Camtel, Cameroon's national telecommunications provider, claims that frequent concerted attacks on its essential infrastructure, particularly the national fibre backbone are often the work of its own employees.
Judith Yah Sunday Achidi, Camtel's general manager, revealed this as she addressed personnel on Labour Day in Yaounde.
“While we are being attacked from the outside, we must also take a clear look at what is happening on the inside. It is painful to note that Camtel is sometimes sabotaged from within,” she said.
According to Achidi, Camtel insiders with knowledge of infrastructure layouts, vulnerabilities, and timetables are allegedly assisted in disrupting the fibre network.
She went on to say fibre cables are being dug up and torn out of the ground throughout the country.
Network nodes that have been painstakingly established are broken or dismantled—sometimes, surprisingly, with the assistance of persons who are trusted to protect them, according to Achidi.
The head of the state-run telco stated that each act of sabotage has a cascade effect: a classroom without access to digital learning tools, a business unable to execute transactions, a government office put offline, or an area disconnected
“Such behaviour is intolerable, and we will no longer tolerate it,” Achidi said, adding that staff will be sanctioned for disloyalty.
Last September, Camtel reported that it suffered a total of 17 cuts on its optic fibre network due to vandalism, while, overall, fibre destruction had increased by more than 40% in 2024 compared to previous year.
Camtel is now ramping up internal controls, surveillance, and engaging community to curb the crisis.
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