Ebenezer Akwanga

Dr. Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga is an Ambazonian independence activist.^[2] He is the chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement, and heads its armed wing, SOCADEF.^[3] A former student at the University of Buea, he and fellow activist Ayaba Cho Lucas founded a pro-independence student association. Their movement was soon outlawed, and in 1997, Akwanga was imprisoned for six years.^[4] Following his escape from prison, he joined forces with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). When the SCNC split into several factions, he became the leader of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL).^[5] The SCYL eventually transformed into the African People's Liberation Movement (APLM). In March 2019, he oversaw the APLM taking part in founding the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, in an attempt to form a united front.^[6] Akwanga is also an advocate of the Biafran case, and has spoken in favor of an alliance between Ambazonian and Biafran independence movements. He has called for referendums on independence in both the former Southern Cameroons (including Bakassi) and Biafra.^[4]

Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga
Born	1970 Tiko, Cameroon
Nationality	Cameroonian
Education	PhD Political Science 2014 University of KwaZulu-Natal^[1]
Occupation(s)	Chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, Secretary General of the Organization of Emerging African States and leader of SOCADEF
Spouse	Agnes Abungwi Akwanga

Political career

Ebenezer Akwanga became a political activist in 1993, initially campaigning peacefully for the rights of the people of Southern Cameroons as a student leader of the University of Buea Students Union which worked together with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). He took an active part in the uprising of March 1997 against oppression and discrimination by the Cameroun government. .^[7] He was arrested and tried by a military tribunal. For the next six years he suffered a range of serious human rights violations at the hands of the Republic of Cameroun. These included torture, incommunicado detention, and a variety of forms of abuse in prison including being held in grossly overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, lack of proper food and wholly inadequate medical care. He suffered paralysis of his lower limbs and impaired vision as a result of torture and spent over 700 days in solitary confinement. In 1999 he was sentenced by the military tribunal to 20 years in prison. In 2003 he escaped to Nigeria and from there, after some 30 months evading arrest, he was re-settled in the USA where he lives today.^[2] From the United States, Akwanga continued the struggle for the Southern Cameroonian people. The NGO REDRESS lodged a petition on Ebenezer's behalf with the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) for multiple breaches of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including torture, over the period 1997 to 2003.^[2] In a unanimous decision made on 22 March 2011 UNHRC upheld the petition brought by REDRESS on behalf of Ebenezer against Cameroon. The petition averred multiple breaches of the ICCPR. In 2011-2014, Ebenezer Akwanga, Ayaba Cho Lucas and other independence advocates founded a Southern Cameroons Government affiliated with an armed wing, SOCADEF. The government signed agreements with two Canadian public companies to promote future assets and resources in Southern Cameroons and legally contest ownership.^[8] The Camerounian government-controlled press later credited Akwanga's government with being one of the primary movers of the October 2017 Declaration of Independence of Ambazonia.^[9]

Assassination attempts

The government of Cameroon has attempted to eliminate Akwanga on several occasions; in Buea, Southern Cameroons by poison in 2003,^[10] in Lagos, Nigeria in 2005 with at least three attempts by Cameroonian agents,^[11] and in South Africa in 2012 with a murder and kidnapping plot.^[12]

Ambazonia campaign

The October 2017 Ambazonia Declaration of Independence resulted in Akwanga revitalizing and arming SOCADEF (Southern Cameroons Defense Force) as a self-defense force. According to International Crisis Group, SOCADEF, is one of the largest armed units operating in Ambazonia.^[13] Akwanga has also been extremely active on the diplomatic front with appearances noted in Ghana, South Africa, Malawi, and many other places on behalf of Ambazonia.

References

1. PhD Thesis, From Autonomy to Independence: The Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, From Autonomy to IndependenceThe Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, July 2014. Accessed July 31, 2019.
2. Redress, Ebenezer Akwanga v. Cameroons. Accessed May 4, 2019.
3. Who are Cameroon's English-speaking separatists?, Daily Nation, Feb 20, 2018. Accessed Apr 22, 2018.
4. Biafra and Southern Cameroons might 'join forces to achieve independence', International Business Times, Feb 25, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
5. How one part of Cameroon still wants to hold on to its Anglo-Saxon roots, International Business Times, Dec 7, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
6. Federalists Meet Restorationists, Which Group Will Perform The Osmosis?, Cameroon News Agency, Mar 29, 2019. Accessed Apr 10, 2019.
7. March 1997 incidents in the north-west province CMR36066.E', Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Jan 31, 2001. Accessed May 10, 2019.
8. [1] Declaration of State of Emergency in Bakassi Region, April 4, 2013. Accessed May 10, 2019.
9. [2] Tout savoir sur Kilimanjaro Capital, la nébuleuse financière canadienne associée aux sécessionnistes camerounais, Investir au Cameroun, June 15, 2018. Accessed May 10, 2019.
10. [3] About the CEO, Ebenezer Akwanga Human Rights and Humanitarian Institute. December 5, 2012. Accessed May 10, 2019.
11. [4], Cameroon: Akwanga Announces Assassination Attempt, All Africa News Service, Oct. 4, 2005. Accessed May 10, 2019.
12. [5] Murder for Hire Plot, Abakwa Times, Dec. 5, 2012. Accessed May 12, 2019.
13. [6] Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis: How to Get to Talks?, International Crisis Group, May 2, 2019. Accessed May 10, 2019.