Posted
April 12th, 2011
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Though the Cameroon government has denied that Mbanga’s arrest was politically motivated, the evidence suggests otherwise. His sentence was twice that received by the actual leaders of the riots (who later received presidential pardons), and organisations such as the Media Foundation for Western Africa (MFWA) have claimed that his arrest was sparked by his song ‘Constipated Constitution’, which became an unofficial anthem of the February 2008 protests. The song was a critical response to President Biya’s constitutional amendments of April 2008, which allow an unlimited number of presidential mandates and grant presidential immunity for any acts committed while in office.
New Bell Prison is known as ‘hell on earth’ in Cameroon, owing to its notoriously harsh and overcrowded conditions. Mbanga developed health problems while he was there, including typhoid fever and respiratory problems. The only food he received was from his wife, who travelled 8 hours a day to visit him. He feared for his safety and that of his family, and was considering going into exile upon his release.
Mbanga has been a music artist in Cameroon since the mid-1980s, and he sings in the local Creole language Mboko talk. He is the recipient of numerous high-profile awards for his work, including the Oxfam/Novib PEN Award for Free Expression (2008), and the Freedom to Create Imprisoned Artist Prize (2009).
English PEN welcomes Mbanga’s release, but understands that his freedom remains under threat from the Cameroon authorities.
To see an interview with Lapiro de Mbanga on how music can inspire change, please click here.
To hear some of Lapiro’s music, please click here.
Sources:
Originally posted with the url: www.englishpen.org/writersinprison/writersinexile/lapirodembanga/
