Military officer banned from US for wildlife Trafficking

One of Cameroon’s Inspectors General of the Gendarmerie, Colonel Jean Claude Ango Ango and his family have been banned from traveling to the United States of America due to his involvement in corruption related to wildlife trafficking.

A statement was issued in this regard, July 9, 2019 by the United States Secretary of State, through the US Embassy in Cameroon.  “The Secretary of State is publicly designating the Republic of Cameroon Inspector General of the Cameroonian Gendarmerie, Colonel Jean Claude Ango Ango, due to his involvement in significant corruption related to wildlife trafficking. In addition to the designation of Mr. Ango Ango, the Secretary is also publicly designating Mr. Ango Ango’s spouse, Ms. Engono Akomo.” the statement reads in part.

The statement further underscored the legal backing of such decision. “This designation is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019 (Div. F, P.L. 116-6) (“Section 7031(c)”). Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that officials of foreign governments have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States,” the release states.

According to the press release, this action is a strong signal that the United States is committed to fighting corruption and combating the transnational crime of wildlife trafficking to preserve our world’s iconic species

Wildlife trafficking remains a serious menace in Cameroon and seems to be increasing with increasing fight. The Last Great Apes Organisation in Cameroon, LAGA, in its First Semester Report, has it that some 22 major traffickers were arrested between January and June 2019 with corruption observed and combated in a number of the cases, including an arrest of a police officer. Accordingly to the report, 22 new cases of traffickers were found guilty and the courts ordered the payment of damages totaling F CFA 154,500,000  to MINFOF by the convicted traffickers between January and June 2019.

By Ndimuh B. Shancho