Ebenezer Akwanga

Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga
Born1970
Tiko, Cameroon
NationalityCameroonian
EducationPhD Political Science 2014 University of KwaZulu-Natal[1]
Occupation(s)Chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, Secretary General of the Organization of Emerging African States and leader of SOCADEF

Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga is an Ambazonian independence activist.[2] He is the chairman of the African People's Liberation Movement, an Ambazonian separatist movement, and heads its armed wing, SOCADEF.[3] A former student at the University of Buea, he and fellow activist Ayaba Cho Lucas founded a pro-independence student association. Their movement was soon outlawed, and in 1997, Akwanga was imprisoned for six years.[4] Following his escape from prison, he joined forces with the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC). When the SCNC split into several factions, he became the leader of the Southern Cameroons Youth League (SCYL).[5] The SCYL eventually transformed into the African People's Liberation Movement (APLM). In March 2019, he oversaw the APLM taking part in founding the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, in an attempt to form a united front.[6] Akwanga is also an advocate of the Biafran case, and has spoken in favor of an alliance between Ambazonian and Biafran independence movements. He has called for referendums on independence in both the former Southern Cameroons (including Bakassi) and Biafra.[4]

  1. ^ PhD Thesis, From Autonomy to Independence: The Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, From Autonomy to IndependenceThe Challenges of Nation-Building in South Sudan, July 2014. Accessed July 31, 2019.
  2. ^ Redress, Ebenezer Akwanga v. Cameroons. Accessed May 4, 2019.
  3. ^ Who are Cameroon's English-speaking separatists?, Daily Nation, Feb 20, 2018. Accessed Apr 22, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Biafra and Southern Cameroons might 'join forces to achieve independence', International Business Times, Feb 25, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
  5. ^ How one part of Cameroon still wants to hold on to its Anglo-Saxon roots, International Business Times, Dec 7, 2016. Accessed Mar 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Federalists Meet Restorationists, Which Group Will Perform The Osmosis?, Cameroon News Agency, Mar 29, 2019. Accessed Apr 10, 2019.