Cameroon: Manhunt for Limbe market arson Underway

Judicial police in the South west region are digging deeper into the arson at the Limbe old and new markets which ravaged 30 shops in 48hours last week, to which all indicators show it is a planned mission.

A young man in his mid twenties was arrested in connection with the incident in the sea side city and his revelations are staggering. The suspect is said to have revealed that he received 150.000 FCFA to carry out the act. French daily Le Jour confirms the suspect was given 50.000 FCFA and the rest was to be paid after he finished his mission. However he did not give the name of his sponsor.  

South West Governor, Bernard Okalia who qualified the incident as an act of terrorism has told the press today that a thorough man hunt has been launched to fish out accomplices to these heinous crimes.

Major markets in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have suffered huge financial losses following a series of what investigators say are “well planned, coordinated and executed acts of terror on the population from unknown sources.” Accusing fingers are pointing at secessionist groups abroad calling for the complete independence of Cameroon’s English speaking regions presently rocked a tensed socio political crisis.

Ghost town which has been used as a weapon to demonstrate dissatisfaction over marginalization of the anglophone minority has been losing steam in Limbé as some traders think it's an economic slowdown to their businesses.  

Some of them have told Camcord that they who dare to open their shops during the ghost towns have been tagged as supporting the regime’s injustices on the people and most of them are now facing stigmatization and threats from their community. Though the secessionist movements have not officially claimed responsibility for these acts, repeated calls for the population to denounce those who refuse to be part of ghost towns with severe consequences has been a strong indicator to where the accusation swings. One of the leaders of the outlawed Consortium has however  distanced the body from these acts of violence putting the blame on government agents who disguise to carry out these acts on the people.

The big questions remains who could have paid the young suspect to unleash terror in these markets and for what motive. That's what investigators are now trying to unveil.