Nkambe couple arrested over allegations of child labour

Cameroon police recently intercepted a couple from Nkambe, North West region with children.  Agnes Buinda and Dairu Sanda who are currently being held at the Nkambe prison were arrested at Sop in Bui division with the minors.  Our informant in Nkambe revealed that the kids between the ages of 5-15 all hail from the Nwa sub division. The couple were reportedly interrogated by law enforcement officers and during that interrogation they claimed the kids were their relatives and that they were taking the children to Yaoundé to enable them learn a trade and give them a better future, but in reality the couple run a large cocoa plantation in the Centre region and have constantly been recruiting less privileged children from the North West region to work in the plantation.

The children were placed under the custody of the Ndu council Mayor Mr Bunyui Emmanuel. Sources from the state counsel office at Ndu hinted Cameroon Concord that the parents of the children have all been summoned and interrogated by the police. All the parents are due in court in the coming weeks. Unconfirmed reports say the parents were not aware that the law forbids the practise of handing minors to go and work as house helps or in plantations. Nwa sub divison is currently the hub for child trafficking in North West Region with a high level of illiteracy and unemployment. Most of these parents are desperate and unable to fund or feed their children, so they often welcome offers from child traffickers. We of this publication are calling on the elites and members of Nwa Sub Division Diaspora to show interest in this very disturbing revelations on the plight of children in that part of the country.