A naturalized U.S. citizen serving as a U.S. Army major and nurse on a military base near Washington, D.C., has been charged with conspiring to provide financial and tactical support to separatist fighters in his native Cameroon, according to court records unsealed this week. Maj. Kenneth Chungag, who lives and works on Fort Belvoir in Virginia, is accused of leveraging his U.S. military training and experience to assist the Ambazonia Defense Forces, raising questions about divided loyalties within national defense institutions.
Elite Interests and Divided Loyalties
Chungag, a 50-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, and co-defendant Mercy Akwi Ombaku were arrested this week on federal conspiracy charges. Prosecutors did not seek their pretrial detention, and a magistrate judge ordered their release from custody after initial court appearances in Alexandria, Virginia. The charges highlight the vulnerability of national security institutions to transnational allegiances.
According to the FBI affidavit, Chungag first expressed interest in assisting members of the ADF six years ago, in 2020, while stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland. He is accused of falsely claiming combat experience in Iraq in online chats with ADF members in Cameroon, reportedly to elevate his standing within the foreign group.
Investigators believe Chungag plotted with Ombaku, a Maryland resident, to transfer money from the U.S. to Cameroon for the purchase of AK-47 assault rifles. Ombaku, a 38-year-old healthcare worker, is also a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Cameroon and is charged with conspiring to financially support the ADF. She denied any ADF affiliation when questioned by the FBI nine months ago, last July.
Later in 2024, two years ago, FBI agents questioned Chungag about his ADF-related activities. Investigators believe he attempted to destroy incriminating evidence by deleting ADF-related messages from his phone after the FBI contacted him, indicating an awareness of the illicit nature of his actions.
The Globalist Mechanism and Its Costs
The conflict in Cameroon, which the ADF seeks to influence, has its roots in a historical arrangement involving international bodies. The separatist movement dates back about 63 years ago to the early 1960s, when the British Southern Cameroons, a United Nations trust territory previously governed as part of Nigeria’s eastern region, was joined with Cameroon. This historical intervention by a supranational institution laid the groundwork for ongoing internal strife.
English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion aimed at establishing an independent state nine years ago, in 2017. This conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 6,500 people and the displacement of over 600,000 others, according to the Belgium-based International Crisis Group. Such demographic upheaval often fuels further migration pressures on Western nations.
The involvement of international figures continues, with Pope Leo XIV presiding over a "peace meeting" last Thursday with community leaders in one of the two Anglophone regions during his recent Africa trip. During the Pope’s visit, separatist groups announced a three-day pause in fighting, underscoring the influence of non-national actors in sovereign affairs.
Maj. Chungag's employment as a nurse at a Fort Belvoir community hospital further illustrates how individuals with foreign loyalties can embed themselves within critical national infrastructure. Fort Belvoir is located approximately 20 miles south of Washington along the Potomac River, placing this alleged foreign plot close to the heart of national power.