In 1989, when he moved into the Carrefour Bastos neighbourhood in Yaounde, friend and colleague, Charlie Ndichia suddenly discovered that his neighbour was none other than Mr. Jean-Marcel Mengueme, a former minister of Territorial Administration of the Republic of Cameroun. From that minute, we constituted ourselves into Mr. Mengueme’s tormentors. We (Charlie Ndichia and Ntemfac Ofege) would stand up the tiny hill that leads to Mr. Mengueme’s villa and shout, “Mengueme, Lake Nyos! Mengueme, Lake Nyos!”
Our enterprise toned down one hilarious evening when Mr. Mengueme emerged with a pistol and shot in our direction. We were lucky. The man was either a lousy shot or we were going too fast. We had very good reason to torment Mr. Mengueme Jean-Marcel.
On 21 August 1986, Lake Nyos, a 1.2-square kilometres and 200-metre deep fresh water lake located at the furthest extreme of the North West province erupted sending out killer gasses into the surrounding valley.
More than 3,000 people (1.700 according to the habitually dubious government figures) and an untold number of livestock and other animals in the vicinity perished.
Man and beast died within 27 kilometres of the lake.
The official version says that death was from inhaling a gases later identified as a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Those who survived had roasted skins. They also say that the air hung thick with the smell of rotten eggs.
The official version also claims that the gases were part of a gigantic bubble, which had collected below the bed of the lake and suddenly exploded on the night of the fateful day. The government line would not say what triggered the “sudden” eruption.
In one of those extraordinary coincidences of history, the then Israel Prime Minister, Shimon Peres, was in Yaounde a few hours after the eruption. Mr. Peres arrived with a fully equipped hospital ship, military experts and some supplies. The official line was again that Shimon Peres was on an “unannounced official visit.”
A Los Angeles-based newspaper has since published a report to the effect that the Lake Nyos mayhem was the outcome of the testing of an Israeli thermonuclear device. The paper described the device as similar to the neutron bomb; one which liked men and beast but left buildings and vegetation untouched. The paper said that Denis Sassou Nguessou and Omar Bongo were approached for the testing and they refused the offer. The added that, president Biya of LRC, whose security detail is designed and runned by the Zionist state, accepted the offer.
Israeli military personnel, allegedly working with the presidential guard, were already in the North West province days before Lake Nyos erupted. The Israelis were the first to arrive at the site with scientific and medical equipment.
Underlining the Lake Nyos mayhem to the African Court on Human Rights as part of an ongoing genocide against English-speaking Cameroonians, by the regime in Yaounde, Law Professor, Carlson Anyangwe said the reason the Yaounde regime authorized the testing of the device in the North West province was because English-speaking Cameroonians (North Westerners especially) were “expendable.”
Stealing from the Victims
When Lake Nyos erupted (or was caused to erupt), the International Community reacted immediately. Billions flowed into Cameroon as assistance in cash and kind. It is estimated that not less that 50 billion FCFA was collected by the Yaounde regime as assistance. Almost all of the aid was plundered. The then Territorial Administration minister, Mr. Jean-Marcel Mengueme led this historic robbery of the dead and the plunder of the corpses. Nothing was too small to steal. Tents, blankets, sardines, bathing soap, shaving blades, pins, British Land Rovers, etc., all ended up in the private homes of ministers, administrators, soldiers, gendarmes and officials of the ruling party. Only a trickle reached the intended persons. The hard cash was simply diverted.
The then administrator for Menchum division, Fai Yengo Francis (today governor of the Centre province) is reported to have invested heavily into real estate and other structures thanks to Lake Nyos aid money.
Speaking for the Yaoundé regime, Mr. Mengueme justified the theft by saying that those backwoods people in Nyos were too primitive to make good use of the aid destined for them.
To this day, the Nyos victims remain abandoned to their fate. No commission of inquiry was ever set up to investigate the widespread diversion of relief aid by government officials. The amount in hard cash poured into government coffers after Lake Nyos
was more than enough to build a double-lane expressway to the area. At best a monument to the victims. Nothing of that nature happened.
Today, as Lake Nyos threatens, there is the dire need to rehabilitate the road from Bamenda to the lake, to enable contractors to mobilize equipment and materials for work on the lake.
paul biya, failed to visit the site,
he made no coment, infact even the equipment, the isrealis gave, never aarived to the survivors. he killed students in buea, bamenda, mamfe etc
He even said in france octber 2007, that he dislike any thing english, and that its a kind of linguistic imperialism, that english is dominant in
the world, and such he is creating a space in cameroun, where france can still be spoken, WHAT OTHER MOTIVE DO WE NEED? THE MAN HAVE SAID IT, DID IT, SHOWN TO THE WORLD HIS HATRED AND DISDAIN FOR ENGLISH-CULTURED SOUTHERN CAMEROONS AND HE IS DOING JUST THAT, FROM SENDING HIS FRENCH-NEGROES COMPARTRIOTS AS GOUVERNEURS AND GERDAMERIES AND POLICE COMISSEURS, TO
PREFETS AND MAYORS OF VICTORIA, ALL THESE PEOPLE SPEAK NO ENGLISH BUT ARMED TO THE TEETH AND ARE THE ONE BRUTALLY RULLING 7M SOUTHERN CAMEROONINANS WHO MAKE UO 70% OF PHD HOLDERS IN THE 2 SEPRATE COUNTRES, COME A COLONY OF ;A REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN.
SIMPLY BECAUSE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS ISNT ARMED.
Posted by: PAOLO LAURENT | November 03, 2007 at 02:19 PM
THIS SO BAD BECAUSE I AM A LIFE WITTNESS TO ALL THIS lAKE NYOS DISATER AND I WAS LIVING AND WORKING AND MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE VICTIMS IN BAFMENG 1 HILL AWAY FROM THE GENOCIDE SITE , I OFFLOADED THE FOOD AID FROM TRUCKS AND IT WAS NOTHING , AND I WAS WORKING IN THE RESCUE CAMPS , AND IT WAS NOTHING , THE HOUSES THE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS BUILT WITH THE EMPBAZZLED MONEY AR , BECAME HAUNTED AND NO ONE COULD LIVE THERE AFTERWARDS , I WAS A STUDENT IN WUM THEREAFTER SCHOOL WITH THE VICTIMS OF LAKE NYOS AND I OFTEN CRY SINCE THAT AUGUST 31ST 1986.
WELL PAUL BIYA MBIVONDO , YOU WILL HARVEST THE LOTS THAT YOU HAVE SOWN IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE AGAINST US ANGLOPHONES IN CAMEROON.
Posted by: Jinabo Horatio | November 06, 2008 at 02:54 AM
What a nice theme
==
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Posted by: Carla Maria | April 30, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Biya is the biggest coward Africa has ever seen.
Posted by: ben | May 07, 2009 at 01:17 PM
When you kill someone, you create pain and lost to the family of the victim but remember, that, the evil one (Paul Biya) will live with shame and shall die in misery. May the souls of our brothers and sisters rest in peace.
Posted by: Voice Of Cameroon | November 30, 2009 at 05:11 PM
Voice Of Cameroon want to thank the staffs of Postwatchmagazine.com for their true dedication to sponsor free and open democracy in Cameroon. Our group is willing to work closer with you (Postwatchmagazine.com) to promote and encourage freedom of expression with strong respect of human rights laws in Cameroon. Always inform us about your new upcoming projects and links that are healthy to follow. May God bless our Cameroon.
Posted by: Voice Of Cameroon | November 30, 2009 at 05:26 PM
Voice Of Cameroon credited Postwactmagazine.com the most outstanding news media of the year (2009). We will tell our group and people all over the world about your great dedication to liberate our Cameroon from brutal, tyranic dictatorship Paul Biyacth).
Posted by: Voice Of Cameroon | November 30, 2009 at 05:36 PM
LAKE NYOS YOU REMAIN ACCUSED, AS INNOCENT AS YOU ARE, DON,T WORRY YOU REMAIN OUR DARLING LAKE AND A NICE TOURISTIC SITE FOR OUR BUEATIFUL COUNTRY THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS. WE WILL KEEP OUR HEADS HIGH TO KEEP BRINGING THE WE SHALL OVERCME SACRIFICES YOU NEED WHEN OUR INDPENDENCE COMES,
Posted by: Pa NDEFRU | January 23, 2010 at 08:23 AM
Going to stay neutral. However, the was a documentary on titled - Sudden Earth - Killer Fog (Lake Nyos) shown on Channel 5 UK
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On 21 August 1986, disaster struck a remote corner of north-west Cameroon. Nearly 2,000 people dropped dead by Lake Nyos without any obvious signs of injury or struggle. The following day, news of the staggering scale of the tragedy reached the outside world.
Father Anthony Bangsi, a missionary in the village of Subum, recalls the awful event. He was a witness to the aftermath of the terrifying incident that virtually wiped out an entire village. Neither Anthony nor any of the locals could explain what happened at Lake Nyos.
American lake expert George Kling was one of the first outsiders on the scene. There was some evidence to suggest that a volcanic eruption under the lake was to blame for the incident. Bodies were burnt and people recalled smelling volcanic gases like sulphur in the air. However, Kling could find no proof of lava flows, fire fountains or any traces of volcanic gases, and the temperature of the lake was actually cooler than normal. Kling concluded that a volcano could not be responsible for the tragedy. What, then, was the cause?
Watch Link below. You might have to register to watch it but the registration is free.
http://demand.five.tv/Episode.aspx?episodeBaseName=C5148870001#review
Posted by: Ningmua Y. | January 28, 2010 at 06:46 AM