From Minnesota Living Rooms, Men Led Murderous Rampage To Start New Country: Feds

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Two Minnesota men have been indicted on federal charges accusing them of directing kidnappings, bombings, and killings overseas as part of a violent separatist movement in Cameroon, all while living in the United States.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Benedict Nwana Kuah, 51, and Pascal Kikishy Wongbi, 52, both naturalized U.S. citizens, used their homes in Minnesota as a base of operations to finance and coordinate attacks for the self-proclaimed Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF). The group seeks to carve out a new country called “Ambazonia” from Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.

Both men were arrested in Minnesota this week and made their first court appearances. They remain in custody pending detention hearings. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal prosecutors say Kuah and Wongbi held senior roles on the ADF’s so-called War Council, ordering fighters to kidnap civilians, plant bombs, and kill government officials and perceived collaborators. The men allegedly raised thousands of dollars through online fundraising campaigns like “Operation 200AKs” and sent the money to armed groups in Cameroon to buy weapons and explosives.

Authorities linked them to multiple deadly attacks, including:

• The April 2022 kidnapping of a government official who was forced to denounce Cameroon on video.
• A 2023 bomb attack at the Mount Cameroon Race for Hope, which injured 19 people.
• The October 2023 murder of two civilians in a town square, accused of cooperating with authorities.
• A February 2024 bombing at a Youth Day celebration that killed a 15-year-old girl and injured dozens of children.

“Minnesota is not a launchpad for overseas violence,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said. “Operating from the comfort of their living rooms in Minnesota, these defendants caused violence and suffering half a world away.”

The case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, with support from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.

An indictment is a formal accusation, and Kuah and Wongbi are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.