Second Bible Translator Killed in Cameroon: Activist Says Fulani's, Govt Troops Attacking, Burning Homes

Fulani extremists are suspected in the killing of a second Bible translator this year in Cameroon.

The Christian Post reports that 48-year-old Benjamin Tem was murdered in his home in the Wum region on Sunday.

Cameroonian activist Efi Tembon said that Tem was a father to five children and promoted Bible listening groups in the Wum area. 

Tembon wrote about Tem's brutal murder on his Facebook page.

"He was attacked last night by people suspected to be pro-government Fulani herdsmen," he wrote. "They butchered him and cut his throat."

Locals are blaming Fulani radicals for Tem's murder. They have been urged by government agents to attack separatist-supporting farming communities in southern Cameroon.

Tem's death occurred just a few months after the brutal attack of Angus Fung in August. 

Fung was a Bible translator in Cameroon who was killed in a brutal machete attack in the Northern Province town of Wum. 

He was instrumental in the translation of the New Testament into the native Aghem language.

It was reported that Islamic Fulani herdsmen stormed into Fung's house and savagely attacked him and his wife.

Fung's wife was gravely injured in the attack with the militants completely severing her arm with their machetes.

According to Tembon, Fulani attackers have murdered at least two dozen people and burned several houses in the Wum area alone.

Since Tem's death, several residents have left the area.

"All the areas where attacks have been carried out have been deserted," Tembon emphasized. "Now the Fulanis will graze and try to take advantage of the chaos and take over the land."

Tembon has not returned to his native Cameroon since he testified before US Congress in 2018 about the human rights abuses being carried out by the Biya government.

"There is a war of independence going on in the area and so the local population supports independence for southern Cameroon," he explained.  "And these attacks toward the local population is not just by Fulanis. The military is also attacking and burning homes." 

"So the military is working hand-in-hand with the Fulanis," Tembon continued. "They have actually armed some Fulanis to help them fight the local population."

He believes the government is trying to "inject a religious aspect to the conflict" and that "attacks are taking place far and wide" in Southern Cameroon. 

"I think our authorities have actually been working with the Fulanis," Tembon concluded.