughout former southern Cameroon.
A week after that 17 January, Cameroonians were shocked to get news on the arrest of the initiator of the Bamenda coffin revolution, Mancho Bibinyi and surprisingly the Advocate General at the Supreme Court, Justice Ayah Paul Abine. While reports hold that the arrest might just be in it introductory state, fear had gripped Anglophones that forced many to go into hiding or self exile like Barrister Bobga Harmany.

Yaoundé’s main prison was built in 1968 with a capacity of 1,000 prisoners. Today, France24 Observer which obtained the recent secretly filmed footage from inside Kondengue,estimates that around 5,000 prisoners are housed there. The last official count was 4,234 prisoners, reported by the Ministry of Justice in 2015.