US Army major in Virginia is charged with plotting to assist separatist fighters in Cameroon
WASHINGTON (AP) – A U.S. Army major who worked as a nurse at a military base near Washington, D.C., has been charged with conspiring to provide financial and tactical support to separatist fighters in her native Cameroon. court records The seal was opened earlier this week.
Major Kenneth Chungag, a nurse who lived and worked at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, is accused of using his military training and experience to aid the Ambazonia Defense Force in Cameroon.
“Chungag is greatly appalled by these accusations and looks forward to a timely and fair resolution of the matter,” defense attorney Robert Jenkins said in an email to The Associated Press on Friday.
Chungag, 50, a U.S. citizen, and co-defendant Mercy Akwi Ombaku were arrested Monday on federal conspiracy charges. A magistrate judge ordered the men released from custody after their first court appearance in Alexandria, Virginia. Prosecutors did not request their detention.
In 2020, Chungag was stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland when he first expressed interest in assisting ADF members, according to the FBI affidavit. In online chats with ADF members in Cameroon, Chungag falsely claimed to have combat experience in Iraq but embellished his military background to raise his profile in the group, the affidavit shows.
Chungag is accused of conspiring with Ombaku, who lives in Maryland, to transfer money from the United States to Cameroon for the purchase of AK-47 assault rifles. Investigators believe Chungag became disillusioned and withdrew from the organization in 2024. Later that year, FBI agents questioned him about his ADF-related activities. Investigators believe that after the FBI contacted him, he attempted to destroy incriminating evidence by deleting ADF-related messages from his phone.
Cameroon, with a population of approximately 31 million, has been governed by Paul Biya since 1982, making him one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers. The ADF is a separatist military organization in Southern Cameroon fighting for the breakaway of the Anglophone region from the Central African country.
The history of the separatist movement dates back to the early 1960s, when British Southern Cameroon, a United Nations trust territory previously administered as part of Nigeria’s eastern region, was incorporated into Cameroon. In 2017, English-speaking separatists launched an insurgency aimed at establishing an independent state. At least 6,500 people have died in the conflict and more than 600,000 have been displaced, according to the Belgium-based International Crisis Group.
Pope Leo XIV presided over a meeting during his recent trip to Africa. Peace meeting last Thursday with community leaders in one of the two English-speaking regions. During the Pope’s visit, separatist groups announced that they would take a three-day break from clashes.
Chungag worked as a nurse at Fort Belvoir public hospital, according to a base spokeswoman. The spokesperson referred questions about Chungag’s employment status to the medical center but did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Ombaku, a healthcare worker who is also a Cameroon-born US citizen, is accused of conspiring with Chungag to financially support the ADF. He denied any ADF connections when the FBI questioned him last July. An attorney for Ombaku, 38, of New Carrollton, Maryland, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Fort Belvoir is located approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Washington along the Potomac River.
___
Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.
