Prisoner without a Crime. Disciplining Dissent in Ahidjo's Cameroon: Disciplining Dissent in Ahidjo's Cameroon

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine W hen I got to Tchollire, it dawned on me clearly that the Ahidjo government was serious and would never release me unless I embraced the CNU. And my spirit revolted each time someone mentioned that name near me. The stay I had had in the hospital at Yaounde had further exposed the wickedness of the regime to me. Before coming to the hospital I had sometimes entertained the belief that Ahidjo was not well informed on my case. But at the hospital a top security man had told me that daily reports, were being made about me to Ahidjo, and I met many other people who gave me an insight into the working of the government. With this I resolved to die rather than bow to Ahidjo. I thus became more hostile to the regime. No doubt my stand was strengthened by what the spirit has also revealed to me. There was a certain ameliorating factor here in Tchollire. The centre was run by northerners who had confidence in themselves and were sure the regime belonged to them so they were fairly natural in their relationship with the prisoners. This self-confidence did not allow them go to the excessive lengths southerners did in order to impress Ahidjo. In the Republic then one could easily distinguish three classes of citizenship. There was the northerner who was a citizen of exceptional class (citoyen haute classe) then the Francophone who was a first class citizen and the Anglophone who was a second class citizen. Today the haute classe and the premiere class seem to be fusing into one or changing places but the Anglophone remains in his place. The haute classe citizens knew that the regime was theirs, the 132 Albert Mukong CNU was their party, they indeed owned it and tolerated the few southerners that were numbered in the leadership of the CNU. The Anglophone knew and accepted his place as coming last in the Republic. As such he carried on his duties as carefully as he could, leaving all decisions to be made by his overlord – the Francophone Cameroonian. To the Anglophone, whether the Francophone was northerner or southerner made very little difference, they were his overlords. He had been annexed and had only to accept this lot. Even if the Francophone was a junior officer, you did not treat him without his background knowledge; for if he reported back to Yaounde, you might lose your place. The Anglophone who wanted to rise had to stooge before his French-speaking overlord, be he northerner or southerner. To show greater zeal he refused to give the Anglophone his rights and benefits but granted all the privileges to the Francophone. The Anglophone seeker of the post as well as the average Francophone southerner had to show extra zeal and admiration of all that was of northern origin – dress and religion being very distinctive. They sought marriages with northern wives and forced their daughters to marry northern overlords. A southerner placed in a position like Tanibi’s or Muyakana’a had to make life doubly bitter to his brothers so as to show his loyalty to Ahidjo. That situation is today only affected insofar as the northerner has lost his claim to citoyen haute classe. That is why unity is still on lips and has not descended to the hearts. Yes, the fact that we had northerners running Tchollire made it more tolerable. And though this is the only place where I was twice very severely beaten, I still declare that my two and half years there were the most peaceful and calm. Indeed they had to beat me so as to understand me. Once I was understood they left me alone and even made effective reports to Yaounde which ended in my release. Ahidjo had lost all respect in my eyes and so did his director of torture Forchive. I did not want to hear those two names 133 Prisoner without a Crime: Disciplining Dissent in Ahidjo’s Cameroon mentioned near me. And I told each prisoner just what I thought about them when they came talking to me about these fellows. I do not think it was with vicious intent that the Commissaire got to know about this. I think the prisoner might have just been loose-tongued when he informed the Commissaire about this attitude of mine. The Commissaire came to me and while we...