Cameroon – Anglophone Crisis: Fon Yakum Kevin Teuvih, President of North-West House of Chiefs, kidnapped!

Par Atia T. AZOHNWI | Cameroon-Info.Net
Bambalang - 07-Dec-2021 - 22h38   13246                      
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Fon Yakum Kevin Teuvih Archives
The Guardian Post newspaper has reported the abduction of Fon Yakum Kevin Teuvih, President of the North-West House of Chiefs.

The paper reports that kidnappers gained access into the inner chamber of Fon Yakum Teuvih’s Bambalang Palace at about 5:30 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 and forcefully took him into captivity.

“A source within the Bambalang palace said the marauding fighters vamoosed into the wild with the King, around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday,” the paper reported.

Fon Yakum Teuvih was reportedly on his fourth day in the palace, apparently performing some requisite rites in the Bambalang Palace.

The Guardian Post reports that it is unclear if the kidnappers are loyal to Clement Mbashi, notoriously known by his militia pseudonym ‘General’ No Pity believed to hail from Bambalang.

“Unconfirmed reports have it that the Fon of Bambalang's kidnappers are demanding a ransom of 20 million FCFA,” the paper reported.

Aside from serving as President of the North-West House of Chiefs, Fon Yakum Teuvih is Vice President of the North-West Regional Assembly.

The whereabouts of his bodyguard at the time of his abduction remains unknown.

Cameroon’s state forces have been battling to dislodge armed separatists who pitched their tents in the North West and South West Regions since Anglophone protests transformed into an armed conflict in 2017.

Corporate demands by Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers led to protests in November 2016. The street demonstrations later morphed into ongoing running gun battles between state forces and armed separatist fighters in the predominantly English-speaking regions, leading to untold destruction of human lives, their habitats, and livelihoods.

Tit-for-tat killings, kidnappings, arsons, maiming, and outright terror have become part of daily lives in some parts of the English-speaking regions. The militiamen have recently resorted to using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in schools, markets, and other civilian environments.

Since his election into the North-West House of Chiefs on December 6, 2020, Fon Yakum Teuvih has been very vocal, carrying out several consultations aimed at restoring peace and normalcy in the North-West Region.

It is not known if the venerated traditional ruler is being held within Bambalang but it is hoped that he will be released unharmed within the shortest possible delay. His abduction adds to the tally of several traditional rulers kidnapped in the course of the lingering Anglophone crisis.

Auteur:
Atia T. AZOHNWI
 @T_B_D
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