I, Forcha Charles Ndefua, born on the 12 July 1981 at Lebang Fontem, I am an active and diehard member of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). The SCNC is a political organization fighting for the sovereign independence and statehood of the former British Territory of the Southern Cameroons. As a pressure group, the SCNC also seeks to address the countless injustices and marginalization meted on the Southern Cameroonians by ‘La République du Cameroun’

I became member of the Southern Cameroons National Council on the 28th of September 2005 after suffering my own share of discrimination from the Government of La République. In early 2004, I had written the entrance exams into the Advance School of magistracy in Cameoun (EMAM). Though I saw myself quite intelligent and eligible my names and those of so many Southern Cameroonians were not amongst the successful candidates. On the contrary, there were so many names of Francophones, which the newspapers and local talks had it that they were “successful simply because they were Francophones”

In 2005 I left Cameroon as an international student on Scholarship to study for a Masters degree in Molecular Biology at Vrije Universitiet Brussels in Belgium. Seeing that I was out of the country and free from the almost daily persecution and brutalization on other Southern Cameroons’ activist like Chief Ayamba, Nfor Ngalla Nfor etc, I decided to take front row in the Southern Cameroons quest for independence. I was made Strategic Affairs Commissioner SAC. This position made me the liaison officer between the home branch of SCNC and that of the Diaspora especially that of Belgium and Sweden.

As such I was constantly on missions between Belgium, Sweden and the Southern Cameroons. Because certain documents and Materials needed for demonstration like membership cards, flags, and booklets could not be posted, I had to transport some of such documents.

My first arrest and detention was on 27th of December 2005. I went to Cameroon to spent Christmas break with my family. The arrest took place in Mutengene while attending an SCNC planning meeting in preparation for the schedule of the coming year 2006. I was taken to the police cell in Buea on that same day. While in the police cell in Buea, as a means to force out words from my mouth, I was severely man-handled by forces of La République, I was beaten and balancoired I was denied access to talk to a lawyer or to be visited by my family or friend. I was denied food and water. I was only released on the 30th of December 2005 when my health situation was very poor and I had to go to the hospital to be medically attended to.
In April 2006, I left Belgium for Cameroon to represent the SCNC Belgium in operation “whitewash” This operation amongst others was aimed at planning on the fourth coming Indepedence days celebration i.e. 1st October 2006, and renovation work on the SCNC office in Bamenda which had been destroyed by forces of La République du Cameroun early that year,
At the end of my stay I left Cameroon with a mission to see how I could mobilize other SCNC branches abroad to give financial support so that four wheel drive vehicles could be bought so as to enable SCNC leaders in Cameroon travel to the suburbs for seminars, meetings and conferences and also to get photographs which needed to go on the official website of the SCNC which I was suppose to build. Upon my departure, Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor Vice Chairman of SCNC gave me a hand full of pictures, SCNC membership cards, SCNC books and flyers. Unfortunately, my luggage was check at the Douala international Airport where on noticing the SCNC membership cards which were in my hand luggage, I was immediately arrested and detained at the airport on the 27th of April 2006. I was seriously beaten, brutalized, tortured. I had neither food nor water to drink. When the police officer who was seriously beating me heard me crying in my mother tongue when he came for another ‘sweat tea’ as they call it on the 30th of April 2006, he asked my to bribe my way out with a some worth 800 USD if not I shall die when I get transferred to the deathly Nkondengui central prison in Yaoundé. While they were dragging me to where I was locked up, I lost my wallet. I pleaded that I could use his phone to call my wife. When he gave me his phone, I immediately called the chairman of SCNC in Belgium, Mr. Morfaw L. Rene, who then called my wife to inform her of the situation. Mr. Morfaw Rene L. called and made arrangements and two activists brought money to my wife who later brought it to the airport on the next day. When I gave out this money to this police officer that was on guard that evening I begged him to re-arrange my flight for the next day. On the 1st of May 2006, I finally escaped via the help of the police who was on guard and boarded on the SNBrussels flight which was living that night for Brussels.

On the 13th of July 2006, I was again in Cameroon to spend some time with my family because my wife was heavily pregnant with a set of twins and had to deliver by operation. On the 19th of August like every expecting father, I was home with my family when three plan cloths officers rang my door bell. They insisted on taking me to the police station in Buea. I struggled to resist but they advised me to cooperate. Saying they just wanted to ask me some questions. At the office they wanted to know what my mission in Cameroon was. I tried to pretend and told them I was a Cameroonian and had rights in the country. Secondly I told them my wife was at the eve of her delivery and I had come to assist her. These heartless occupation forces did not trust my story. Roger Miferé, the commander asked that I should be beaten until I was able to talk. Then one of his junior colleagues by name Essomba, started beating me with a blonde old machete under my feet. He used his police boot to step on leg so many times. As I shouted in anguish, they laughed and told me to speak the truth. They told me I was a mercenary. They asked where I was going to with the documents that were caught with me once at Douala airport. They wanted to know what the SCNC was planning. I continuously told them I don’t know anything.

The next day, With a painful, swollen leg, the police called a Taxi and asked the driver to drop at Malingo street, where I lived. I instead directed the driver to take me to the hospital. On our way to the hospital, we had a car accident and were rushed by the crowd to a nearby hospital. At the hospital I was taken for x-rayed and treated of general body pains and painful leg. I could hardly urinate or walk. I was discharged from the hospital after 10days on crutches and told to come back in 10 to 14days for more check-up. My wife got operated on the 1st of September 2006. I got better and left Cameroon on the 21st of September 2006 back to Belgium.

Offered a ski lift operator position to work for Vail resort in Colorado USA, I left again for Cameroon to pick up my H2-B visa in Yaoundé, and to attend the SCNC press conference in Bamenda which was scheduled for the 20th of January 2007. My visa was issued on the 10th of January 2007. Because of the press conference, security operatives were sent to pickup all SCNC activists. An activist got information that a communiqué has been sent, ordering the police in Buea to arrest all SCNC activists. He immediately called me on phone and told me to escape as soon as possible. I could not escape out of the country immediately after because I knew the security at the airport was going to be very tight. I finally left Cameroon on the 13th of February 2007. My wife called to explain how she got molested when they came to look for me at my residence and she told the security operatives that she doesn’t know my where about. They insisted on searching my house and as my wife refused, they started beating up my entire family. My little boy, who was not even one year old was caught in the midst of the fighting. Presently I am traumatized and stressed up because my child (Ndefua Bright Lekeafeh Bokwe) who fell on the floor at the time my wife was beaten died 3 days later.

I therefore write to seek Political asylum in the USA because I know I will be jailed for the rest of my life and possibly receive more torture if not die from the tyrannical forces of La République du Cameroun if I return to Cameroon, and believe I shall be save and protected by the US government.

Sincerely

Charles Ndefua Forcha

Popularity: 72% [?]