Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Tata Mbunwe
Published on 2024-02-16 14:09:18
By Tata Mbunwe
The 15-year-old girl who died in the massive explosion in Nkambe on 11th February was a displaced person from Bui, who had to seek education in Nkambe due to armed conflict.
Cherish Lemnyuy Bonge, the only casualty of the separatist bomb attack that injured over 70 people, had been residing in Nkambe since 2022, driven by her pursuit of education.
She was admitted into Form Three at Government High School Nyanji, Nkambe in 2022 and was promoted to Form Four last year.
The intense conflict and the ban on education by separatists in her hometown, Bui Division, had forced her parents to move her from Bui to Douala for education. However, in 2022, her parents decided to relocate her to Nkambe due to relative calm and its proximity to Bui.
Tragically, the explosion during Youth Day celebrations in Nkambe shattered her dreams and brought her young life to a sudden end.
She died on the spot when an improvised explosive device detonated at a crowded area near the Nkambe grandstand on Youth Day.
“I feel sorry for Lenyuy’s family from Bui, whose daughter was killed just because she was seeking education,” said Hon Ngala Gerard, the Member of Parliament for Nkambe Central.
Hon Ngala is among many Anglophone elite who have been advocating for education in the English-speaking Regions since 2016, when education was disrupted due to protests against marginalization.
Separatists, who later “hijacked” the protests and declared independence in 2017, continued to wage a fierce war against education and used force to enforce anti-school campaigns.
The conflict has disrupted the education of more than 700,000 school children in the two English-speaking Regions, according to the UN. It has also led to the burning of dozens of schools and the killing, torture, and kidnapping of hundreds of students, teachers, and education promoters.
The United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states that about 2,245 schools in the North West and South West regions are still not functioning in 2024.
Thousands of school children have been forced to seek education in safer areas of the English-speaking Regions, but it turns out, like in the case of Nkambe, that nowhere is completely safe.
Cherish Lemnyuy is the latest victim of what many say is a senseless war against education, which has persisted despite numerous condemnations from national and international bodies.
Hundreds of people attended Lemnyuy’s funeral in Nkambe on Wednesday, February 14, an emotional event that depicted the harrowing reality experienced by most English-speaking Cameroonians since 2016.
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
