BOISE (
Idaho Statesman
) — A woman from Idaho and her husband are reunited after he was released from a jail in Cameroon.
It’s an incredible international story that involves a soured rental agreement with a Cameroonian ambassador to France and accusations of “cyber defamation,” and it escalated to the point that it drew the attention of U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who wrote a letter on the couple’s behalf.
“Our family has been through a horrible ordeal at the hands of certain officials in Cameroon,” according to an emailed statement by the woman’s mother, Kristy Burnett, of Idaho. “False criminal charges were lodged against my daughter and her husband — both U.S. citizens — over a minor rental dispute for which they were clearly not responsible.”
Amber Murrey-Ndewa
, a Cascade High and College of Idaho graduate, is an associate professor of geography at the University of Oxford in England. She was living and working in Yaoundé, Cameroon, this past academic year as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching and supervising students at two Cameroonian universities.
Cameroon is a presidential republic of about 31 million people on the Atlantic coast of central Africa, the southeast neighbor of Nigeria.
She and her husband, Derogy Ndewa, have been together for 17 years and are raising three children, according to an email from Amber. Derogy, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Cameroon, is a forklift operator and gave up his work to support their family during Amber’s Fulbright year.
The trouble began in November 2024, when Amber and Derogy put down a
deposit for a rental property
belonging to the Cameroon ambassador to France, according to a report about the incident from the Ambazonia Broadcasting Corporation in Cameroon.
The ambassador and his wife reportedly refused to rent the house to the Ndewas, even after the deposit had been paid. Amber posted a video on social media, alleging fraud, according to the news report.
The ambassador and his wife filed a defamation lawsuit against the Ndewas, and on March 7, 2025, Amber and Derogy were summoned to the police station to answer to the charges. Amber was released, but Derogy was thrown in jail, where he was held for 32 days.
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch gets involved
On May 2, Risch, R-Idaho, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, wrote a letter to the Ministry of External Relations of Cameroon on the couple’s behalf. The letter was on the committee’s letterhead.
“I am particularly concerned about Mr. Ndewa’s continued pre-trial detention since March 12, 2025, despite initial investigative finding showing no basis for the cyberdefamation charges filed against him or his wife,” according to Risch’s letter. “His detention appears unlawful, and Dr. Murrey also faces the risk of arrest. The circumstances suggest serious Cameroonian law violations and diplomatic influence by a top Cameroonian official.”
He urged the government to ensure Derogy access to the U.S. Embassy, and to assure Amber and Derogy due process and fair treatment under the law.
In the meantime, Amber and her three children flew back to Idaho and awaited Derogy’s release.
“While I understand that legal and civil disputes occur, the handling of this case raises serious concerns about due process and judicial impartiality,” according to Risch’s letter. “I urge the Government of Cameroon to address these concerns swiftly and thoroughly.”
Risch’s letter seemed to do the trick, as Derogy was released June 1. Derogy flew to the Boise Airport, where Burnett snapped a photo of the
reunited couple
and posted it on social media on June 6.
Our family is complete and safe in Idaho! So happy Derogy is home with Amber and my grandkids after a nightmare of false criminal charges in Cameroon. Eternally grateful to
@SenatorRisch
,
@GlobalReachDC
,
@USEmbYaounde
, and
@Aboehler
in helping to bring innocent Americans home.
pic.twitter.com/jCbErI7jue
— ??MAGAIdaho (@KB13MAGAinID)
June 6, 2025
“We are grateful for the intervention of US Senator James Risch (R-ID), who immediately got involved and made it clear that any abuse of US citizens by Cameroon would have serious consequences,” according to Burnett’s statement. “Sen. Risch was 100% behind us and it is largely because of his efforts that our family is now reunited in the U.S.”
She also thanked
Global Reach
, which is a nonprofit organization that works to bring home Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad.
Global Reach does this at no cost to the family.
In Amber and Derogy’s case, Global Reach’s role was to develop an advocacy strategy and work with the family to encourage U.S. government intervention on their behalf, according to Eric Lebson, chief strategy officer for Global Reach.
“We are also grateful to the nonprofit Global Reach, U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon Christopher Lamora, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Response Adam Boehler, and numerous officials at the State Department,” according to Burnett’s statement. “My family is safe and whole again in Idaho.”
