Police assault, detain two Kumba reporters

Police officers of the Special Intervention Unit (ESIR) in Kumba have reportedly assaulted two journalists in the city as they tried to investigate a story involving the arrest of a Buea university student by the security forces on Saturday March 14.

Larry Esong, Kumba Chapter President of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ), told the Cameroon Journal in a phone interview that Talla Aghaa Christopher of The Sun Newspaper and Divine Nyambod of Lake Site Radio were brutalized and detained at the Kumba Central Police station late afternoon on Saturday, March 14.

The journalists were detained as they investigated a case of torture carried out by the police in Kumba on the university student. However, pressure mounted by other journalists in Kumba yielded fruits – the two detained colleagues were released at 7pm after spending close to four hours behind bars.

Talla was transported to the Kumba District Hospital for medical attention immediately after release.

He later narrated to the Cameroon Journal the circumstances that led to their arrest. He said they were arrested as they tried to investigate a matter where the police had wrongfully tortured and brutalized a civilian.

“At a police checkpoint at Kake II, Kumba, a young University of Buea graduate, Franklin Suh had before presenting his identification documents to the officers demanded that they identify themselves. Angered by the request for them to identify themselves, the police assaulted Suh and detained him at the Kumba Central Police Station,” Talla recounted.

“We got a hint on the information and followed up to investigate. We got to the police station at about 2pm just when the victim was being released. As I struggled to take pictures of the scene, elements of the ESIR pounced on me and then my colleague Nyambod. We were later detained. It took the intervention of colleagues for the Assistant Commissioner to order for our release,” Talla said.

Talla who was recently sworn into the bar has promised to seek legal redress. “I’ll see my lawyer on Monday so that we can build a case against the officers in question. This rubbish has got to stop,” Talla said.