North West: Four Die, CAMTEL'S Judith Yah, Queen Mothers On Their Knees Again

By Martial Gnoukapasi

Ma fo'os expressing their frustrations of the conflict in crafted messages

Queen Mothers of the North West region, otherwise refered to as 'The Ma Fo'os', have again solicit the face of God in ending the killings characterizing the on-going conflict in the anglophone regions of the country.

This is coming a day after 4 persons were killed under mysterious circumstances around the metta quarter neighborhood in the capital city of Bamenda as a result of the crisis.

Cameroon's Telecommunications service General Manager - Ma fo'o Judith Yah Sunday eps Achidi, championing the mourning-in-prayers crusade to end the senseless killings with other Queen Mothers in the region in keeping with their promise to not stop mourning and clamouring for peace until the guns stop blazing and the war is over, came out again to express their frustration with the crisis.

Queen mothers mourn at the Bamenda commercial grandstand.

Their outing Sunday January 24th 2021 at the commercial grandstand in Bamenda saw them condemning in the strongest of terms, the atrocities that have plagued the crisis since it's inception.

The Ma fo'os who came out with crafted messages after over an hour prayer session- soliciting God's interferance in bringing the belligerents to reason via a MeMo, are still calling on the actors involve to silence the guns and resort to dialogue.

"Our offspring have been dying in their numbers because of this violence and we've come to pray that the killing should stop.. Never again should children be targeted in this violence, Never again should we be comforted for what could've been prevented.." the MeMo spells out.

Statement Presented by the queen mothers

The placards carried  messages such as:

"We Want Pens Not Guns"

"We Never Bargained For This"

"Ngarbu, Muyuka, Kumba, Never Again".

"Women are the hardest hit by the crisis"

"We appreciate the efforts of madam Achidi for organising this. It's an opportunity for women to come out and explain how they feel about the children they're loosing everyday. As mothers of the north west and south west, we don't want our children to die any longer, we are calling those killing them be it government or the armed groups to stop because we can no longer bare the pain. We pray the God we just prayed to will answer us" One of them by name nyingcho Regine said.

Queen mother of Akum

Mama Ndikum Mary is one of the queen mothers from Akum, in one of their recent outings she said it wasn't an issue to wait for another bloodshed before action is taken.

"We have endured enough and must take action. We are begging our children in the bush and the government to stop. If the children are all death by the end of the crisis, who'll bury us when we die tmrw? About the children that were killed in school in Kumba, if we don't send them to school how will they help us and their brothers and sisters. Let them stop the killing and dialogue" she said.

The mourning which saw the mothers and queen mothers in particular offering prayers to God in their mother tongues ended with a walk across the grand stand.

It really hasn't only been about convergence and crying.

The General manager of CAMTEL- Judith Yah Sunday epouse Achidi- the brain behind the mobilisation, in a similar outing in November 25th of 2020, paid a courtesy visit at the north west disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration centre where she donated Cash, basic food stuffs and sanitary materials to the ex fighters, appreciating them for surrendering their weapons and encouraging those still in the bush to do same and seek another medium to express their grievances.

"You can be angry but the best way to express your anger is not to kill your neighbor, your friend, your mother, your brother or sister...we also plead that u encourage your brothers in the bushes to come out, that they've been forgiven... tell them that your mother's want peace" she told them.

CAMTEL'S GM Judith Yah Sunday donating cash to ex-fighters at DDR

She also said as mothers, they were and are still ready and willing to reunite with their children in the bushs and rekindle the long love lost.