Rebecca Enonchong, one of Africa’s most influential female entrepreneurs, has been arrested and is being detained at the Gendarmerie Legion in Cameroon without any arrest warrant, according to Edith Kah Walla, the leader of the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP).
In a series of tweets, Kah Walla revealed that Rebecca was invited to come to the Gendarmerie for matters concerning an ongoing family case opposing her to her brother. During a meeting with the Attorney General (Procureur Général), Rebecca requested that cases concerning her be handled by one investigator rather than two separate investigators. This did not sit well with the Attorney General (Procureur Général), who lost patience with Rebecca and ordered her immediate arrest as her suggestion was considered an “outrage à magistrat”.
The Cameroonian government is currently facing intense backlash from the international community.
However, well-concerned supporters are convinced she would soon be released as her detention is arbitrary, and the hashtag #FreeRebecca has already gone viral on Twitter.
Rebecca is currently at the Bonanjo Court of First Instance in Douala, where she will spend a second night.
“The unlawful detention of Rebecca is not uncommon in a country like Cameroon, where an arrest without a warrant happens regularly,” Kah Walla said in one of his tweets.
Rebecca Enonchong, 54, is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of AppsTech, a leading global provider of enterprise application solutions. She is also co-founder of I/O Spaces, an inclusive co-working space in the Washington DC metro area. She is also the co-founder and Chair of ActivSpaces (African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures), a tech incubator in Cameroon and Board Chair of the Afrilabs Foundation, a network of 50 tech hubs in Africa.
Update.
— Kah Walla (@KahWalla) August 12, 2021
Rebecca is notfied they want to extend her detention for a 3rd NIGHT!!!!
They are telling her they want to hear witnesses. Meanwhile her lawyers asked to be received by the magistrate and were denied!!!
Hearing witnesses is no reason to extend detention!#FreeRebecca
Rebecca cofounded ABAN (African Business Angels Network) and CAN (Cameroon Angels Network). She is an advisor to Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa), the largest online community dedicated to entrepreneurs and investors building African companies. She also sits on the boards of many corporations including, Digital Africa, WHO Foundation, Eneza Education, Suguba, Djibouti Telecom, US Exim SAAC, and the UNECA Center for Digital Excellence.
In 2017, Rebecca was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans in SCIENCE, TECH & INNOVATION by the New African Magazine and Jeune Afrique’s 50 Most Influential Africans.
