The sky is falling on controversial chef Moja Moja
The sky is falling on controversial chef Moja Moja
On July 12, eight lawyers felt constituted to file a complaint at the Yaoundé military court against the soldier of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bir) Ewome Eboko John, better known by the pseudonym “Moja Moja”. He is being prosecuted for torture, arrest and kidnapping, abuse of office and others. Acts committed against civilians in the Southwest.
This Monday, July 25, 2022, Jade Cameroon managed to get in touch with the soldier of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bir), Ewome Eboko John in Buea. He says he is fully aware of the complaint lodged against him by lawyers in Yaoundé.
“For me, it’s a distraction. In addition to being a soldier, I am the chief of the Bwassa Bvvassa village. I fight against those who want to destabilize the country. Lawyers who file complaints are paid by the separatists. I don’t care about their moods. For the rest, go see it with my superiors, ”says the Bir soldier in a recorded exchange. (Obviously, he does not measure the seriousness of the acts of which he is accused.)
According to numerous testimonies collected from the populations, these last two years, the soldier “Moja Moja” became famous by torturing people whom he arrested himself. even, presented them as alleged separatists, tortured them for supposedly, “collecting confessions by force”.
At the end of June, he and his gang arrested many young people whom they tortured while making videos. After a few days, one of those arrested lost his life from his injuries. Tortures that the soldier publishes on his facebook page entitled “Moja Moja Chief”, with thousands of subscribers.
He has become a real superstar. Many women have come under the rule of Moja Moja, who does his own justice by not handing over the civilians he arrests to the judicial authorities. He prefers to extract the confession himself, using his own methods.
The military authorities dissociate themselves from his actions
Many high-ranking officers who have remained anonymous affirm that the military authorities are not complicit in the actions of this soldier.
“The complaint filed in Yaoundé will follow its normal course. She will be transferred to the Buea Military Court. The government commissioner will open an investigation to hear the soldier and the evidence presented by the plaintiff lawyers. If found guilty, he will be punished according to law. The military authority has no power to protect him. I remind you that the duty of soldiers is to protect the nation. Torture and other constraints on civilians go against the rules of our operations,” said these senior officers.
At the base of the military security command (Semil), one of the commander wondered why for years that the soldier “Moja Moja” has been committing atrocities on civilians, his hierarchical superiors have not called him back to order.
“Today there is a complaint. He will be judged. Many will dissociate themselves from him. But these same people could tell him that he was making a mistake. Why don’t they do it? We are led to believe that certain superiors are complicit in what this soldier did,” complained our source.
What the Lawyers Complaint Says
Eight lawyers came together to file the complaint at the Yaoundé military court, of which Jade Cameroon had a copy. Among them, many are very well known because they defend many people involved in the Anglophone crisis, such as Me Tamfu Ngarka Richard, or Me Amungwa Tanyi. In their complaint, the lawyers vehemently denounce the abuses and physical violence perpetrated by the respondent against civilians of Cameroonian nationality in the municipality of Buea.
“The latter, through social networks and with the complicity of his gang, publishes scenes of violence and torture, thus seriously undermining the physical and moral integrity of citizens and even the image of the Cameroonian army” .
“In another very recent publication, which has gone viral on social networks, the latter shows himself practicing assaults and tortures against citizens, claiming that they belong to the secessionist group without being sure of it”
“It is inconceivable that a soldier acts under the cap of the Cameroonian army to commit atrocious acts against the citizens he is supposed to protect, while remaining unpunished. In a state governed by the rule of law, each citizen is required to scrupulously respect the law, regardless of their social status”.
The lawyers find that these acts violate articles 74, 140, 277, and 302 of the penal code, as well as the preamble of the constitution, the universal declaration of human rights and the African charter of human and peoples. And wish to have the defendant and his accomplices arrested, heard and condemned so that they answer for their culpable actions. “And it will be justice”, conclude the lawyers.
