On 22nd September 2018, the General Assembly of SOBA UK met at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent, the Home of England National Teams under the theme of “Together we Succeed”.  The General Assembly was well attended and members sat through a six-hour meeting to deliberate on all issues on the published agenda.

The following key resolutions are officially published;

1) The Appointment of New Patrons

The SOBA UK General Assembly appointed new Patrons in line with Article 15 (1, 3, and 5) of the SOBA UK Constitution;

1. Patron membership shall be awarded to persons who have been outstanding in their efforts and contributions to the business of SOBA UK.
2. Persons who qualify for patron membership shall be elected as such by the Convention Assembly on the proposal of the Chapter Executive. Persons so promoted, shall be notified in writing by the Secretary.
3. Patron membership shall be conferred for two years after which, membership is reviewed by the Convention assembly.

The General Assembly took two decisions, namely; 1. Ended the patronages of all existing patrons previously appointed in line with Article 15.5 2. Appointed the following new patrons in line with Article 15.1 and 15.3 effective immediately; Patron Joseph Foncha (Class of 1962) Patron Cyril Alima (Class 1973) Patron Ashu Akoachere (Class 1978)  Patron Maximus Ewane (Class 1979)  Patron Francis Shupo (Class 1980 o Patron Thompson Egbe (Class 1982) We wish all our new patrons every success in their roles as patrons of SOBA UK.

2) The Dismissal of the lifetime bans of SOBA UK Executives Referral of ‘Misconduct outcomes’ and pronouncements by SOBA National Council in Cameroon to SOBA UK members.

Article 18: SOBA UK Constitution 1. The Convention Assembly shall be the supreme and final authority of the Association. 2. It shall comprise all the registered members of SOBA UK. However, it shall be constituted, and thus shall be entitled to proceed with its business, if at least four members of the Executive and a minimum of sixteen other members of the Association are present.

The General Assembly of registered members in SOBA is superior to the SOBA National Council (Article 22, SOBA Constitution 1991). The SOBA UK General Assembly has been used as the reference General Assembly due to its jurisdiction, and the members concerned are registered to the United Kingdom SOBA General Assembly.

Matter for General Assembly Consideration

On 3 September 2018, the SOBA National Council in Cameroon made the following pronouncements:

1. That SOBA UK President, Emeritus President and Secretary General were expelled from the Sasse Old boys Association (SOBA) for life with no recourse to re-admission in any SOBA chapter in the world.
2. Mr. Denis Angafor was suspended for a period of 5 years and without leave for registration in any chapter in the world.
3. Mr. Bime Lafon, Mr. Babangida Usamatu, Mr. Batey Tako and Mr. Frankline Egbe were seriously warned and advised to deceit (SGC representation) from unethical activities that will attract further sanctions from the SGC.

On the charge of a) Contempt of the Proprietor of St Joseph’s College Sasse, the SOBA General Council, SOBA General, SOBA President General and SOBA General Executives; b) Usage of the SOBA name, and logo for disruptive purposes; c) Slanderous and libelous statements made against the SOBA General Council, SOBA General, SOBA President General and SOBA General Executive; d) Advocating severance or complete separation from SOBA General (national chapter); e) Misrepresenting, fabricating and altering the contents of the SOBA Constitution to advance own agenda.

Decision of the General Assembly

The SOBA UK GA unanimously voted to DISMISS the SOBA National Council decisions in Cameroon put before it by its Executive and declared the decisions as INVALID. The General Assembly of SOBA UK confirms this matter as closed and members concerned should continue as members of the association in the United Kingdom.

The General Assembly cited the following reasons:

1. The General Assembly resolves that there are no bases for these draconian sanctions
2. The General Assembly is the supreme and final authority of the Association in the United Kingdom as per Article 18.1 and 18.2 of the SOBA UK Constitution.
3. The members concerned are registered members of SOBA UK and therefore cannot refer this matter to the General Assembly in Cameroon. The reference General Assembly is that of the United Kingdom.

Culled from SOBA UK (All Rights Reserved)

Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE Minister of State reportedly held a meeting with Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Foreign Minister of Cameroon, on the sidelines of the 17th Francophonie Summit in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

Lejeune Mbella Mbella and Zaki Nusseibeh during the meeting discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries. We gathered that the Biya acolyte told the United Arab Emirate politician that Cameroon was badly in need of financial support.

Reported by CIR with files from Urdupoint

The social media space was on Friday awashed with report that 85-year-old President of Cameroun, Paul Bila has been overthrown. However, the reports turned out to be untrue. Cameroun went to the polls last Sunday, in a determined effort by a coalition of opposition parties to puncture the 38 years rule of Bila.

The last time a coup d’état occurred in Cameroon was in 1984; when presidential palace guards unsuccessfully tried to overthrow President Paul Biya, resulting in fighting that began on April 6, 1984 and ended several days later.

The coup attempt is widely viewed as one of the most crucial events in the history of Cameroon since independence in 1960. The opposition coalition led by Maurice Kanto had declared himself the winner of the Sunday polls, a claim the Cameroonian authorities swiftly denied.

Of importance is that the English Speaking side of Cameroun has been embroiled in a crisis of succession owing to language imposition of the French language. The lack of transparency in connections with the misuse of power is the reasons that the Republic is ready for a political change, as the opposition has even claimed to be the winner of this rigged election. This being Maurice Kamto for instance.

Source: Anonymous

Troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaounde reportedly killed eleven Southern Cameroons civilians in two separate attacks on Thursday.  The Cameroon government army said in a statement that the 11 were suspected armed separatists.

Four “separatist terrorists” were neutralized in Misaje in the Northwest, while seven others were killed in raids on Eshobi in the Southwest, according to the statement released on the army’s Facebook page.

According to the Francophone army statement, six hostages were released during the operation in Eshobi some few kilometers from Mamfe, the chief town in the Manyu County.

Fighting between government forces and armed separatist groups has been ongoing since Nov. 2017 after the separatists declared the independence of a nation called “Ambazonia” in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest.

According to the United Nations, over 200,000 people have been displaced internally and at least 30,000 have fled to neighbouring Nigeria.

By Rita Akana

As conflict intensifies in Cameroon thousands of civilians are being forcibly displaced from their homes. Violence between state forces and separatists has displaced more than 246,000 people within the Southwest region, while at least 26,000 have fled to Nigeria. The population is preparing for further violence following the outcome of the October 7 presidential election.

While votes are yet to be counted in an election that many see as neither free nor fair, a premature declaration of victory from opposition leader Maurice Kamto, for which he was branded an “outlaw”, is threatening to cause “new strife in a tense country”. The election was marred by both civil unrest and low turnout- largely because there are few residents left to vote. In some areas, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of residents have fled. Government officials, who would normally oversee the vote, are thought to have abandoned their posts in more than a dozen localities.

While the origins of the conflict can be traced back to language divides imposed by post- World War 1 colonial endeavours in the region, the conflict in Cameroon has steadily worsened in the two years since lawyers and teachers in the Anglophone areas began protesting the Francophone- dominated federal government. President Biya concentrated power in favour of French speakers during his six terms in office and blocked access to the internet in the English speaking areas for months, and Anglophone separatists have been turning to increasingly violent means, with bloody atrocities being reported on both sides. Residents and local officials provide frequent accounts of troops burning homes and shooting, detaining and executing civilians.

At least 26,000 predominantly Anglophone Cameroonians have sought protection in Nigeria, where many have reported being shown solidarity; “many refugees have found support within host communities. The inhabitants of small border villages share what they have with them – food, a room to sleep or work in the cocoa plantations. Some received a piece of land to cultivate. However, solidarity alone is not enough for people who have lost everything to re-start their lives.“

The UN has said the situation is becoming increasingly desperate. The Nigerian government have given land for refugee settlements but it is now fully occupied, and the UNCHR’s own provision for shelter, food, water and sanitation has been “constrained by sever underfunding”; “Most families are down to one meal per day. The coping strategies people are using are themselves risky, and range from borrowing money to cutting food portions or saving food only for children….Most asylum seekers say they are having to drink water from streams, ponds and other unsafe sources” and “malaria is reportedly already on the increase”.

Source: ecre.org

Cameroon is on the brink of a political crisis after the government branded a leading opposition politician an “outlaw” for declaring victory in Sunday’s presidential elections. President Paul Biya is widely expected to win re-election to a seventh term when results are certified in the next two weeks, but a declaration of victory from Maurice Kamto is threatening to cause new strife in a tense country. The US embassy in Cameroon has called “on all parties to wait until the official results are announced before making pronouncements about the supposed winner”. The election took place with tensions in Cameroon running high as Mr Biya, a francophone leader in power since 1982, faces an armed rebellion sparked by a crackdown on peaceful anglophone protests in 2016.

The poll became a flashpoint in English-speaking regions, where rebels who want to create an independent anglophone state banned voting. The contested result threatens to further undermine elections seen by many in Cameroon and in the international community as neither free nor fair. Mr Kamto, a former minister in the Biya government, said at a press conference that he had “received a clear mandate from the people and I intend to defend it until the end”. He did not cite any evidence for his claim. Mr Biya is among Africa’s longest-serving rulers. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, his information minister, said: “You cannot want to govern Cameroon and not abide by its laws and regulations. We call upon the Cameroonian people, of whose great maturity we are convinced, to wait serenely for the proclamation of the results by the constitutional council.”

Hans De Marie Heungoup, an International Crisis Group analyst, estimated that turnout in the anglophone region was under 5 per cent, compared with about 55 per cent in francophone areas. He tweeted that Mr Kamto’s declaration of victory meant Cameroon was “de facto getting into a post-electoral crisis”.

A number of African countries have in recent years seen opposition candidates claim victory in elections marred by irregularities. In 2016, the government of Gabon responded violently to the opposition claiming victory. Last year’s Kenyan elections had to be rerun after disputed results. This year, security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters in Zimbabwe, killing at least six, after the opposition declared victory in what it deemed a stolen election.

Zanda Carol, who lives in Buea in English-speaking Cameroon, said his city of more than 100,000 people was a ghost town on election day. Soldiers stalked the streets, while armed independence fighters declared a ban on voting in what they called an illegal poll. “We are between two devils,” Mr Carol said by phone from Buea, where gunfire raged throughout election day.

The insurgency in the anglophone region, where a fifth of Cameroon’s 24m people live, represents perhaps the greatest challenge Mr Biya has faced in 36 years in power. Hundreds of thousands have fled violence from soldiers and militant separatists. The president rules by decree and has abolished term limits while allowing what critics call a façade of multi-party democracy. The international community has largely been silent about the anglophone crisis, in part, critics charge, because Cameroon is a key member of the fight against Boko Haram, the jihadi group present in the country’s far north.

Culled from The Financial Times

CPDM OFFICIALS ARE HAVING A TOUGH TIME. THEIR BREAD AND SARDINE APPROACH DURING THE CAMPAIGNS IS NOT DELIVERING THE DESIRED RESULTS.

ACCORDING TO A SOURCE WITHIN THE PARTY, JEAN KUETE AND HIS COLLABORATORS ARE ALL HAVING BUTTERFLIES IN THEIR STOMACHS.

DESPITE HUGE AMOUNTS SPENT ON CAMPAIGNS BY THE RULING PARTY, EXIT POLLS ARE CLEARLY INDICATING THAT THE CPDM CANDIDATE IS, ON THE WHOLE, STRUGGLING.

A SOURCE AT THE UNITY PALACE HAS INDICATED THAT THERE IS PANIC IN THE HOUSE. THE EXPECTED LANDSLIDE VICTORY IN THE CENTER AND SOUTH REGIONS IN FAVOR OF THE INCUMBENT IS TURNING INTO A NIGHTMARE.

THE SOURCE HAS ALSO INDICATED THAT THE PHONES ARE OFF THE HOOK AS EXIT POLLS ARE DELIVERING BAD NEWS TO THE RULING PARTY.

ACCORDING TO THE CAMEROON INTELLIGENCE REPORT EXIT POLLS, MAURICE KAMTO IS LEADING IN THE FAR NORTH, LITTORAL, WEST AND CENTRE REGIONS.

HE IS CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY JOSHUA OSIH AND CABRAL LIBII WHILE PAUL BIYA IS AT A DISTANT FOURTH POSITION.

MEANWHILE PAUL BIYA IS LEADING IN THE SOUTH WEST, NORTH WEST WHERE ONLY GOVERNMENT TROOPS ARE VOTING.

NO CIVILIANS ARE VOTING IN THOSE REGIONS AS THERE ARE INTENSIVE GUN BATTLES BETWEEN SEPARATISTS AND GOVERNMENT TROOPS.

BIYA IS ALSO LEADING IN THE SOUTH PROVINCE. HE IS NECK AND NECK WITH CABRAL LIBII IN THE EAST WHICH IS NOT A POPULATED REGION.

ACCORDING TO THE EXIT POLLS, MAURICE KAMTO OR JOSHUA OSIH WILL BE THE NEXT EAST CAMEROON PRESIDENT IF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL DOES NOT DOCTOR THE DOCUMENTS.

CAMEROON CONCORD NEWS GROUP HAS REPORTERS IN ALL THE REGIONS AND THEY ARE INTERVIEWING VOTERS AFTER THEY HAVE CAST THEIR BALLOTS.

Cameroon’s next government must urgently tackle human rights crises in which hundreds of civilians have been killed this year alone and thousands internally displaced amid violence by security forces, Boko Haram and armed separatists in the country’s Far North and Anglophone regions, Amnesty International said ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.

“Whoever wins the election cannot ignore the perilous situation for people living in the Far North and Anglophone regions and must prioritize their protection,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International Deputy regional director for West and Central Africa.

“For far too long, numerous human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings have been committed with impunity in three of Cameroon’s regions and the next government must take urgent action to end these human rights crises.”

On Sunday 7 October, Cameroonians will elect a president for the next seven years. There are nine candidates including the incumbent President Paul Biya. Sunday’s election takes place against a backdrop of violence in both the Far North and Anglophone regions.

Some political opponents to President Paul Biya, including the president of one of the main opposition parties in northern Cameroon, Aboubacary Siddiki, are still in detention on trumped-up charges.

Security situation remains perilous in the North

Since the beginning of the year, Amnesty International has recorded more than 90 violent incidents involving the armed group Boko Haram in the Far North of Cameroon.

These include five suicide bomb attacks and raids resulting in the killing of 123 civilians in 2018 so far, along with the destruction and looting of private and public properties.

In 2017, there were 111 Boko Haram-related incidents – 41 of which were suicide bombs attacks – with 201 civilians killed. Despite the year-on-year decrease in the number of attacks, the situation remains fragile in the Far North and Boko Haram still constitutes a threat for civilians.

The humanitarian situation in the Far North is bleak with overall more than 230,000 people internally displaced. Some 98,000 Nigerian refugees are also hosted in the Far North.

Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances

In response to Boko Haram attacks, Cameroonian security forces have raided villages in the Far North, destroying homes, killing civilians and arbitrarily detaining thousands of suspects, often on the basis of little or no evidence.

Among the more recent examples of human rights violations perpetrated by the Cameroonian security forces and uncovered by Amnesty International is the extrajudicial killing of four civilians and the enforced disappearances of two others on 26 June 2018 in the village of Mouri in the Far North.

On that day, soldiers from the regular army, accompanied by about 10 vigilantes fired at three unarmed men, among whom the chief of the village, injuring them seriously. Then, they arrested four other men and took them out of the village. The vigilantes came back later in the afternoon and arrested two others. Three days after the incident, four bodies were discovered by herders who recognized the men among those arrested on 26 June. The two others never came back. Amnesty International has clearly identified at least three vigilantes aged between 36 and 47.

In July, an investigation by Amnesty International experts confirmed that Cameroonian soldiers were depicted in a video carrying out the brutal extrajudicial executions of two women and two young children.

Also, a horrifying video obtained and authenticated by Amnesty International in August showed Cameroonian soldiers killing at least a dozen unarmed men during a military operation in the village of Achigachia. The organization had already documented the case depicted in the video in its 2016 report Cameroon: Right cause, wrong means: Human Rights violated and justice denied in the fight against Boko Haram.

Anglophone region plagued by violence

In the Anglophone regions, Amnesty International has recorded over 360 violent incidents since the beginning of the crisis in late October 2016. More than 400 people have been killed in the past year, while the violence has resulted in total in the internal displacement of more than 240,000 people across the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, in addition to some 25,000 having fled to Nigeria. All are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Security forces have committed serious human rights violations, such as unnecessary use of force during peaceful demonstrations and in search operations that have resulted in arbitrary arrests, unlawful killings and the burning of dozens of villages.

On 24 September, at least two unarmed men were unlawfully killed by soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion in an area of Buea known as Great Soppo. On 23 September, security forces undertook search operations in two neighborhoods in the capital Yaoundé which led to mass arbitrary arrests of over 50 Anglophone people. They were released on 24 September but only after giving money to security forces.

Armed separatist groups have also been responsible for acts of violence such as killings of security forces and ordinary people, kidnappings of state officials, students and teachers, and destruction of school buildings, gendarmerie and police stations, and military vehicles.

Amnesty International has also observed that armed separatists have become more organized with more deadly and effective weapons, including long range scoped rifles and PKM machine guns, some of which were seized from the Cameroonian security forces.

“If the incoming administration subsequent to the election outcome wants to end the impunity that has fuelled years of violence in the Far North and Anglophone regions, it must ensure that members of armed groups, security forces and others suspected of involvement in human rights abuses are brought to justice and victims compensated,” said Samira Daoud.

Source: Amnesty International