Joe Dinga Pefok
27 November 2008
Some 10 Ghanaian immigrants who were arrested November 21 at the Rehabilitation Centre in Douala are being detained at the New Bell Prison.Elements of the 9th Police District carried out the arrests, maintaining that they were executing "an order from above".
The Ghanaians were taken to the Bonanjo Magistrate Court, where they were charged for illegal immigration. From the court, they were transferred to the New Bell Prison, to await trial. They are scheduled to appear in court November 26, apparently without the services of lawyers.
The 10 Ghanaians include: Godwin Anaba, 23, Cosmoss Bee, 29, Samuel Tuh, 34, Jazz Kouakou, 35, Seidou, 20, Justice Kdyaasi, 29, Scot Kwame, 34, Alex Yeboah, 30, Kwame Ketia, 43, and Kwaduo Fosu, 25.
The Ghanaians' Story
The Post learnt that there was a boat accident off the coast of Cameroon July 7, 2008. The boat, which was reportedly travelling to Gabon, had nationals of Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Some of the passengers reportedly died.
Fortunately, a Cameroon marine and some fishermen rescued 50 people. The survivors were all assembled at Kribi, which was the nearest town from the scene of the tragedy.
A two-page document signed by the SDO of the Ocean Division showed that 22 of them were Beninese, 11 were Nigerians, 10 Ghanaians, and 8 Burkinabe. The SDO had as well stated that none of the 50 survivors had valid travelling documents on them.
The Cameroon Government instructed that the victims be given adequate medical attention and then later taken to the Rehabilitation Centre at Bepanda, Douala. The Government decided to provide food to the victims, while necessary measures were allegedly being taken by the Cameroonian authorities to ensure that the victims safely return to their different countries.
Meanwhile, the nationals of Nigeria and Burkina Faso did not stay for long in the custody of the government as their diplomatic missions in Cameroon rapidly stepped in and repatriated them. Later the Beninese also went home.
With the departures of the Nigerians and Burkinabes, only the nationals of Benin and Ghana were left at the Bepanda Centre. Life was reportedly rough at the centre, especially with the regular shortage of food. It is alleged that some of the money which the Ministry of Social Affairs disbursed for the feeding of the victims never got to the centre.
In the face of the above situation, the Ghanaians reportedly suffered the most, as their country have no diplomatic mission in Cameroon. The burden of rendering assistance to the Ghanaians reportedly rested on the shoulder of the President of the small Ghanaian community in Douala, Kwame Gyimeh.
The Post gathered that the absence of a Ghanaian diplomatic mission in Cameroon made arrangements to send the Ghanaians home difficult.Sources disclosed that Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni had, October 15, instructed that the Ghanaians be set free but, for unknown reasons, that did not happen.
It is still unclear why the Ghanaians were arrested and detained and why they are being charged with illegal immigration since they did not intentionally migrate to Cameroon.
Meanwhile, there are fears that if the Ghanaian government does not intervene fast to rescue its 10 citizens, they might end up being handed imprisonments terms.
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Did that goat get a beating from his dad? He and his mom are freaks!
Big things grow out of small things. It all started like a joke before the goat impregnated its mother. This one too is starting like a joke. Bad publicity is not good for Cameroon and creating problems out of trivialities is the last thing Cameroon should ask for now. Please send the poor survivors home - they have had their fair share of problems already.