Monthly Archives: October 2024

Indomitable Lions: CPDM solutions to CPDM problems

3, October 2024

Indomitable Lions: CPDM solutions to CPDM problems 0

Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, and the President of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot), Samuel Eto’o, announced a reshuffle of the Indomitable Lions’ coaching staff in a joint statement on Tuesday, October 1.

The decision was made “to restore the calm desired by Cameroonians around the national football team and in accordance with the directives of the President of the Republic,” the officials said in a joint statement.

The reshuffle affects all levels of the team’s management. Head coach Marc Brys remains in his position, along with assistants Joachim Mununga and Giannis Xilouris. François Omam Biyick and Ashu Cyprian Bessong, previously appointed as assistant coaches by the Sports Minister, are now designated as analyst supervisors. Martin Ndtoungou Mpilé and David Pagou, appointed by Fecafoot, will serve as new assistant coaches. The goalkeeper coach position will be shared between Idriss Carlos Kameni (Fecafoot) and Alioum Boukar (Ministry of Sports).

Dr. Patrick Joël Fotso, appointed team doctor by Fecafoot, will continue in his role, replacing Professor William Ngatchou, who had been nominated by the Minister. Additionally, Fecafoot’s appointees from May 30—Serge Pensy (Deputy National Teams Coordinator), Nicolas Alnoudji (Team Manager), Thierry Ndoh (Team Press Officer), Pierre Arnold Ebolo Abada (Liaison Officer), and physiotherapists Che Awah Daniel and Elias Kaleguem Fomekong—will also remain in their positions. However, a new national team coordinator has been named: former Indomitable Lion Timothée Atouba.

This reshuffle comes after a “series of consultations” aimed at easing ongoing tensions between Fecafoot and the Ministry of Sports. FIFA had sent a letter to the federation in August, stressing the need for “constructive dialogue” between the parties and warning that interference could lead to sanctions. In May, FIFA had recommended revisiting the 2015 agreement between the Ministry of Sports and Fecafoot to clarify their respective roles.

Both the Minister of Sports and the Fecafoot President “urge the Indomitable Lions to seize this renewed sense of calm to work toward reviving Cameroonian football,” while calling on fans to continue supporting the team.

Source: Sbbc

Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher seen in public for first time in over a decade

2, October 2024

Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher seen in public for first time in over a decade 0

Michael Schumacher has been seen in public for the first time in over a decade. The Formula 1 legend was seriously injured after hitting his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps in December 2013, with the life changing accident leaving him in a medically induced coma for several months.

Since the accident, Michael requires round-the-clock medical care and the family have been fiercely protective of his privacy.

But last weekend (26 September), Michael, who is now 55 years old, was spotted attending his daughter’s wedding. Gina Schumacher tied the knot to her partner Iain Bethke in a stunning ceremony at the famous family’s luxury Spanish villa.

Source: Yahoo.com

Biya regime ratchets up media censorship ahead of 2025 election

2, October 2024

Biya regime ratchets up media censorship ahead of 2025 election 0

After a month of seeing an empty television studio with the word “censored” splashed across the screen, Cameroonians are finally able to watch Équinoxe TV’s flagship Sunday politics show “Droit de Réponse” again.

The privately owned station fell foul of Cameroon’s regulatory National Communication Council (NCC), which judged it to have harmed the reputations of two ministers in the government of 91-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the Central African country since 1982. The show and its presenter Duval Fangwa were suspended for one month. When Équinoxe TV broadcast a replacement Sunday show, “Le Débat 237,” the NCC swiftly banned that too.

Despite the return of Droit de Réponse, the station’s difficulties are far from over.

Two Équinoxe TV political journalists told CPJ that they had received death threats by phone and been threatened with arrest in connection with their work.

“Every day, when I leave my house, I know that the worst can happen,” said one, who does not feel safe despite relocating. The other journalist has been in hiding since early August. Both declined to be named, citing safety concerns.

Attacks on the press have escalated as Cameroon prepares for elections in 2025 that could see Biya — one of the world’s longest serving presidents — win another seven-year term. Tensions have been exacerbated by the delay of parliamentary and local elections until 2026, which Biya’s opponents fear will strengthen his hand in the presidential vote.

“The reduction of freedom of expression and the media has begun. Journalists are censoring themselves under the instructions of their bosses or editors,” Marion Obam, president of the National Union of Journalists of Cameroon, told CPJ.

Obam condemned as an “attempt to muzzle the press” a July 16 local government order banning from Mfoundi department, which includes the capital Yaoundé, anyone who “dangerously insults” government institutions or officials or takes action that could “lead to serious disturbances to public order.” Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, prefect of Mfoundi department, said he was concerned about “the statements of certain guests on television or in radio studios.”

Djikdent was swiftly backed up by communication minister René Sadi, who condemned an “upsurge in the use of abusive language” against state institutions and called for “restraint.”

CPJ has since documented the following:

  • August 8
    The NCC suspended the privately owned newspaper Première Heure, its reporter Alain Balomlog, and publishing director Jeremy Baloko for one month for failing to “cross-check and balance” allegations of mismanagement by regional agriculture delegate Jean Claude Konde.
  • August 13
    Police sealed the doors of RIS Radio following the NCC’s August 8 order to suspend broadcasting and to stop station manager Sismondi Barlev Bidjocka practicing journalism, both for a period of six months. The NCC said that Bidjocka aired “unfounded and offensive statements” about the powerful Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Secretary General of the Presidency, on July 22.
La Voix du Centre editor Emmanuel Ekouli
Emmanuel Ekouli (Screenshot: Facebook/Équinoxe TV)
  • August 22
    La Voix du Centre editor Emmanuel Ekouli was beaten by three men on a motorcycle in Yaoundé who stole his laptop, phone, and recording equipment. He was similarly attacked by three men on a motorcycle on July 9. Ekouli has received threats over his journalism and work with the press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders investigating the 2023 murder of journalist Martinez Zogo, according to five screenshots reviewed by CPJ. La Voix du Centre reporter Guy Modeste Dzudie told CPJ that he and Ekouli had also received threatening calls and messages over a June report on corruption in an inheritance case.
  • August 28
    Amadou Vamoulké, former managing director of the state-owned Cameroon Radio and Television, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzlement. The 73-year-old has been jailed since 2016 and was given a 12-year sentence in 2022 on a separate embezzlement charge. CPJ believes his imprisonment is in reprisal for his journalistic independence in the face of government directives.
Amadou Vamoulké, former managing director of the state-owned Cameroon Radio and Television
Amadou Vamoulké (Photo: credit withheld)
  • September 4
    Police arrested Le Zénith reporter Stéphane Nguema Zambo while he was attending an appointment related to his investigation into embezzlement in the Ministry of Secondary Education, Le Zénith’s publishing director Zacharie Flash Ndiomo told CPJ. Zambo was threatened and coerced into publishing a Facebook post recanting his findings before being released on September 6, Ndiomo said.

“We are going through a difficult period,” said François Mboke, president of the Network of Press Owners of Cameroon (REPAC). “There are risks for those who want to remain professional.”

NCC spokesman Denis Mbezele told CPJ that the regulator’s sanctions were to remind the media to act responsibly.

Police spokesperson Joyce Cécile Ndjem declined to respond unless CPJ came to her office in Yaoundé.

CPJ’s calls to request comment from the office of the Presidency, the Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Secondary Education, and Mfoundi Prefecture were not answered.

Culled from CPJ

Southern Cameroons Crisis: DO of Idabato in Amba drag-net

2, October 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: DO of Idabato in Amba drag-net 0

Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces have arrested Roland Ewane, the Divisional Officer of Idabato in the Bakassi Peninsula in Ndian Division which borders Nigeria, early Tuesday.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the sub-prefect and a staff member of the Idabato council were arrested on Tuesday morning.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Ndian Gilbert Guibai Baldena in a statement confirmed the Ambazonia action but added that the Amba fighters were an “unidentified armed group who took direction toward Nigeria on board flying boats.”

Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces are now active in the Bakassi Peninsula of Ndian division, which was once at the center of a boundary demarcation conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria.

The Ambazonia Interim Government is yet to comment on the incident.

By Kingsley Betek in Mundemba

CPDM Crime Syndicate: French banks cancel Paris meeting with Cameroonian delegation

2, October 2024

CPDM Crime Syndicate: French banks cancel Paris meeting with Cameroonian delegation 0

Two French banks Natixis and Bpifrance cancelled a late September meeting in Paris with a delegation from Cameroon. The meeting had been scheduled to discuss a €590m motorway construction funding package for Yaoundé.

The French financial establishments made the decision after President Paul Biya decided to halt an investigation into the so-called “55 metal bridges” affair, which several government ministers have been caught up in.

Africa Intelligence reported that the President Paul Biya’s flagship project, the Yaounde-Douala highway, will cost three times more than the financing provided by Beijing.

By Rita Akana with files from Africa Intelligence

Pope Francis opens new debates on Catholic Church future

2, October 2024

Pope Francis opens new debates on Catholic Church future 0

The General Assembly of the Synod, comprising 368 religious and lay people — including women — from around 100 countries, will hold closed-door debates on potential reforms at the Vatican until October 27.

The synod had already gathered for a month-long assembly in October 2023, after a three-year worldwide consultation among Catholics organised by Francis to confront challenges facing the 2,000-year-old Church.

The 87-year-old Argentine pontiff will have the final say on any doctrinal changes they recommend.

Last year, the assembly addressed themes as varied as attitudes to LGBTQ people, polygamy, the ordination of married men and the fight against the sexual abuse of children by priests.

Although the body resisted pressure to allow the ordination of female priests, calls continue for more visibility and space for women in an institution still run by men.

No decisions are expected any time soon, with the most sensitive issues entrusted to working groups that will deliver their conclusions in June 2025.

Francis launched the Assembly with a mass in St Peter’s Square, where he urged participants to enter the discussions with an open mind.

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” he said.

He added that the meeting was “not a parliamentary assembly, but rather a place of listening in communion”.

On Tuesday evening, Francis held a “penitential” vigil attended by around 2,5000 people in St Peter’s Basilica, during which he again asked forgiveness and expressed his “shame” for the abuse by priests that has overshadowed the Church’s work across the world.

People at the vigil heard from a South African former choirboy who was assaulted by a priest when he was just 11, and who denounced a lack of transparency and responsibility in and by the Church that he said had shaken the faith of millions of people.

“We are here as beggars of the Father’s mercy, asking for forgiveness,” Francis said.

“How could we be credible in our mission if we do not acknowledge our mistakes and stoop to heal the wounds we have caused by our sins?” he added.

Source: AFP

Kingsley Njoka’s absurd 10-year prison sentence: ongoing persecution of Anglophone journalists

1, October 2024

Kingsley Njoka’s absurd 10-year prison sentence: ongoing persecution of Anglophone journalists 0

Barely a month after journalist Amadou Vamoulké was sentenced to 20 years in prison, freelance reporter Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka, who has been in pre-trial detention for over four years, was sentenced to ten years in prison for “secession and complicity with armed gangs”. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the conviction and outrageous charges, which testify to the ongoing persecution of journalists in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

On 24 September, Cameroon suffered yet another attack on press freedom: freelance journalist Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment by the Yaoundé military court for “secession and complicity with armed gangs”. His crime? Authoring reports published in 2020 on the armed conflict raging in the northwest of the country.

Arrested without a warrant on 15 May 2020 at his home in Douala, the country’s economic capital, by three members of the Bonabéri research brigade, Njoka has been held in pre-trial detention at the Kondengui Central Prison in the Yaoundé region ever since. Before his arrest, Njoka regularly published reports critical of the authorities, notably working for the English-language media outlet Canal 2 English on the “Anglophone crisis”, an armed conflict in the English-speaking zones of western Cameroon between the military and separatists that has claimed 6,000 lives since 2017.

One of Njoka’s lawyers, Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, a former journalist who worked with Njoka, told RSF this was an “unfair trial, in violation of Cameroonian laws and international law,” stressing that “the time limit for detention without trial, 18 months maximum in this kind of case, was not respected at all.” Nicodemus appealed against this conviction on 27 September.

“This is the second prison sentence for a journalist in less than a month — following that of Amadou Vamoulké — and illustrates how Cameroon is sinking deeper into its crackdown against the right to inform, which has been underway for several years. The case of Kingsley Njoka, who was illegally held in pre-trial detention for four years before being arbitrarily sentenced, reveals the fate awaiting journalists reporting on the Anglophone crisis. His situation is not unlike that of his colleague Samuel Wazizi, who was also arrested for covering the crisis and died in custody in 2019. Kingsley Njoka’s wrongful conviction on baseless charges must be overturned and he must be released immediately.”

Barely a month earlier, the former Director General of the Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV), Amadou Vamoulké, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for “embezzlement of public funds”, after 178 successive postponements of his trial. He had already been condemned to 12 years’ imprisonment for a similar case in December 2022, after more than seven years in pre-trial detention. He will therefore have to serve a total of 32 years in prison, which is inexcusable treatment of a journalist renowned for his professionalism and integrity.

Anglophone journalist Samuel Wazizi was also arrested and accused of complicity with secessionists in 2019. He died in custody under troubling conditions. According to the official statement, which was not given until ten months later, the journalist died due to illness a mere fifteen days after his arrest, despite being in perfect health – a story that is difficult to believe.

To date, four journalists have been unjustly convicted in Cameroon: Dimitri Wassouom Tchatchoua was sentenced to two years in prison in April 2023 for “publishing false information” electronically, and Thomas Awah Junior, correspondent in Cameroon’s northwest region for Afrik 2 Radio, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2018 for multiple charges, including “secession”, “insurrection”, “spreading false news”.

Cameroon ranks 130th out of 180 countries in the RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

Culled from RSF

Biya secretly dying of cancer in France

1, October 2024

Biya secretly dying of cancer in France 0

President Paul Biya has prostate cancer that is spreading and he has been told that he is going, Cameroon Intelligence Report correspondent in Paris has gathered from credible sources in France.

Biya is 91 years old and is Cameroon’s longest serving head of state that plans to still run for office in the upcoming presidential elections.

Cameroon government officials say the dictator is holidaying in France but those who are in the know have hinted this publication that Biya is secretly dying of prostate cancer and he is now aware his time is nearly up.

The French government is reportedly using secret channels to prepare the Cameroonian military, the gendarmerie including senior political elites in Yaoundé for the expected outcome.

We understand things took a dramatic turn for President Biya while in China and his Swiss doctors are now worried that at any time he could enter a sharp decline.

Biya’s aides have never said he has cancer and are normally fiercely defensive of the corrupt leader’s medical privacy. Unity Palace has also never said publicly that Mr. Biya has cancer.

“Treatment will be stopped because of Biya’s age and also because the cancer is spreading,” a source at the Cameroon embassy in Paris, France was quoted as saying to a secret service officer.

French diplomatic cables are saying that if fully recovered, Biya intends to attend the Francophonie Summit in France before going home to die.

At the time of filing this report, information filtered that Biya’s prostate cancer has spread to other organs.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files