Biya's Power Lotion

Blood: Biya’s Power Lotion


By Ebale Angounou
















The Inside Story of a Bloodhound Who May Be a Serial Killer





[Any holder of this publication should avoid going to Cameroon, for he runs the risk of paying for this crime with his blood.]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author extends his sincere thanks to all who have contributed either directly or indirectly to the making of this book and would like to mention some illustrious Cameroonians like Mongo Beti (writer ), NI JOHN FRU NDI [Political leader], Cardinal CHRISTIANN TUMI ([prelate) EKANE ANICET(politician), NJAWE PIUS, HAMAN MANA and TENFACK OFEGUE (journalists). May the Cameroonian people appreciate them for it. PREFACE Publishing “Blood-Biya Power Lotion” predisposes me for exile, but I am at a loss whether to regret or rejoice going. Since the First Republic, many Cameroonians have experienced life in exile. Some of them have never been back into the country either because they have chosen to remain outside or because the existing conditions do not permit them to come back. The luckier ones like my brother Abel Eyinga have staged a come back. Through his extreme and totalitarian methods, President Ahidjo made a considerable number of Cameroonians who sensed their lives endangered to leave the country for other lands where their lives would be safer. With the advent of Paul Biya a man of a different culture, many people expected great changes. Lured by his speeches, many political refugees came back however, the second president was to prove no better than his predecessor This flight of intellectuals like father Jean-Marc Ela constitutes a haemorrhage of high dimension as the country is losing more and more of its values. However it is hardly pleasing to leave because even when exile seems to be the only way out, something inside us always makes us recoil or it attracts us back into the country- a beloved one, a recollection, a feeling, etc- only to be compelled by the desire to go no living to go on exile again. Such is my predicament

My name is Ebale Angounou. I am a Cameroonian who, on 27-May 2001, turned thirty-nine. I do not want to be styled an opponent of Paul Biya’s regime. Instead, I am opposed to the practices into which he has delved in order to prolong his stay in power. These practices constitute the subject matter of this book. I have presented them in a cold manner, taking care not to associate the story with my personal feelings; I have many friends within the opposition of whom I am proud. I equally have others within the circle of Paul Biya’s intimate friends of whom I was one. I was later considered a defector in 1991 and imprisoned at the Kondengui prison following false accusations which warranted my receiving a thirty-month prison-term. I am still suffering the after –effects of this exceptionally hideous detention. It was after passing through these experiences that my first publication, Paul Biya,Le Cauchemar de ma vie (Paul Biya ,The Nightmare Of My Life) was edited by Pius Njawe’s Le Messager Newspaper and released in 1992. As foreseen ,the circulation and sale of the book were banned and could only be undertaken underground Moreover, I have written and edited several other publications, the most remarkable of which is Sideania- a love story centering on AIDS published in Cameroon in October 2001. I am looking forward to publishing two other novels: Les Cloches Folles and Brume. I have also written on politics; though this has not projected me. In my country, I am targeted by rulers who have constantly kept an eye on me, hoping that I should make a slip so that they send me back to “Yuma” (prison).

It all began with an interview I granted Le Messager in June 1991; when I became one of the personalities receiving high media attention. I purportedly threatened at that time to expose all the “small secrets” of the President of the Republic with this rather innocent statement which drew severe consequences: “If I open my mouth, the President will resign.” It is in this book that I have opened my mouth. Although I am not expecting him to resign, I can forecast the President’s reaction: reason why I have to be on the run. Since then I have always been watchful of the happenings around me in certain environments. In this country where all institutions are on the pay-roll of a godfather who has not revealed his name, mere mention of my name often occasions a type of irritability politicians find difficult to control. What then can a citizen at loggerheads with the President expect? If I am still alive after my sad experiences in my country, it is due to God’s grace. I had taken an oath not to write on subjects but have been unable to keep to my word. I had to write this book because I could not afford to be an accomplice to this type of a man by remaining silent. This publication will certainly be banned in Cameroon and many people will incur the fierce assaults of the President’s security services. Each reader is entitled to his’ or /her opinion after reading this book. This will not alter my fate; forever while on exile, I am bound to be expecting anything. I have known Jeanne-Irene (the lady I almost venerated) and Roger Motaze (the brilliant army officer). The three of us have suffered at the hands of Paul Biya, the only difference being that I am still alive to testify and pay homage to their fame. My deep sympathy goes to my parents, brothers, sisters, friends and all else who will fail to see the rationale behind this suicidal act of mine.

1. T H E P A C T

He wanted to resign from the office of President of the Republic but as is well –known, it is not easy to completely relinquish power after exercising it absolutely for almost a quarter of a century. It then occurred to him to fasten a guaranty by looking for someone to whom he could bequeath his post and manipulate to his fancy in such a manner as to allow him continue to exercise power, his resignation being ,in that case, only a physical retirement. He needed concrete reasons to advance for resigning because no one saw why he should. Allusions have been made here and there to health reasons but President Ahidjo was a man of momentous solemnity and suspense He enjoyed creating surprises and knew how to brand each with a special mark .Had he willed it, he would have enthroned a different person as successor by appointing a new prime minister before resigning. This new prime minister would, following the machinery of the constitution, have acceded to the post of president. There transpired between the President and his successor a very secret deal; a pact. This was Ahidjo’s bid to be assured of Paul Biya’s loyalty. Since Ahidjo was a Freemason, another Freemason, Louis –Paul Ajoulat had recommended Biya to him- proof of a strong fraternity which works efficaciously amongst politicians. On his return from France where he had pursued higher studies, young Paul was not imbued with the state of affairs and practices prevailing in Africa. These demanded a person to compromise himself if he wanted to be integrated into the higher spheres of power. In truth, it was held that people could not do certain things without having done some other things. Paul Biya was born on 13- February 1933 in Mvoeka’a in Dja and Lobo Division.(south Cameroon). He obtained the Baccalaureate with distinction in 1956 at Lycée Général Leclerc in Yaounde. This former seminarian from Akone and Edea took off for Paris where he did his higher studies at Lycée Louis-Le-Grand, the University of Paris Sorbonne, Institut d’Etudes Politiques and Institut des Hautes Etudes d’Outre-Mer. These studies were sanctioned by a First Degree in Public Law (1960) diplomas from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (1961), Institut des Hautes Etudes d’Outre- Mer (1962) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Law`(1963.) On his return in 1962 with Atyam Jeanne-Irene (An Akonolinga - born midwife he met and wedded in Paris in the early1960’s, he began a rich professional career with a phenomenal ascent thanks to Dr. Ajoulat who influenced Ahidjo to promote him from one rung to the next. He was appointed Charge de Missions at the Presidency of the Republic in October1962, then Director of Cabinet to the Minister of National Education, Youth and Culture in January1964. In December 1967, he was made Director of Civil Cabinet of the President of the Republic to become Secretary -General at the Presidency in 1968, While holding this office, he was promoted to the rank of Minister of state in June 1970, to be finally appointed Prime Minister of the United Republic of Cameroon in 1975 Before resigning, Ahidjo, by design and as a political precaution, decided to be succeeded by one who would obey to his whims and caprices. Doing so not only shielded him from nasty situations; it would also bring his influence to bear on this successor, thus permitting him to have a free hand in shaping the destiny of the country. But who was to be the President’s man? Ahidjo belonged to the initiatory circles of the Freemasonry. Consequently, he knew the grounds on which he could bind a person. His prime minister clearly seemed the right person for the job. He fulfilled all the necessary criteria. Careerwise, he could rightfully assume office as president (since he was already the prime minister) and psychology-wise he would be a good puppet. Ahidjo thought he was dealing with a discreet, humble and cowardly simpleton who rightly speaking was incapable of assuming his responsibilities; the ideal person to be manipulated. It was Ahidjo’s intention to pass behind the scenes and, through him, intervene in major decisions on how the country should be governed. All was not, however, set. Paul Biya had to be made to understand that he was and remained a tool, which he should know that if he became head of state he should consider it as Ahidjo’s special favour and, as such, must be grateful to him for it. It was clear other people like Ayissi Mvodo, Eboua Samuel etc could have made better presidents because of their greater personalities. All the same, Ahidjo had subjective rather than objective reasons for placing his choice on Paul Biya. It was within Ahidjo’s reach to do and undo the constitution without the slightest opposition from any quarters. Has he ordained to be succeeded by someone other than the Prime Minister, no one would have raised a little finger.

He could even, in defiance of the provisions of the constitution, have appointed or designated his successor. No one would have protested. It can thus be seen that allowing things as they were made it possible for Paul Biya to be Ahidjo’s successor because it was the latter’s will. However, The future president must obtain this post under a somewhat salty condition in the form of a pact. The two men committed a homosexual act to seal the pact. The beneficiary of the post would die if he happened to violate the terms of the pact-Paul Biya must obey and submit himself to Ahidjo. Paul Biya did not readily yield to and approve of sodomy. But if such was the price to pay to become head of state, he was prepared to pay it. Besides, that was not his first time of going through it. Growing up as a catechists son, he had been fatally obliged to frequent and keep close to old missionaries (priest) to whom his family was acquainted .Many of these missionaries were so aware of the beauty and feminine demeanour of the adolescent that he fell victim to the paedophile missionaries several times. His father hushed up these scandals in order not to compromise his career as a catechist on which he depended entirely and which, at least, gave him the privilege of being close to the white missionaries. This proximity gave him many advantages. Catechists had an upper hand in all societal settings and enjoyed the privilege of seeing missionaries take care of their children’s education. Paul Biya was one of such children.

2. T H E R I F T

Ahidjo entered into history in golden letters in November 1982 when Paul Biya became Cameroon’s second president. He promised to rule by the Constitution, the country’s fundamental law. Perfect harmony reigned between the two men with the former President stretching his zeal to the extent of campaigning for his successor in his native North-which had difficulty accepting the new state of things. Hence, he had to explain the reason for his action to his brothers. He was obliged to reassure-and convince them that real power was in Northern hands and that nothing had changed. It is in this light that the former president and his successor embarked on a great campaign that inflamed the whole country. Paul Biya did not fail to intimate his gratitude to his predecessor whom he described illustrious in speeches throughout his tour as “illustrations”. In like manner, consultation between the two men became frequent and regular; the president of the Republic showing his obedience and submission to his ‘illustrious predecessor” by responding to his summonses both from Yaounde and from Garoua. Before taking any major decision, Paul Biya had to consult Ahidjo who lavished his advice, expressed his ideas and views and orientated the President’s action. During President Ahidjo’s rule, Muslim northerners enjoyed enormous advantages in the public and private sector. Traders and Northern members of other guilds had special and specific favours which placed them above their other compatriots. After Ahidjo, some ministers decided to put things in order. This is how Engo Pierre Desire, then minister of commerce, decided to make the rules in the attributing and processing of licenses uniform to all. Muslim traders soon realized this reversal of their situation and promptly complained to Ahidjo and ended up asking for Engo’s departure. It did not take Ahidjo long to once more summon Paul Biya and talk to him in condescending tones in the presence of the Northern elite and finally asking him to sack Engo. Irritated by the discomfort roused in him by these daily checks and the pressure his “illustrious predecessor”. was exerting on him Paul Biya, considered this injunction as the last straw to break the camel’s back. There and then, he told Ahidjo that it was the last time he (Biya) was to take orders from him. In fact, Biya bad just realized that there could be only one president in a country. It all began with the discovery that Ahidjo was using his position to protect his tribesmen and ameliorating their conditions while pushing him, Biya, to serve him even through depriving his Beti tribesmen. Rupture between the two men started being felt. Engo was dismissed from his ministerial post and appointed director-general of the National Social Insurance Fund where he has remained up till date. Paul Biya’s first serious disregard for Ahidjo was when the latter requested that a private convertible car and motorized escort be provided him during all his outings. The President replied; And when there will be three, four or five former presidents circulating the streets with such retinues, will the capital’s streets be large enough to accommodate them and the other Cameroonians?” With successive disagreements, relations between the two men became difficult to contain. The former president became eager to regain power and settle scores with the “pretentious Biya”. Cameroon was still subjected to one-party rule under the Cameroon National Union (C.N.U.), whose founder (Ahidjo) still retained the post of party president. All parliamentarians were sympathetic to his cause; they were all C.N.U .parliamentarians. The one who had resigned intended to use them and overthrow his successor.

With the complicity of his closest friends at the National Assembly he formulated a bill intended to make the party president head of state with powers to appoint and dismiss the president of the republic .A few hours prior to the assembly‘s enactment of the bill. Paul Biya received a tip-off from a defecting parliamentarian. He promptly hastened to Ngoa Ekelle and withdrew the piece of paper that would gave nailed him. If this conspiracy had succeeded, Ahidjo would no doubt have brought unforetold distress to his successor. He had already made it known that he would first of all have his successor behind bars for embezzlement of public funds before proceeding to other trials. The president was at once obliged to compensate his godlike informant by appointing him minister of information and culture-Sengat Kouoh Francois. The chief of Presidential Security, the then Colonel Ze Meka, was dismissed. Biya judged that he was prone to alarmism and disaster mongering. Admitted that with Ahidjo around it was necessary to be on the alert. But suspecting army officers and ordering their arrest simply because they invited their colleagues for a drink in a secluded environment results from sheer fantasy. Biya frowned at these arrests because the colonel’s suspects were of northern origin. Does an officer of northern origin not have the right to invite his colleague for a drink in a pub?” This seems to have been Biya’s reasoning. Things so soured between the two former cronies that they soon embarked on a war of information. Paul Biya used the local press to condemn plots-real or imaginary-to destabilize the state. He did not fail to warn certain friendly countries who were conspiring with some influential though retired Cameroonians to destabilize the country-allusion to Morocco. 14- January, 1984 saw him elect President of the Republic. All, it seemed was over with Ahmadou Ahidjo…. But the former president had not yet played his trump card.

3. THE PUTSCH

Indignation mounted; had they not concluded a pact? Did Paul Biya not know that he had violated the terms of the pact and that, as a consequence of this violation he must die?. Thenceforth, he must expect the worst on his physical and the metaphysical bodies. In a swift response to the treachery, elements of the armed forces loyal to Ahidjo on 6- organised themselves and, on 6- April, 1984, attempted to overthrow Biya. Although they failed in their objective, they successfully sowed panic in Yaounde and throughout the country. From Paris, a reserved Ahidjo beamed; “If they (the coup plotters) are my partisans they will succeed,”-an assurance passionately attacked by the editor in chief of the government daily, Cameroon Tribune, Henri Bandolo, who had enjoyed exceptional relations with Ahidjo. T he failed coup gave the security and intelligence services the opportunity to test their efficiency. Benefiting from the advantage of the surprise element, the mutineers would have succeeded had they been more intelligent and instilled. If a faction of the army could successfully mobilize behind a colonel (Sale Abraham) undisturbed, what then were the intelligence services doing? When the army headquarters came under attack, the commander of this strategic unit, colonel Asso’o Ename Benoit, decided to flee without his wife whom the others heartily raped at their leisure to their full pleasure. They coerced general Semengue (then the highest officer of the national army and the army chief of staff) into escaping from his H.Q through the hole of the air conditioners and hiding in a vehicle trunk to be whisked off by his driver, who thus had the destiny of the army in his hands. Indeed, before crossing one checkpoint, he had to convince the mutineers that the brilliant officer general had been cornered in his residence. This general bas been gifted with the powers of transforming and disappearing which he could have used on that occasion to evade his pursuers in a more gentlemanly and honourable manner. The mutineers arrested the delegate-general for National security, Mbarga Mguele Martin in his residence as he was conversing on long-distance with someone in Paris who was keeping him informed of the coup. One of the delegate’s nephews who deemed himself fit to save his uncle from arrest paid for this fit of courage with his life. The minister of Armed Force’s Andze Tsoungui Gilbert took flight in the face of the mutineers, who also took hostages amongst whom featured Colonel Douala Massango, Mbarga Nguele, e.t.c. The mutineers naivety and lack of experience helped loyalist troops to re-organize themselves and prepare a riposte that saved Biya’s seat and saved the country from a wave of violence and score-settling. The mutineers were executed near Mbalmayo and the country regained its normal course of life. Thenceforth, things were never to be the same in both camps, Biya had never faced such difficult moments and had thought his hour was at hand. He would have to use al conceivable methods to ensure his safety, for he had realized that Ahidjo was all out to regain power. He had caught his breath for himself and also for Cameroon. His eyes opened all of a sudden. Should he obstruct himself with sacrosanct principles of a seminarian? If he really wanted to remain president he would have to fling himself into water and get wet. If he wanted to make an omelette, he must break eggs. Power had proved difficult to exercise with clean hands. Ahidjo discovered that he was completely losing power he had thought both of them would share. Power, however, could not- and cannot- be shared. He had had a sad experience of this truism after allowing Paul Biya, whom he had thought pliable, to outsmart him. He had seen Biya get rid of him and show him that he could ride the horse on his own. Biya had to bear the consequences of the painful treachery. Was there another solution? Alongside his partisans, Ahidjo had tried his hand at the most ultimate solution but had failed woefully. His partisans were now being tracked down throughout the national territory to be coldly executed after trials whose judgments were foregone conclusions. Paul Biya drew lessons from the failed coup. In the cabinet reshuffle which followed, the Minister of Armed Forces was dismissed. The same fate befell Minister Foumou Akame Jean of Territorial Administration and Jean Forchive, Director General of C E N E R, Cameroon’s specialized secret service. The police chief later on had a relatively better fate, for he was appointed chief of a diplomatic mission.

4. THE METAMORPHORSIS

Great illnesses deserve strong medicines Paul Biya finally understood that remaining Head of state was going to be short-lived for him if he did not drench himself in certain practices. It became necessary to lean on someone to get surrounded buy the occult powers of Cameroon’s sages. He had to go about it step by step so as to avoid counter-effects that might prove as harmful to him as excess air might make an over-inflated ball burst. However, Colonel Asso’o Emane Benoit on whom he devotedly relied proposed-as did Commissioner Minlo’o Medjo Pierre, chief of presidential security-a better solution. The man in question was a native of Djoum in Dja and Lobo, Paul Biya’s division of origin. Pygmies live in this region. These people are near- savages with life standards ranging between those of men and those of animals, Living in the wilds off Djoum in their camps which they have to change and renovate as they migrate along, they are custodians of some type of knowledge and secrets unattainable by “modern” men. This is due to their nearness to the animalistic conditions which they experience despite their being (paradoxically) men. Possessing a mastery of animal alchemy, these men are endowed with extraordinary powers. Their knowledge of forest and bush secrets makes them capable of transforming into animals and plants of their choice through various rites and techniques. It is thanks to these practices that they are able to live with animals in the forest, master the normal of the latter and rule it. They then live undisturbed on fishing, hunting and gathering herb s. Colonel Asso’o was well-known in some camps. 0f course, he was not the only one frequenting them; a considerable number of Cameroonians aware of the pygmies’ secret powers had approached them in quest all sorts of blessings, prescriptions and magical to see their dreams materialize. The commander of the army headquarters, Asso’o, was believed to be keeping a lion in his residence. This lion only came out at night when total quiet reigned in the compound. It is then that soldiers on guard heard repeated roars which seemed to serve as a deliberate precursor to what they would see. The lion would appear- majestic, supple, lordly but cautious. It kept its distance from the guards and walked slowly as if on an inspection tour of the compound. Then, it would dash into the darkness enveloping the compound. No one knew where it settled down to rest. Although some people said it had its own room in the house, there was no lion- cage anywhere in the compound, neither was there the least clue as to the existence of a lion in the compound nor special food provisions Of-course, repeated and stern orders were usually given to the sentries not to get frightened at the sight of a lion within the vicinity. They were not to scare it away or provoke it in away. It was part of the family and could not harm anyone and so, should only be looked at and left alone. The truth is that it was the colonel himself transformed into a lion! (He is one of those who have made themselves known as lion- men). Paul Biya also became one of them by not only enlisting into the large family of those who transform. He also and specially joined the special family of the “felines”--the clan of the lion-men. To help him attain this level, Asso’O Emane Benoit served him as godfather before the pygmies of Djoum/. However, not only lion-men surround the head of state. With him are others who belong to various species, families and clans of animals. During specific meetings, all of them assume their animal shapes. This technique can be got only from the pigmies of Djoum. Even while practicing sheer witchcraft many of them assume the shapes of any animals of their choice. This phenomenon is well known by African hunters Many hunters thinking they have shot an animal have been sentenced in courts after the corpses of well known human beings have been seen a the site of the shooting, Nowadays, hunters have to use certain formulae to prove their case.

In some tribes, totem phenomena are so frequent that they have ceased to be mysterious and when an animal is killed under such circumstances the death of a man corresponding to such an animal is to be anticipated. This principle holds with people who transform. When a person transforms into an animal, bird or any other creature, his human shape will exhibit any injury sustained by his animal shape. In other words, if a person transformed is killed as an animal, his body will replace that of the animal at the scene of the shooting. This almost once happened at the Mvomeka’a palace. A Presidential guard had just left duty and was heading home when, suddenly, a lion appeared a little way off. Fright got hold of him and he panicked Then, he loaded his revolver and took aim to shoot. He was, however, gunned down by the smarter elements of the presidential security service assigned to follow the lion and ensure its safety. But is a lion- be it the president’s- worth a man’s life? It was in fact the president himself. The presidential guard did not know he was about to shoot his president become lion. On their part, the men of the presidential security service were also oblivious of the fact that they were protecting the president himself and not his lion as they supposed. Why does he transform into a lion? People assume any animal’s shape on purpose. They transform into animals whose character traits they want to inherit. The person who chooses to transform onto a lion takes up and is endowed with its qualities; courage strength, authority, domination, etc. The animal shape serves as an expedient source for these men to acquire and crystallize in themselves the predominant character traits of the chosen animal.

5. THE HAUNTED PALACE

All was not yet lost for Ahidjo. He still had his last card - a joker for that matter -to play Paul Biya was only a vile renegade who had betrayed him-Ahidjo of all men who had created, moulded and raised him so high to the firmaments of glory that he did not want to come down. Nothing, in fact, had predestined for him such a high office. Is that how he could pay someone who raised him to such heights? Ahidjo was bursting with fury and vowed to tale vengeance. He had lost a battle, even two or three- but the war was still on and he could still win it. How absurd power is! The quest for it makes people mad. President Ahidjo would not hear the voice of reason and could not surrender to the obvious. He no longer had anything; no army to support him and only a few sympathizers mattered here and there and, for fear of reprisals, unable to publicly confess their sympathy for the one who had once been “the father of the nation”. Those he could rely in had been discarded from state affairs- fir instance, Ngwa Samuel, his last delegate- general for national security, After administering the police for twenty- seven years, he was dismissed and replaced with Mbarga Nguele Martin, director of general intelligence of the National Security. Within two hours, the latter was promoted, appointed and installed in place of Ngwa Samuel who was suspected of being in good terms with Ahidjo. It was rumoured behind palace scenes that he had just received a hundred million undervalued francsCFA1983) from Ahidjo to smuggle arms into the country to be used in overthrowing Biya. The veracity or falsity of this information has never been established. However, the same sources contend that a few hours before dismissing Ngwa Samuel, him to transfer the stated amount into the state treasury. It is said he did. However, the former delegate- general denied knowing anything of which he was being accused. A day later, one of his former collaborators and a high official of the Cameroonian police force- Nkwende Alfred-paid him a visited in the presence of the author of this book (“son” to the former delegate-general as he was to be to the new one). Ngwa Samuel affirmed and re-iterated his innocence to his interlocutor who has called to express his sympathy. It was clear that Ahidjo no longer had any supporter within the state machinery. Paul Biya has placed his spies at all corners and restructured the political and administrative outlook; the centre South and the North provinces were each spill up, so that they respectively became the center and south provinces on the one hand, and the Adamawa, the North and the Extreme North provinces on the other. In like manner, the only party, the CNU, became the Cameroon People’s Democratic movement (CPDM), groundwork of Paul Biya’s. The last of Ahidjo’s marks crumbled. All these changes were not meant to comfort him. To personally deal with Biya, Ahidjo decided to use methods typical of initiated men- faculty developed and acquired by people versed in the hermetic sciences, making them capable of being physically present at several places at the same time. With Ahidjo appearing unexpectedly and at untimely moments, peace and serenity drained out of the Unity Palace. He could be seen on corridors, along passages and other special rooms. He appeared in bedrooms and kitchens, putting their acceptance in flight. He appeared in sitting-rooms, libraries and private offices with a gun in his hand probably looking for Biya to put an end to his lice.

There was commotion each time he appeared. Quite aware of the gravity of the situation, the president who had escaped his predator many times ended up going a desperate order to his security services to shoot Ahidjo on sight. This situation was hardly pleasing for Paul Biya was kept under the watchful eyes of his fear of being cornered by his hunter in an isolated place and gunned down. In esoteric societies, magical ubiquity or omnipresence is practiced by those who have attained respectable levels in their career. With sorcerers, it is the most elementary exercise. Many people who have mastered it can perform it. Ahidjo was, of course, taking risks and was very conscious of this fact. This explains why he was careful not to stay long wherever he appeared. A bullet followed by a violent physical shock would have sent him to his grave. It became necessary to put an end to the whole drama. The palace became inhabitable as Ahidjo’s appearances dangerously intensified. Paul Biya sought recourse with the Archbishop of Yaounde who went to the unity Palace and, at the canonical hour, performed rites. These efforts yielded no dividends. Ahidjo continued appearing and grew more menacing each time. The President lunched an appeal to hs spiritual master Maitre Dayas Ekwe, an eminent Rosicrucian. “Never violate a pact,” the latter advised the President. This reaction made relations between Biya and his master grow dull. Having failed to solve his problem in the country whereas Ahidjo’s threatening attitude came down on him with all its weight, Biya sought outside help by appealing to a waster grand master who was in Cameroon in a short while. Due to the master’ Action, Ahidjo’s malicious presence was strangle and, with his powers rendered incapable of crossing the gate’s to Etoudi, he ceased appearing in Biya’s palace. This AMORC Grand Master certainly deserved the 7 billion francs CFA that the president gave him after the rituals Ahidjo had just lost Etoudi forever. He no longer nursed hopes of having the better of Biya s a result, he cracked and disintegrated. In his Paris suburb home, the defeated president spent the better part of his time yelling, cursing, expressing his anger, insulting Biya and uttering curses on Cameroon and Cameroonians. Nervous breakdown all consolation; Paul Biya had betrayed him and lied to him, seems to be the quintessence of his message.

6 THE HOMOSEXUALS.

“What do you know of the secret house of the Rose - Croix and the initiation rites attached to them?” This is the question the AMORC grand master asked Biya after he had performed spiritual rites in the palace. It would have been abnormal if this great chief of the Rosicrucian order had not sown special interest in what he had in common with his host; fraternity. This particular case concerned relationship between the master and his pupil. The president had never been ceremoniously initiated in a manner as technically conveyed by the question. The master then predisposed him for specific initiation rights. A pupil’s encounter with grand master is special in that it always lever indelible marks; the gestured and statements they make are out of the ordinary. The prominent Rosicrucian “washed” Paul Biya, and then engaged him in homosexual relations. Members of initiation societies adhere to them according to the manner of the initiation they receive. It is claimed in these circles that Jesus Christ passed through it, for being human he had to pass through the school of men. They claim that the priestess of the temple initiated him into sexual magic in an Egyptian temple. They even contend that Jesus was homosexual In one of his “educative chats” to a group of attentive listeners (including the author of this book), Paul Biya, while developing the idea, quoted the scriptures to support his arguments He referred his listeners to the gospel of John. Jesus took the Last Supper with the twelve disciples. Among the twelve is one who likes to refer to himself in the very equivocal terms; “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. To be precise this disciple is the author of the Fourth Gospel, Saint John,-the youngest disciple. That he was a child might explain why Jesus apparently had special affection for him. There is however, something questionable in saying; “the disciple whom Jesus loved. Does it not mean he did not love the other disciples? Is it not said he loves everybody? The issue becomes complicated in John 13; 23 when it is said; “Now there was leaning on Jesus” bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. “This appears dubious and, at the same time, misplaced. From here, the word “loved: tales a questionable meaning. It becomes evident that these people were not at table. Rather, they were lying down. They were eating according to the Jewish customs of the time, which means they were not sitting at table. Rather, they were lying down. They were eating according to the customs of the time which means they were not sitting at table but on couches the nuance is that the one Jesus loved was lying b him on the couch and curiously behaving like a woman since at some time he lay on Jesus chest and at other leaned his bosom. There are strictly feminine gestures [verse25] that indicate what is happening in verse 24; Jesus and the one he loved wore isolated from the group. If this were not the case, Simon Peter would not have had to motion to John wince to would have been possible for him to ask the question to Jesus by himself. But hindered by the space separating them he had to make signs to the one who was leaning on the master’s bosom; ”Then leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him ,Lord, who is it ,[John13;25] After the last supper ,Jesus and his group, according to Mark ,went to the Garden of Gethsemane John restrains himself by only talking of “a garden” to continue what was begun alongside the last supper. Jesus was finally arrested. Mark says that a young man followed him. He takes care not to reveal the identity of this young man. On his part, John makes no mention of the young man .We know that there was no younger man in the group than the adolescent John The evangelist hardly sees the importance of this small detail as a lead to identifying the young man. That the young man followed Jesus after the rest had fled shows his loyalty to and the affection for the Lord. It should also be noted that the young man in question and the disciple Jesus loved are one and the sane person ; John The most striking event suddenly occurs in Mark 14; 51 where it is recorded that a certain young man followed him, having for a dress only a linen cloth thrown round his naked body, His master’s assailants got hold of him but [verse 52] being a coward, “he left the liner and fled form them naked; “this situation sets the re4aders brain racing; after the tender gestures at the last supper where the disciple Jesus loved at some times leaned on his bottom and at others lay on his breast, what was he doing naked in the garden of Gethsemane ? Although it is true that the author of the fourth gospel did not give it much thought was it not necessary that the reader know beforehand that while making all those feminine gestures. John was already naked? He fled stark naked. He knew that if caught he would constitute proof of the practice of homosexuality which the Jesus considered an abomination and punished with stoning. lt was therefore in the young man’s interest to flee so as not to put either Jesus or himself in peril , for they were already being considered as a dangerous group committing all types of mal-practices condemned by the torah , the Jewish law. Invocation, for instance, was for bidder but Jesus practiced it; he took his disciples to the mountain and invoked Elijah and Moses .However, he took the precaution of going far from the village, then ordering his friends not to reveal what they saw because the crime of invocation would also have earned them a stoning. To go back to the disciple whom Jesus loved who was already naked during the last supper or only at the garden [which would be more dubious] who castrated him? Historically, it is known that john had only one testis and died very old without having used his penis for sexual activity. He had neither wife nor children, He was not even circumcised. Why all this? {The reader should be aware of the fact that the author is only presenting Paul Biya’s ideas, arguments and opinions with all accuracy. The development and commentary have been realized in the perspectives of Paul Biya’s reasoning and not that of the author , who has contributes in making Paul Biya’s opinion on the matter easily understandable to the reader} Having been initiated into homosexuality, Paul Biya became aware of its advantages and indulged in it fully. Everyone- including the most respectful men- in his entourage must enter his circle through it. Moreover, the more they vie for higher social statuses, the More he exploits them homosexually. He so indulged himself in it that he ended up neglecting his wife Jeanne-Irene who had been seriously but unjustly branded with the seal of a spell she did not, however, carry. In fact, Jeanne-Irene was nit barren. Instead, the problem was Biya’s. But when a couple has this type of problem, accusing fingers are usually pointed at the woman whereas the fault might well be with the husband. After their marriage in Paris, Jeanne- Irene had a miscarriage. She had another one in Yaounde in 1962 and was admitted the Tarnier Ward of the central Hospital. In truth, her husband was sexually deficient. This deficiency did not prevent him from impregnating a woman, it made the conception hard to be constituted, thereby doomed to break loose. In this specific case, it was rumoured that the president had a zoospermy. This means that his first official son is only a supposed one. In fact, Franck Biya is not the fruit of his father’s work, for he was born at a time Biya was incapable of reproducing. Children born of his second wife are his because he has bad enough time and money to get treatment. A rather pathetic illogical story of a love affair between a man and his wife’s nice has sprung up concerning Franck, whose mother was Jeanne- Irene’s niece. Just like her cousin Motaze Roger, she put herself under the guardianship of her aunt and her husband in order to have guilty up- bringing and pursue her studied at Yaounde’s Lycee Technique. Rumour has it that Biya engaged in a certain type of relationship with her which resulted in the birth of Franck Biya. He was then an unblemished Christian, the son of a catechist not yet corrupt by the bad ways of political circles or perverted by the meanness of power. He was still a senior civil servant consumed by the ethics of a former seminarian, full of morals and upright in mind and conscience whose only concern was to serve his county while firmly believing in God. He was known to be sober, temperate and discreet; neither libidinous nor licentious. He was a tidy man with a good consciousness of the family and most certainly accumulating defects and imperfections as time flew by,,,

Nevertheless, not to the extent of giving in to the charms of a child he was bringing up. Deprived of the presence of his own progeny, he wanted to transfer fatherly feeling on children growing up in his own house. The niece discovered that she was pregnant, panicked and contemplated suicide. Her aunt got wind of it and a concentration with her husband resulted in the decision to take the child so as to ward off the tag “bastard”. This made it necessary to avoid having him as an adopted child. The child would remain its mothers since it could not be successfully made out that Jeanne- Irene had put to birth whereas no one could testify having seen the pregnancy. Necessary it was for the child to have a father so as not to be an illegitimate child. Paul Biya who desperately wanted a child accepted to give his name to and recognize the child to be born. That is how Jeanne-Irene’s nieces son, the untimely fruit of a sexual spree like all others, had the good fortune to be recognized by his mother’s aunt’s husband and to become today’s famous Franck Biya With the president’s entourage made up mainly of homosexuals, Jeanne- Irene started feeling a gap start and gradually develop between herself and her husband. The head of state did not care about her as he could take men to and from the palace at will. His partners are found mainly within his entourage but also among his collaborators and other high personalities of the state. He believes that this practice develops his psychic energy and his magnetic field- both of which he thinks are very important for a head of state. To increase his yield, he did it often-too often-not minding inconveniencing his wife.

7 THE ZOOPHILOUS AND THE DOG.

Anxious to stay in power for life, African heads of state are quick to delve into the most abject and irrational occult practices supposed these would endow them with the supernatural powers they need to revel in their illusions. This applies, at least to a certain generation of African heads of state. The most preoccupying issue to them is their own future, not that of their countries whose development they mortgage for their own immediate interests. They do not give a damn as to what posterity shall say of them. Managing their personal fortunes is what appeals to them, most and any scheme aimed at maintaining then in power a little longer is a godsend which rouses their enthusiasm. This is what made Asso’s Emane, become the, most important right-hand man, go and fetch for the president a rare gem from River Sanaga. This catch it is said had been living in the river for tens of years; that is, if we wipe out the possibility that this river is his dwelling place. He had an impressive bald head and a beardless face. He used to wear a red T- shirt and a black loin- cloth moved barefooted and seemed as tough as steel. Despite his sinister appearance, he was very neat. Certainly used to the austere life of ascetics, he looked rude, wicked and violent. He was observant and attentive and did not speak much. This man became a privileged interlocutor of Paul Biya’s; after their first meeting, the latter took to the habit of receiving him before anyone else. During those receptions the president and his guest would lock themselves up in his palace sanctuary where the quest would put his host through all sorts of magic shielding and initiation into traditional and, modern witchcraft. Paul Biya then discovered the magical usefulness of plants, barks and roots which he would and should use in various situations. These could serve for premonition and health portions as well as provide protection against visible and invisible enemies. The president could also use the herbs and barks to obtain powers of clairvoyance, clairaudience and teleport ability. The acquisition of these powers had to be preceded by coitus with an animal specially prepared for the purpose by the sorcerer. The rites following this mating would make the head of state capable of hearing whatever he wanted to hear, seeing whatever he wanted to see and being wherever he wanted to be without having to move or use any accessories. A few weeks later, the palace received another occupant; a young female dog that had not started mating. The sorcerer first of all subjected the beast to a magical predisposition. Paul Biya was then assigned to take care of its sexual needs for three weeks; during which time no one was supposed to go near it. The president was told to mate with the bitch every day for 21days. The secret did not go unnoticed by Jeanne- Irene who was no longer sharing bedrooms with the president- whose homosexual tendency had made him set up lodgings in other apartments of the palace. The bitch brought to him was lodged with all honours in a magnificent room of the palace. The president found the time to visit it everyday and remained in the room for hours practicing the techniques the sorcerer had taught him on the subject of mating with animals. Before going onto this dog, Paul Biya had to take a purification bath, anoint himself with perfume and hide his nakedness with a white linen sheet. He then had to enter the room bare-footed. The bitch would be under the effect of a drug administered to it earlier. Our man would then move to the next phase; fondling and making other sensual touches to put the beast on heat. The two would then merge in one flesh on order to assimilate their vibrations. This ritual was respected to such as extent that at the end of the union (which was more mystical than physical) Paul Biya got the better of the animal by emptying it of its potent energy so as to obtain the powers of clairvoyance, clairaudience and teleportability. After the last mating session, the bitch was buried alive at Nvomeka’a. Feeling humiliated and brutally hurt by this situation, Jeanne- Irene, the president’s wife, decided to react. She reminded him that the Bible forbids homosexuality but he only gave her a chaffing smile. Another fix: was a man who had copulated with a beast going to make love to her? The possibility of this eventuality was difficult to admit. Was that the ransom for power? Had Ahidjo also been conversant with these practices? Had he also been making his wife unhappy? Paul Biya told her that no head of state was perfect and that one could not do some things without having done some other things. Jeanne-Irene was at pains to swallow all this. A man who used to make love with her mating with an animal? She wondered. She would accept another woman as co-wife. But a bitch………! The First Lady then resolved to put an end to this scandalous affair. Armed with a gun, she broke into the room and raised her arm to shoot the bitch but hesitated in the face of the frightened reactions of the beast which seemed to have sensed the danger. The unfortunate wife reassessed the situation; how would it be if what she thought to be a beast were actually an man transformed by some wicked spell? Everything is possible in the domain of witchcraft. At once, she felt rather sorry for the poor bewitched animal that had been submitted to the effects of an evil spell, then burst into tears at the thought of her sad fate of a miserable and sacrificed wife. Her arm dropped and she turned to go out of the room. The door burst open and she bumped into Paul Biya standing at the doorway. His composure was, strangely enough, calm. “What are you doing here?” He did not give her time to answer. Two violent strikes with a wooden club sent the unfortunate woman sprawling on the floor. “Don’t involve yourself in my affairs…Don’t poke your nose into my business,” She was armed. Did he know she was longing to shoot him? She itched to kill him but lacked the courage to do so cold- bloodedly. She burst into tears. Faced with the odious behaviour of their husbands, women most at the time find solace in tears which usually serve to express their failure, revolt, disappointment, love and- sometimes- helplessness in given situations.

8 JEANNE-IRENE IN A FIX

An ideal couple? They were in the beginning when they still believed in love shortly after their marriage. They still believed in it when they returned to the country and were sure they would love each other and live together for, in keeping with the ritual saying, “the best and the worst”. Thing took a sour turn after he became the head of state. Of course, all was wonderful at the beginning. Then, things began slackening. He was no longer hers; he no longer belonged to her. The passing time separated them. She was disturbed to notice that the concern he had been having for her was gradually dwindling. The picture became clearer after the failed coup. Magic and witchcraft practices put them physically and morality them wider apart. At times, they found it difficult to speak to each other for days on end and sometimes they avoided meeting each other. To dissipate this tense atmosphere, she asked several times to have a serious discussion with him but he always found a means of escape. His “heavy responsibilities” gave him no spare time she considered leaving her home-a woman finds it hard to bear when the husband cheats her on. This case was worse because he was doing so with men, as if he saw in then a better thing than what she had for him. As if this were not enough, her husband went as far as mating with an animal under her own nose-and avoiding meeting her. The desperate wife sought an alliance with a young non- commissioned officer of the marine force to ask for his help so that the two of them elope. Although he was her junior in age, this young officer could become her companion once they were under fairer skies. Indeed, it her nephew- Mataze Roger-(the president’s aide) accepted to help them to escape, things could be envisaged with optimism. But the captain declared having pledged “honour and loyalty “ to his president and could not betray him in any way. Preparations for the elopement were already under way but Jeanne Irene had not reckoned on the efficiency of the specialized services of the - palace. The young marine officer was suddenly detached from the presidential security service, sent to his army corps and later dispatched to the warfront along the border where military manoeuvres opposed Cameroon to one of its neighbours. Jeanne- Irene was son to learn a couple of days later that he had fallen at the battle ground after receiving a buttet on the back. The unfortunate woman grew more despondent and once more turned to her nephew for help. As on previous occasions, he was not willing to do anything for her. She seems to have lost sight of the fact that her nephew would have answered before Biya if his responsibility for her flight were established. She finally resolved to confront Paul with the problem; they must separate. Their marriage was nothing but a smokescreen and a hollow, empty shell. Everything between them was a parody. Everybody applauded her whenever they were on outing but did not know how unfortunate she was. She had already taken to wearing sunglasses on her outings in order to conceal her wrinkles and sunken temples; her many long nights of insomnia had had their toll on her. Was not his concern when he was marrying her making her happy? What had gone wrong between them that he should rejoice at seeing her suffer and enjoy making her to suffer? Under such circumstances, was it not better to separate so that each should be pleased to carry on happily with life without being a bore to the other? The President’s reasoning was simple and understandable. He wanted to remain in power for as long as possible and the life he was leading suited his option. It did not matter if it traumatized her because it was the price she must pay to be the First Lady: each coin has its reverse side. He was sorry they had gone so far but he could do nothing about it. She complained that while he was getting a kick out of that style of life she was being tortured by it. Paul proved resolute. “Then I beg you to allow me to go and try to remake my happiness elsewhere. I can still do it.” But doing so would be a big risk for him. Many secrets, for instance, Jeanne-Irene’s “sterility” could be exposed in daylight. Even if she just got pregnant elsewhere, she would blow the lid off his can. It was in his interest to hold her hostage. Jeanne-Irène at once decided to break away from him since she could not rely on her nephew or on any other person. Moreover, security measures were tightened round her: her visits and movements were checked and her communication bugged. It only remained for her to rid herself of her husband through a subtle means: she happened to be administering a special injection on him each week. It would only suffice for her to inject him’ with something” which would not spare him; something whose slow but irrevocable effects would, in the long run, send the ghost out of him. She waited for an opportunity to no avail. She was to discover several weeks later that the President was already having himself injected by someone else. He did not fail to make her know that he had detected her intentions. Next he threatened: “I am the one to finally get you”. These words frightened her and she once more reverted to her nephew to help her leave the country. “I’m telling you that I am in danger; that my life is at peril and that doesn’t mean anything to you?’. “Mother, I am a soldier in the service of my President. It’s my duty to protect him and not to conspire against him:’ “Where does conspiracy come in when you are saving my life?” In May 1989, Jeanne-Irène and Paul went on a two-day trip to the country of King Baudoin and Queen Fabiola. When they returned home, Jeanne-Irène narrated that she had never been beaten in her life like she had been in Brussels. It was as if Paul had regained the stamina he had had at 18 and just fell short of strangling her. All because she had declined wearing sunglasses just to conceal her disarray. She also talked of the President’s new signet-ring acquired in Brussels from a magic magnetizer who had worked on it for three years. This magical weapon cost Biya 12 million FCFA. Just after obtaining it, he had terrorized Jeanne-Irene with it to such an extent that she saw the futility of eloping. He could, among other things, use this ring and make her insane wherever she might have taken refuge. He could blast her up with lighting. To demonstrate this, he used the ring to produce lightning and caused it to shatter objects round her. She later on tried to take her own life, hoping to rouse her husband’s tender emotions of long ago. Her intimate friends encircled her to soothe her but she was waiting for only one person – her husband of a President – who obstinately stayed away. He ventured as far as the doorway, threw a furtive glance at her and disappeared after a few seconds. Very few people learnt of this attempted suicide.

9 THE SANCTUARY OF EVIL

He is provided with a sanctuary – and a sanctum. The latter is strictly personal. No one else has access to it; but it is known in it lives a very old, ageless man who may be younger than God but whose age cannot be stated in relation to time. He is always dressed in white and has a white skin. He speaks to no one (only Biya perhaps), eats nothing, drinks nothing and does not even wash. Whenever he comes out of the sanctum, he is fresh, neat and shining. He moves slowly as he is worn-out by age and has very long hair rendered even whiter by age. He looks soft, weak and fragile. He fixes his stare only on the person he wishes to look at. In fact, he often looks only at Paul Biya who speaks very affectionately of him, calling him his good genius. He has the peculiarity of revealing himself only to the person whom he wishes should see him. He is an extraordinary character whose role to Paul Biya no one knows. The President’s sanctuary is a difficult world of spiritism. He performs worship, rituals and other priestly duties to which he may invite other people. All types of mass, including human sacrifice, are carried on in this place. For illustrative purposes, human skulls are found in it and some of them are split as if to be used as calabashes. During blood drinking ceremonies, Paul Biya and the other communicants use these calabashes to collect the blood to be drunk. They drink human blood and that of cocks as well as that of cats. When President Ahidjo died in Dakar, Biya ordered fresh human blood and organs of a young girl to be brought for him to drink and ward off the spell of the pact he violated. His services went to work at the Ngoa Ekelle (University) campus where they soon got a victim: a young girl fell for the charms of a flashy Mercedes and was taken in it by the seemingly working-class handsome gentleman at the steering – wheel who seemed to have fallen on his head for her. He had everything needed to seduce a young girl. This particular one became more seduced and anxious when her companion proposed to take her to the Presidency where he lived and worked. This was a mystic place she had never dreamt of ever visiting; and had been contented just watching it on T.V. Why should she hesitate to seize this opportunity to go and tread on “Paul Biya’s soil”? Her dreams soon turned into a nightmare. The luck she had of going to discover the Presidential palace became the ghastliest horrors as reality dawned on her mind. She was kindly conducted into a sanctuary to serve as a sacrificial object. Instead of a lively and excited Don Juan, she was brought face-to-face with three men dressed as priests and wearing masks on their faces. It was not a matter of rape as she must have hoped, it was a sacrificial murder. Her heart, liver and blood found their way to the table of Paul Biya-her President, the Lion-Man.
In May 1990, a party-the Social Democratic Front- was launched in Bamenda. The army intervened to suppress it. According to official records, six people died. Paul Biya panicked. Could Cameroonians rise against him? The phenomenon had become widespread in Africa since the wind of liberty started in the East carrying with it President Ghorbatchev of the USSR. Was what had happened to others also going to be his lot? He quickly summoned his collaborators and very soon, an order was echoed round.

10. THE MVOLYE MASS

A sinister congregation gathered at the Mvolye Catholic cemetery at one of the priestly worship hours. Mvolye is the seat of the Catholic Church and is situated on a small hill occupied from base to peak by Catholic structures: the three statues, convent of the sisters of Saint Paul, Sacred Heart, Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference, school, cemetery, John XXIII Centre, Cave of Mary, Archbishop’s residence, etc which could create the impression the congregation had gathered to bless the place. What a deception. Despite all these structures, the whole quarter was plunged into an infernal darkness which could conceal any malpractice. All Biya’s henchmen and the country’s big wigs were gathered in the cemetery that night of 26th May 1990 to celebrate a black mass officiated by the celebrant of esoteric traditions. This mass was attracted by the absolute necessity to impose Biya’s authority on all Cameroonians by making them malleable against their wishes. A Cameroonian had been butchered somewhere in the afternoon, since human blood and organs were mandatory for the rituals of transubstantiation. Bread and wine provided for the mass actually transformed into the flesh and blood of Jesus in the course of the mass when the priest was moving to the offertory. The principle of transubstantiation is based on a magical theorem. The Ashanti Doll of the Pacific Creoles provides an illustration of the principle of transubstantiation. The moment the doll’s head is pierced with a needle, the person it represents feels sharp pains in the head. If the doll is pierced on the chest, the person feels pains on the chest. Through this method, a victim’s life can be terminated using only a doll representing him. If the celebrant decides – as was the case in Mvolye- that the blood and flesh are that of Cameroonians, it will work out that way and those who swallow them have swallowed all Cameroonians. The celebrant’s motive was resolute in its form and depth. “Before us are all Cameroonians in the form of this body and blood. When you will eat and drink of them in faith, it is all Cameroonian that you will have swallowed up:’. Everybody knows what became of ghost towns and other demonstrations and how salary deductions were implemented. Everyone is still to wonder how order came to be restored after the turmoil Cameroonians witnessed during the years of turbulence resulting from the vicissitudes of nascent democracy. The Mvolye mass sharply corresponds to that of Maroua in the Extreme North of Cameroon. Between 1991 and 1992 when political agitation reached its paroxysm, all madmen in Maroua were, on a certain day, found headless and deprived of certain vital organs. What actually happened was that the country’s rulers had been afraid of civil war, sought magical advice and had been told to concoct a mixture with human organs This magic cure to civil war that had the desired effect: the Blood: threat of civil war that had been looming on the country dissipated on its own.

11. THE TRAITOR’S KISS

As head of the army headquarters, the thenceforth General Asso’o Emane Benoit ordered one of his men to follow him into his office. This soldier popularly known as “commando” followed him and was surprised when his boss told him that he needed him for an “ultra-secret” mission for the head of state. For a soldier, this was an unexpected piece of good news. Feeling honoured he had been chosen out of the thousands of men in the army H. Q., Commando waited patiently in the general’s office until a black Peugeot 505 arrived and soon made off (with him inside) for a destination yet undisclosed to him. The short trip finally ended at the Unity Palace, were special arrangements had been made for him: lodgings in the head of state’s house, attendants quick to obey his most capricious demands, leisure games and other devices for diversion made handy, etc. “Why all this respect?” he wondered, albeit moved by it. All of a sudden, he had a deep feeling of gratitude for Asso’o for having honoured him by making him live the most exciting phase of his life. He had never imagined he would take up lodgings at the Unity Palace. At noon, he was taken to the head of state’s dining table. Without preliminary remarks, the head of state briefly wished those present to share his lunch a good meal. He then beckoned on someone and got into conversation with him. Commando sensed the President’s attention dawning on him. The president did not once settle his look on him, no doubt for fear of betraying himself, for they were talking about him (Commando). Commando felt more honoured; the president was talking about him. If the president was discussing about him, he reasoned, that meant he knew him. It did not matter if he left the table without going nearer the head of state. He was proud that he could be counted among the president’s acquaintances. In the evening, a motorcade was ready to leave the palace. The president was sitting in one of the cars. One-plus a driver- was provided for the soldier from army headquarters. He eased himself into the right side of the back seat. After all, he had entered the court of prominent men who mattered, he thought.” And why should he not behave like one of them? Does his boss (General Asso’o) not take that position in his cars?” And are not all these big men about to go on outing not sitting likewise? “Circumstances forced him to become a big man. He had a Renault 25 and a driver… His surprise was yet to take another leap: his car immediately followed the president’s whereas the General’s was far behind his. His position in this convoy of twelve cars certainly gave him a high esteem of himself. He was occupying a remarkable position in a convoy made up of ministers, generals, colonels and other dignitaries of the regime. He had miraculously entered the circle of the country’s decision- makers. The convoy proceeded westward and stopped in Mbam Division. Everyone got of his car and they trekked through the bush to reach River Sanaga. After they had made it, people separated into groups on the basis of affinity. The soldier was isolated for as long as the anxious wait lasted. It became clear they were waiting for something or someone whose arrival was imminent. It was a dark night on the banks of River Sanaga, stars adorned the sky and the breeze was steady. A light suddenly alighted in the distance and progressed slowly towards them, Its outline in the darks soon told them it was a bush- lamp. Its bearer was standing in a canoe which soon reached the bank. Its occupant did not disembark. It was the sorcerer of the waters of the Sanaga. Asso’o went towards him and, after exchanging a few words with him, went back to the president and explained the situation to him. In his turn, the president approached the wizard and they conversed briefly, after which he joined the rest. He moved towards the soldier who had, since their arrival, been left to himself and said, “Thanks you, soldier.” He receded a few steps and bowed low, then stepped forward and kissed the soldier. The trooper had got his highest honour; the president of the Republic, Supreme Chief of the army, had kissed him! “Commando” made an impeccable military salute and responded; “I am at your disposal and waiting for your orders, your Excellency” Paul Biya bowed once more in guise of thanks and homage before going back to the wizard. While he was doing this, Asso’o replaced him besides the soldier, held out his hand and said: “Good Luck, soldier” The young trooper then moved towards the wizard and entered the canoe which slowly rowed off. While the rest were still contemplating the departing canoe there was a sudden outburst of shouts mingled with the barking of dogs. Commando was yelling for help at the top of his voice; “General, save me…! General, save me…..! The general could do nothing. A short- lived period of silence followed only to be interrupted by the sound of drums; which created panic amongst the intruders, who once more heard a terribly tortured human yelling for help. “Let’s leave this place at once,” ordered the president. Commando was left to his sad fate and has never been seen since then. To trap him, they had made him nurse hopes of accomplishing an undisclosed “ultra-secret” mission for the president. He was not aware that he would end up sacrificed the bottom of the Sanaga in the interests of the Head of state. For undertaking such a onerous, suicidal task, he received only a Kiss and a “Thank you, soldier” from the president His parents in Bamenda have never seen him since that time- never will they ever do.

12. WIZARDS IN POWER.

Many of the president’s close collaborators delve into magical and witchcraft practices without rational reason. Each one of them gets involved simply in order to tighten his grip on his post. This is the case with Mendo Ze who has created the sad and annoying reputation of seducing young girls. Girls in Cameroon are precocious and virgins are only found among adolescents of below fourteen. This does not hinder the “Mariologist”; he needs some elements from their metaphysical plane to ensure his personal growth. As Paul Biya’s resource person, he has successfully created mystico- religious orders aimed at perpetuating the Head of state in power. “People of the Rosary, “for instance, is a secret society whose main operation consists of reciting the rosary for whole days on end to the benefit of the President. For this service members of the society receive lofty salaries and live entirely on it. Nevertheless, this python- man is generous and altruistic. In him, mendicants of all sorts are sure to get attentive ears. He has the president’s blessings in the form of a free hand in the management of the CRTV, proceeds of which support his mystico-religious activities. He is bound in scandals for his notorious sexual sprees with adolescents. In any case, he is not as irresponsible as Andze Tsoungui (other snake-man) who has an insatiable thirst for the menstrual flow of young girls. He does not drink it like Mbella Mbappe at all He enjoys just sniffing its odour like someone drugging himself with perfume. He “feeds” relationship with many girls without caring to have sexual gratification; what matters is that each of the girls should come to him when her menstruation is on. Then, she is sure of at least 400.000FCFA- the amount he pays for refurbishing is psychic energy with menstrual flow. Versed with these practices, Paul Biya’s entourage has become almost inhuman and highly questionable. It is akin to an extra-terrestrial circle obeying a set of irrational rules and regulations. Within this circle are men who swap their wives just as if the latter were shirts. As if this is not enough, some make children with the others’ wives. Some of the Head of state’s collaborators take their daughters to bed and make children with them, allowing other people to recognize these grand- children. One of them coerces his daughters into collecting their menstrual deposits for him to drink and even goes as far as copulating with his sons. On his own part, the Head of state revels in his glory knowing fully well that mystical organizations have been created world wide to help him stay in power for, at Least. 25 years. The present arrangement is that he will only be replaced by someone of his choice. He disburses fabulous sums of money to finance these sects with which some of his charges de missions are involved. Michel Meva’a Meboutou (the prey bird- man) is one of them. Fame Ndongo and Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o have made their entry into this circle of transforming men.. A highly placed military aide of the President’s is restricted by the laws of his own practices from defecating anywhere else. He has to do it at a specific spot in his village. When on mission elsewhere, he goes to stool inside shopping bags. This excrement is preserved, and then conveyed in his vehicle to his village where it is disposed of in a place specially prepared to receive the precious parcel. His excrement has to be flown back to the country and transported to the village for the regular ritual. Cavaye Yegue Djibril (National Assembly president) owns his life to the gendarmes of Awae in the suburbs of Yaounde. This C. P. D. M Member of Parliament was one day caught at an odd spot by the inhabitants of Awae as he was about to bury a live dog he had thrown into a ditch he had dug. Awae inhabitants wondered why such a figure should traumatize a poor domestic animal whose peers have lived with and protected the human species for centuries. Paul Biya himself is not excluded from the many such cases that have occurred in Cameroon. Did he not in 1989, give the testis of a 15- year- old boy to a black dog to eat, then, have this dog buried at midnight?

13. BLOODY PERSPECTIVES.

Jeanne-Irene could bear it no longer. She thought she also had a right to happiness. After all, she could not perpetually live the life of a hostage. Had she not done everything for him? She had hoped he would change for the better, but the state of affairs indicated that this would not happen. This man had become addicted to practices she could not bear. He felt satisfied; which sounded the necessity to discontinue their cohabitation. Or could he finally listen to her, understand her and grant her freedom? Paul Biya was intransigent; divorce was out of question. Power, he explained has its constraints, exigencies and of course, multiple advantages, but is very demanding especially when supposed to be exercised within a given context. But Jeanne-Irene was not prepared to listen to such rubbish since she (and not him) was the one suffering. By choosing to live as he pleased, he had made a captive of her. Her last hope was that he would renounce standing for the following presidential election. As he had been involved in malpractices only to maintain himself in power, his life would change if he relinquished it. He would become normal again. The President told her that he had no intention of resigning after giving democracy to Cameroonians: he was canvassing for another mandate. Moreover, he was intending to call for early elections on a date he would soon announce. This meant Jeanne-Irene’s troubles were far from over Irene’s especially as the President pushed on with his magic and witchcraft practices. She went on abasing herself in her home while the iron curtain between them toughened and would not give way before long. Most revolting to her was the fact that she had borne the shame of “being” barren for so long a time, while he had been receiving treatment so as to be capable of procreating. He has just been clinically declared as apt to make children and a trip to Europe had just confirmed this. But Paul Biya was thinking of marrying a young girl who would have the time to bear many children for him. This would be better than searching for these children with an old woman who, if not already in her menopause, had not enough strength to withstand the pains of childbearing. To add to this, he did not contemplate repudiating her. He intended to enter polygamy irrespective of what the law said about it. His legal chicanery would consist in divorcing her, then contracting another marriage whose terms would favour polygamy. He would then be able to take a second wife. On second thought, he judged this procedure snaggy. He would shorten it by going out of the bounds of the Law. He was Head of state, President of the Republic and Supreme Magistrate of the state. No one could raise a small finger by accusing him of going against the Law –made for others but not for him, for if he wasn’t above the Law, he was the Law-meant to protect him and not to complicate matters for him. If his Gabonese colleague, Omar Bongo, could marry a young girl (daughter of another president), why should he not do same? Why should he bother about an old woman whereas the prevailing tendency was to go for beautiful and exhilarating young girls? He expressed all these ideas to Jeanne-Irene in as indifferent a manner as he could. She considered this a painful insult and sheer ingratitude. After sacrificing much for him for the sake of love, was that how he could thank her? The President told her that she had no other choice as he himself had no grip on events. Pushed to the wall by his excessive greed, cynicism and sadism, Jeanne- Irene bluntly told him the she would campaign against him in the imminent elections. She would tell Cameroonian women and husbands all she had been going through since he became president. She would also tell them of his ungrateful intention of taking another wife tag “barren” expecting that they would bear children when he would get cured of his illness. “I swear before you, Paul, that I will do it,” she threatened. Whereas she had all along patiently borne the Swearing was uncalled for. He knew she would do it, so he weighed the impact of such a revelation on Cameroonians, who loved Jeanne-Irene and felt deep sympathy for her. They would act in solidarity with and out of sympathy for her. Even his allies and accomplices within the C. P. D.M would surely leave him in the cold. It would be wiser not to give her the time to carry out her threat. She had too strong a personality and character. “You will not do it, miserable woman.” The hard, evil and sneering look made Jeanne Irene shiver. Instead of playing the ostrich, he thought, it was necessary to face the situation boldly; he would have to kill her. On her part she knew him to be no buffoon. He could do anything to preserve his power and position. He had always told her that each situation had its solution. In frenzy, she sent for her nephew (the President’s aide), told him the situation and pleaded with him to help her escape. He only tried to calm, and reassure her “Roger, I assure you he has threatened me… He will kill me.” Roger, who knew he could do it without qualms, was neither an alarmist nor a pessimist. “Calm down, mother. He can kill anybody else but not you.” Shortly after, she learnt that her husband was going to Dakar for a heads- of- state summit. This worried her because she knew him to be a boycotter of heads-of –state summits. He had negative dispositions towards the Francophonie. How come he should suddenly decide to attend a mean summit with no stakes? She wondered. The head of state’s wife still had more cause to wonder when she learnt that her husband had summoned the Chief of presidential security, Chief Superintendent Minlo’o Medjo Pierre, an unscrupulous butcher despite his Christian bearing not. Under fair winds, the meeting of the two men would not have disturbed Jeanne –Irene; but considering existing circumstances and knowing her husband too well, the meeting propped a thousand and one questions in her head. In fact Paul Biya’s final word to his collaborator are well known; “I don’t want to see her alive on my return.” Though Minlo’o sympathized with the wife, he was on the husband’s pay- roll. He must do away with Jeanne- Irene. It was an order. She knew it was time for his departure. Paul eluded her. He did not drop in to tell her he was travelling; it was impossible to feign fondness in front of a woman he had decided to have killed. Instead, a rather chagrin- harassed, sad and embittered Roger came to her. “Mother, we are going,” he muttered, bursting into tears. She had been a mother to him since his childhood. He, her sister’s son, had grown up under her care. “I asked you to help me escape but you refused. Why shed tears now?” “Mother, I can betray my uncle but I can’t betray my President. He has confidence in me...” The President had also had confidence in her… And I pledged him with honour and loyalty” No pledge to her. He had pledged nothing for her. Going out of the Unity Palace that day, Motaze knew he would never again see his aunt alive. Power, in fact, is absurd. Heads of state were in conclave in Dakar when Paul Biya stood up to tell his peers the sad news. What had happened? Comments by Charles Ndongo (the journalist who had accompanied the Head of state) informed the world that Paul Biya had been expecting the worst, since he had left his wife back at him in very poor health. Duty had obliged him to be in Dakar and, while there, he was expecting news. The president was overtly worried during the summit. At some point, his bodyguard approached him and broke the news to him. Paul Biya then stood up and, in a solemn tone, said; “I’ve just received terrible news; my wife has died.” This happened in August 1992. Looking at it critically, the brilliant Charles Ndongo is not an ingenuous journalist. Considered between the lines, his report conveyed his message. A loving husband cannot travel knowing that his wife might die after his departure. Paul Biya betrayed his anxiety to the extent of looking at his watch. The truth is that he knew the details of the operation and it had been arranged that he would be informed once the job was finished. He even knew when the gun- shot would be fired. The least delay of the news irritated him because he was afraid of failure. This type of plot must absolutely succeed. Paul Biya’s African peers were not duped. They smelled the rat. Between themselves, they know one another fairly well. This explains why heads of state did not surround him during the funeral ceremonies. Only messages of condolence poured in a situation where there would have been a massive presence of presidents to pay their last respects to the woman who had once been Mrs. Biya. Even their wives (many of whom were Jeanne- Irene’s Friends) did not mind not attending the funeral in her honour. It was boycotted, for everyone was displeased with Biya and was dissociating himself or herself from him. It becomes but normal that President Mobutu came to Biya’s rescue when one realizes that both men indulged in the same practices. Dakar was only an alibi for Biya to be away when the assassination he had decided upon would be carried out. After being informed of Jeanne- Irene’s death, Biya hurried back home to discover that the deceased had, a couple of hours before her death, received some religious women. Panic gripped him. These should be his former wife’s friends, he thought. Did she not (as she has promised) make revelations liable to jeopardize his position? Reacting to the President’s worries, Minlo’o dispatched an emergency hit- squad to Djoum. This squad forced its way into the convent, brutalized, tortured, manhandled and finally killed the sisters after they had made avowals. One of the audiotapes on which the deceased First Lady had recorded an account of her life with her husband was retrieved. Another one had been handed over to Father Amougou of the Sagmelima Dioceses. After celebrating mass during Jeanne- Irene’s funeral, the priest died in mysterious circumstances. These deaths absolutely have much to do with the circumstances of Jeanne- Irene’s death. All those liable to say anything concerning it were too dangerous to be left alive. Their colleagues also killed those who killed her elements of a special squad of the presidential security service-. They entered the stew pan after killing Jeanne – Irene and the sisters of Djoum. The forensic doctor who certified to be the cause of her death was also eliminated, likewise those catholic women who had taken upon themselves to wash Jeanne- Irene’s remains, which were eventually hijacked from the sight of Cameroonians. The latter would have enjoyed the sight of a body mutilated by three bullets of an automatic pistol. Although it was intended to make people believe that she died of illness, the hoax did not give any thought to her programme. She was scheduled to go on outing the following day, precisely to Obala with Yaou Aissatou, then minister of Women’s Affairs and inspect a mushroom project realized by a local association of rural women. Had her health been an impeding factor the outing would have been cancelled. Yet, it is said Jeanne- Irene received Yaou Aissatou the day before the outing, that is, the day she died, and both of them studied the draft of the following day’s programme, which was maintained. This implies that Jeanne- Irene was perfectly sound and that Biya did not leave for Dakar with his wife physically indisposed- as official versions of the story have always wanted people to believe.

14. THE MASTER’S LESSON.

Roger Motaze’s conscience was shaken since their return from Dakar. His aunt had died because he had refused to help her although it had been his duty to do so. He started resenting her absence. Pressure mounted on him from all angles within his family. He considered leaving and continuing his military career elsewhere. It even seemed appealingly hectic to go out the country for a short while to have a change of scene and raise his spirits. Paul Biya quickly discovered his aide’s unease since the aunt’s death. This made the president ill at ease and sent him thinking. Roger knew too much and this situation was neither safe nor reassuring. If he had eliminated Jeanne - Irene for some reasons, why should he hesitate eliminating Roger for the same reasons? In his state of mind, Roger could break down and let out the piece. The president invited his body guard for a special dinner. The occasion would be conducive for him to handle the situation. Roger had entered his service six months after his accession. Since then, Roger had been serving him as a son (which he had always been) and also as a soldier (which he had become). The president arranged a special room for this meal. The table was laid, the room decorated with flickering multi – coloured chandeliers and scented with magical perfume: amber or benzoic. These are the president’s cherished magical perfumes. Soft, instrumental religions music filled the air. Paul Biya gave Motaze a cup of wine and handed bread to him. The fish was also served to Motaze by hand. Roger ate and drank in the President’s presence. The two had not yet exchanged a word. Suddenly, the music stopped and the President stood up and moved towards the door, then stopped. At last, he informed Motaze that the latter would be going on mission to Mvomeka’a, the President’s village. He had often been going there. Back in his house, the officer was disturbed: this dinner looked suspicious. He took an audio tape and, on it, recorded an account of his dinner with Paul Biya and stated his apprehensions, for he knew the President had become a postmaster in the art of witchcraft. The following day, Roger went to Mvomeka’a in the company of a certain army officer. It was at a badly negotiated bend that the vehicle side- slipped to cause his death. His companion came out unharmed. Roger knew the road, the best in Cameroon, perfectly well. He had ignored only one-minute detail; when dining with a wizard, one has to keep a considerable distance and use a long spoon. The Mayor of Sangmelima (M. N’ns Ze Bayard) reported that as Motaze was speeding past the council building that day, he shouted to him; “I want to make a round of the village. I’ll be back soon.” He never came back…it all remained a one- way ride.

15. APPENDAGE

In 1984, a financial scandal flared up within the Ancient and Mystic Order of the Rose-Croix, AMORC. This scandal demystified a secret society hitherto liable to create shivers in people. Sessou Henri, the Grand Treasurer – General of AMORC had just resigned and the Society had taken him to court for embezzlement. This matter caused surprise and gave the public an unexpected opportunity to know a considerable deal on a society which had had the reputation of being inviolable. Sessou Henri (Beninois) was then the first and the only black to have crossed all the levels of initiation at the Rose –Croix and to have reached the highest degree of gradation of the AMORC. He could boast of all the distinctions and honours of the Order. In his capacity as Grand Master, he assumed the function of Grand Treasurer- General but still nursed certain recriminations against this society of mystics. These recriminations led him to, after militating in the society for decades, resign and express his frustration. The ex- grand master revealed that AMORC is a quasi mystico- philosophical organization within which racial segregation is the order of the day. To prove his point, Sessou said that monographs used by novices of the same level differ according to whether these beginners are of Western extraction or from the Third World. This is hidden from the neophytes by the fact that distribution of monographs is confidential. Meanwhile, the Third World alone provides the order with half of its followers, which constitutes a very important financial contribution into the Order’s coffers. But continued Sessou, very few Africans have important posts in the central organs of the organization. This is a blatant illustration of the exploitation they receive from a system presented as spiritual and philanthropic but whose true motivations are of financial and political nature The Grand Master and grand Treasurer-General had wielded control over financial matters and consequently, over salaries paid by the organization as well. He maintained that other Rosicrucians with grades far behind his and posts far below his earned salaries and allowances far above his just because of racial considerations. On spite of the effort he had, he said, been conflicted with its ethics. He recorded the Rose-croix’s secret doctrines, which sold like hit cakes. Most of the practiced described in these book find definitions and which can make the reader understand what human beings disabuse themselves to making such exercised. Truth is relative in the objective world. So long as rational beings consider those practicing such things as mad and perverse, so to do the latter consider the ideas of the former pessimistic and negative. Where then does truth lie? What is truth? Sassou Henri found solace in Jesus Christ within the Christian church and engaged himself in the charismatic Revival after having been dragged to court by AMORC for embezzlement. Today, there are many people who, having firmly militated in these hermetic societies, have understood that placing confidence in Jesus is the easier thing to do; for he is the way, the Truth and the life. Whenever those ruling our African countries shall turn to him, a new say shall break for African peoples. This message is especially intended for those governing Cameroon.









THE END.