A US Army major working as a nurse at a military base near Washington, DC, has been charged with conspiring to provide financial and tactical support to separatist fighters in his native Cameroon, according to court documents unsealed this week.
Major Kenneth Chungag, 50, a naturalised US citizen, is accused of using his military training to assist the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), a group fighting for the independence of Cameroon's Anglophone region. He and co-defendant Mercy Akwi Ombaku, 38, were arrested on Monday on federal conspiracy charges. A magistrate judge ordered their release after initial court appearances in Alexandria, Virginia.
According to an FBI affidavit, Chungag first expressed interest in helping the ADF in 2020 while stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. He allegedly falsely claimed combat experience in Iraq to raise his profile within the group. Investigators say he plotted with Ombaku to transfer money from the US to Cameroon to purchase AK-47 assault rifles.
Chungag is believed to have grown disillusioned and withdrawn from the organisation in 2024. After FBI agents questioned him, he allegedly tried to destroy incriminating evidence by deleting ADF-related messages from his phone. His defence attorney, Robert Jenkins, said Chungag is 'greatly dismayed by these charges and looks forward to a timely and just resolution of the matter.'
Ombaku, a healthcare worker and naturalised US citizen from Cameroon, is charged with conspiring to financially support the ADF. She denied any affiliation with the group when questioned by the FBI last July. Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
The conflict in Cameroon, which began in 2017 when English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion, has killed at least 6,500 people and displaced over 600,000, according to the International Crisis Group. Pope Leo XIV recently presided over a peace meeting in the region, during which separatist groups announced a three-day pause in fighting.
