Vera and her one-year-old daughter, who are domiciled in Leicester and integrated into their local community, were arrested and detained on Thursday the 7th of February when they went to report as usual to Loughborough Reporting Centre.

As a child Vera was selected to be one of the chief of the village's wives. The marriage was due to a debt her parents owed to the chief of her village. Vera hated the idea of the forced marriage because she bad begun a relationship with a boy named Christopher she met at the training school in Bamenda. In June 2006 Vera was told that she would have to go to the palace, the place where the king resided. As she was still in love with Christopher, she would secretly arrange to meet with him at the palace.

One day in mid June she was caught by one of the king's wives in her secret love with Christopher. The woman threatened to tell everyone what Vera had been doing at the palace. After that she never saw Christopher again. She never went through the traditional initiation as the Chief died in late June 2006. His successor was his son who had his own family and did not really want to move to the palace. He agreed to let Vera leave the palace by running away as he did not want to go against the traditions of the village. A few days later the elderly woman approached Vera and informed her that it was time for her initiation.

Vera ran away from the palace to her priest. As he was shocked to hear about what was happening to her, the priest immediately put Vera in his car and took her to another village called Akum. She later heard that the new chief, who had changed his mind and wanted Vera back to the palace by accusing her to have abandoned her marriage obligations, was looking her for. It was also being said that she had slept with a boy from an enemy village at the palace. Vera was being sought for execution and they were looking for Christopher. Vera travelled to Bonda and reported the situation to the police who informed her that they had no right to go against traditional laws. On 21" October Vera travelled by boat to Nigeria and from these flew to the United Kingdom and arrived here on 23 October 2006.She applied for asylum the following day.

Vera's asylum claim was refused the adjudicator having concluded that she had not established a well -founded fear of persecution and therefore did not qualify for asylum and refused the claim under paragraph 336 of HC395 (as amended) further that her removal from the UK would not be contrary to ECHR law.

Vera and friends from her community are concerned about what would happen to her and her daughter if they were returned to Cameroon where the government failed to protect her. Traditional chiefs in Cameroon have to power to detain and torture people, the dictatorial regime of Paul Biya in Cameroon his well aware of the facts and just don't want to take any action to stop them and protect vulnerable citizens.

What you can do to help!

All day today Monday 11th February and tomorrow Tuesday 12th

1) Fax: Sam Okwulehie, Group Area Manager Kenya Airways and urge him not to carry out the forced removal of Vera and her daughter Kenny Musada Famba Ada - Attached model fax (VeraKA.doc. You can copy, amend or write your own version - please quote Kenya Airways Flight KQ101 London Heathrow to Nairobi on Tuesday 12th February at 19:00hr

Fax: 0178 488 8299 - from outside the UK + 44 1784 888 299

2.) Please send urgent faxes immediately to Rt. Hon. Jacqui Smith, Secretary of State for the Home Office asking that Vera and her daughter be granted protection in the UK. Please use the attached "model letter" (VeraJS.doc) you can copy/amend/write your own version (if you do so, please remember to include the HO ref: K1254936

Fax: 087 0336 9031 / from outside UK+ 44 870 336 9031

Please notify the Campaign of any faxes sent
Friends of Vera & Kenny
Cameroon Support Network (CSN)
C/o NCADC
110 Hamstead Road
Birmingham
B20 2QS
 camerounsn@yahoo.co.uk