Global Petition: Free Unlawfully Detained Mothers with Infants and Two Innocent Minor Girls at Bamenda Central Prison, Cameroon

The “No Babies Behind Bars” campaign issues an urgent call to national and international communities to demand the immediate and unconditional release of mothers detained with their infants, as well as two innocent minor girls currently held at Bamenda Central Prison in Cameroon’s North-West Region.

Persons Concerned

We, citizens of Cameroon, Africa, and the world, demand the release of:

• Madam Joycelyn Ndum (22), detained with her 3-month-old baby, illegally arrested on June 24, 2025, in Ndop, Mufuo Quarter, Bamessing Village (Ngoketunjia Division, North-West Region, Cameroon);
• Madam Blanche Yocnteh (22), detained with her 3-month-old baby, arrested at the same place and date;
• Two (02) innocent minor girls, currently detained at Bamenda Central Prison;
• Any other unarmed civilian victims unlawfully detained in this case.

Established Facts

Verified information points to serious human rights violations, including:

• Arrests carried out without judicial warrants, in violation of the principle of personal criminal responsibility;
• Inhumane detention conditions, causing illness among the infants;
• Threats of public executions, allegedly made by the Divisional Officer, within a region already affected by documented impunity.

Our Position

We firmly affirm that:

• Prison is no place for infants or innocent children;
• No innocent child should ever be deprived of liberty;
• Motherhood is not a crime;
• Justice must never be collective or family-based.

Our Demands

We call for:

1. The immediate release of the mothers and their infants;
2. The immediate release of the two innocent minor girls;
3. The use of non-custodial legal alternatives for lactating mothers or mothers living with infants;
4. Urgent medical care for the sick babies;
5. Independent, impartial, and transparent investigations into the legality and conditions of arrest and detention.

No baby should remain behind bars.
No innocent child should grow up behind prison walls.

Campaign Coordination

Winny Kamga
Executive Secretary – AWT
📧 campaign@allwomentogether.info
📧 allwomentogether@yahoo.fr
📧 contact@conscienceafricaine.org

✍ Sign the global petition:
👉 https://forms.gle/phCM9n3nTyF2m5396
📅 Issued on November 26, 2025