In a possible step towards justice, Eric Tataw, a Cameroonian national residing in the US state of Maryland, has been charged in Federal court with crimes including threatening violence against civilians.
Tataw, 38, is a social media activist.
The April indictment stemmed from an investigation conducted by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Diplomatic Security Service, which alleges that Tataw called for the “murder, kidnapping, maiming of civilians” as well as raising funds for armed groups in Cameroon. The investigation states that Tataw, known as the “Garri master,” a term he coined referring to the mutilation of those refusing to submit to the rule of armed separatist groups, also called for the “destruction of public, educational, and cultural property [in Cameroon].”
Human Rights Watch documented that in October 9, 2019, Tataw posted a video on his Facebook profile praising the kidnapping of two girls and their father for violating a school ban imposed by separatists.
Tataw is not the first person to be investigated outside of Cameroon for alleged crimes committed by separatist armed groups. In September 2024, Norwegian police arrested Lucas Cho Ayaba on suspicion of incitement to commit crimes against humanity in Cameroon.
Since 2016, the violent crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions has killed at least 6,000 people and forced over 334,000 from their homes. Separatist armed groups have committed serious human rights abuses.
Cameroonian government forces have also committed serious crimes, including mass killings, torture of civilians, and widespread burning of homes and other civilian property. Perpetrators have faced little accountability.
While arrests like those of Tataw and Ayaba may be steps in the right direction, justice is still painfully slow. Other alleged perpetrators of grave abuse, including government forces, should be brought to account for the serious crimes committed against civilians in Cameroon.
