The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has announced that the Bafut Airport in the Bamenda County in Southern Cameroons has been officially opened to air traffic. Camair-Co M60 plane landed in Bamenda with passengers from Yaounde for the first time. The plane reportedly took off from the Yaoundé, Nsimalen international airport at about 12:20 pm local time for Bamenda in a flight that was scheduled to last one hour.

The inaugural flight was launched by Transport Minister, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo. On board the inaugural flight were some top government officials and business persons. Upon arrival, the entourage was applauded by some pro CPDM comedians who had turned out to celebrate the so-called reopening of the airport to flights.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has described the move as a desperate attempt at stifling the Southern Cameroons revolution. A spokesperson for the Consortium in Mamfe, the chief town in the Manyu constituency recently appealed to the people of the Bamenda province not to travel with Camair-Co planes. “La Republique is flying coffins”, he opined. We understand the cost from Yaoundé to Bamenda is 32000 CFA francs.

Travelling by road from Yaoundé to Bamenda is an exhausting journey that generally last six to seven hours in addition to the poor nature of the Bamenda – Bafoussam stretch that makes the journey even more compelling.

By Sama Ernest with files from CRTV