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6, August 2017

Mandela’s grandson urges Israeli envoy’s expulsion from S Africa ⁰

The grandson of South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, Nelson Mandela, has called on South Africa’s government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Pretoria and sever all diplomatic and business relations with the Tel Aviv regime.

On Sunday, Mandla Mandela, who is a member of parliament for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), urged ANC caucus in legislature to pressure the government to send Arthur Lenk out of the country, and recall South Africa’s Ambassador to Israel Sisa Ngombane, and cut all ties, Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported.

“History calls upon us to take similar measures to those taken by freedom, justice and peace loving communities that supported the global anti-apartheid movement against the brutal and illegitimate South African regime,” he said.

Mandela also praised the decision made by a group of ANC lawmakers to turn down an Israeli delegation’s request to meet. “Parliament has stayed true to Nelson Mandela’s commitment to stand by the Palestinian cause until Palestine is free,’’ he said in a statement.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) also welcomed the measure. “Cosatu joins solidarity organizations, human rights bodies and other groups in welcoming the decision by the parliament of South Africa to turn down a request to meet with a visiting delegation from Israel,” the group said in a statement.

South Africans march in solidarity with the besieged Gaza Strip, in Cape Town on August 9, 2014.

Most South Africans have historically supported the Palestinians due to similarities between the Israeli occupation and South Africa’s apartheid era. Mandela said in 1997 that “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in 2002 that his trip to Palestine had reminded him “so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa.” The Israeli regime on the one side and Egypt, Jordan, and Syria on the other fought the Six-Day War on June 5-10, 1967.

At the end of that war, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds, the Gaza Strip, and parts of the Golan Heights. Israel later withdrew from Gaza but has kept the coastal enclave under a crippling siege since 2007.

Palestinian authorities want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along pre-1967 boundaries, but Israeli officials have so far refused the call.

Source: Presstv

6, August 2017

French Cameroun: Suicide bombing rocks Far North region ⁰

8 civilians were reportedly killed and 4 people seriously injured in an alleged Saturday attack by Boko Haram in the locality of Ouro-Kessoum, Mayo Sava Division, some few kilometers from Amchide, a neighboring town close to Nigeria.

A securing source in the Far North region that confirmed the Boko Haram suicide bombing, also said one Cameroonian service man was killed in the incident. A Cameroon military source also hinted of another suicide bomb attack carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants still on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at Waza in the Logon and Chari division that left the suicide bomber dead and 5 other civilians seriously injured.

The Far North Region of Cameroon, especially areas along the border with Nigeria, regularly experience significant violence, attributed to Boko Haram militants. While Boko Haram’s main stronghold is in Nigeria, the group has increase its attack along the Logon and Chari, Mayo Sava and Mayo Tsanaga Divisions of the Far North.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

6, August 2017

London: Usain Bolt beaten by Justin Gatlin in 100m final ⁰

Justin Gatlin tore up Usain Bolt’s farewell script as he stole world 100m gold with the run of his long and controversial career.

Bolt was left with only a bronze in his final individual 100m race as 21-year-old Christian Coleman made it a USA one-two.

The 35-year-old Gatlin, twice banned for doping, came through almost unnoticed in lane seven in 9.92 seconds, with Coleman’s 9.94 holding off the greatest sprinter of all time.

Despite struggling for fitness and form in his valedictory season, Bolt had still been favourite to secure his 20th global gold.

It was supposed to be Gatlin’s year in 2015, when the American went to the World Championships in Beijing on the back of a 28-race unbeaten run.

Bolt produced his great miracle to beat him that night in the Bird’s Nest, but in the stadium where he won 100m Olympic gold in 2012, he could not provide the perfect ending to a perfect career.

Culled from the BBC

6, August 2017

Buea: Zacharie Nkwo reaches his final resting place ⁰

Former senior football commentator, Zacharie Nkwo has been buried in a strict family ceremony in the Buea County in Southern Cameroons. His final funeral rites were staged at the mortuary of the Regional Hospital in Buea on Saturday, the 5th of August 2017 in the presence of a crowd of relatives, friends and fans of deceased including Mister Isaac Sinkot, a former indomitable lion and friend of the deceased.

After a brief stop at the family home, the long funeral procession went to the parish of St. Peter and Paul in Molyko for a requiem mass. In his homily, the Bishop of Mamfé, Monsignor Andrew Nkea, exhorted the audience to seek more the kingdom of heaven. For his part, veteran journalist, Gregory Allen, a comrade of the deceased, noted that the career of Zacharie Nkwo was rich in positivity and love for his country.

Some, like Jules Mbende, a journalist, still remembers some of the performances of the late sports chronicler, which he mimed in the ceremony before the emotional audience. Zacharie Nkwo graduated from the Yaounde School of Journalism (ESJY) in 1975 and worked at Radio Cameroon, Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) until his retirement in 2003.

He died on the 4th of June from an illness at the age of 68. With Abel Mbengue, Zacharie Nkwo whom many recognize as the precursors of this trade in our country formed a tandem of anthology. Two powerful voices (French and English) who made the glorious days of the sports desk in the 80s and 90s on the antennas of Radio Cameroun now national post of the CRTV.

By Rita Akana
Cameroon Concord News

5, August 2017

Man who criticized Obama in 2011 for playing golf, goes to golf club resort on 17-day vacation ⁰

US President Donald Trump has gone on a 17-day holiday to one of his golf resorts near New York. Trump arrived at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey on Friday for his extended break. The Trump National Golf Club occupies 535 acres of rambling countryside in central New Jersey, 45 minutes away from New York City.

The president, who had repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Barack Obama, for taking too many vacation days to play golf and even vowed during his election campaign not to go on vacation if he became president, left the White House in complete shambles.

This is his first long absence from the White House since he became president. The White House said the president’s stay at his golf resort would be a “working vacation”. “The President will continue to work over the next two weeks,” said White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters. The White House’s faulty cooling and heating systems were cited as one of the reasons for the president’s untimely leave.

Trump criticized Obama in 2011 for playing golf and then heading to a 10-day vacation. “Nice work ethic,” Trump tweeted back then. “Pres. Obama is about to embark on a 17 day vacation in his ‘native’ Hawaii, putting Secret Service away from families on Christmas. Aloha!,” Trump tweeted on another occasion. Not only did Trump criticize Obama for his vacations, he routinely told supporters he would never take time off if he were elected because he would be swamped with work.

“I would not be a president who took vacations,” he said in 2015. “I would not be a president that takes time off.” Despite his comments, Trump has taken considerably more time off than Obama in their respective first seven months in office.

According to a Washington Post tally, by the end of August Trump will have spent all or part of 53 days at leisure during his presidency, compared with 15 days for Obama through August 2009. Trump, who is grappling with a Russia scandal, has been the target of extraordinary leaks from government officials since he took the helm.

Trump has also failed to win any major legislative scores in his first seven months in office, and is at odds with several Republican lawmakers on multiple fronts. Trump’s popularity is at an all-time low, as well. A recent poll from Quinnipiac University found that only 33 percent of American voters approve of his performance in office, while 61 percent were against him. This marks Trump’s lowest approval and highest disapproval number since elected. ‘If you are not happy, leave!’

Vicente Fox, Mexico’s former president, who is an outspoken critic of Trump, has questioned the reason for his extended vacation, saying he should leave office if he is unhappy. “[L]eaving on vacation, huh? What for? If you’re not happy with your job, just leave. After all, it was never for you,” the former Mexican president tweeted.
The tweet by Fox seems to be in reference to a former tweet by Trump in which he stated his aversion to vacations. “What’s the point [of vacation]? If you’re not enjoying your work, you’re in the wrong job,” Trump had tweeted back in 2012.

Source: Presstv

5, August 2017

Kagame seals victory in Rwandan presidential election ⁰

Rwanda’s incumbent leader Paul Kagame has sealed a crushing victory in presidential elections that granted him a third term in office, extending his 17 years in power. Kagame has won international plaudits for presiding over a peaceful and rapid economic recovery in the Central African nation since the 1994 genocide, when an estimated 800,000 people Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

But he has also faced mounting censure for what critics and rights groups say are widespread human rights abuses, a muzzling of independent media and suppression of political opposition. With 80 percent of votes accounted for, the 59-year-old former guerrilla leader secured 98.66 percent, the National Electoral Commission’s Executive secretary Charles Munyaneza told a news conference.

“We expect that even if we get 100 percent of votes, there will not be any change,” he said. The board expected turnout to top 90 percent in the East African country of 12 million citizens once full details emerged, in elections that fielded only a single opposition candidate, Frank Habineza, and an independent.
Kagame, who cast his vote in Kigali’s Rugunga polling station on Friday, said he would work to sustain economic growth in the tiny nation.

“This is another seven years to take care of issues that affect Rwandans and ensure that we become real Rwandans who are (economically) developing,” he said in a speech broadcast live on television. He won the last election in 2010 with 93 percent of the vote and during this campaign for a further seven-year term, said he expected an outright victory.

(Source: Reuters)

5, August 2017

ECOBANK rules out leaving Cameroon ⁰

Media reports in Cameroon recently hinted of an imminent departure of Ecobank. Messages both audio and written circulated on social networks, appealing to customers of the bank to withdraw their savings before it was “too late”.

The rumor came following a statement from the bank, some ten days ago, announcing the reduction of its staff and the closure of some of its agencies. A strategy already in place in Western Europe and the US aimed to reduce crowding while leveraging evolving digital channels to expand services.

The management of the bank has issued another statement signed this time around by its general manager, Gwendoline Abunaw. The GM in the press release noted that Ecobank is committed to deliver cost-effective, convenient and flexible banking.

Said Gwendoline Abunaw, “We want to tell all our customers that Ecobank continues to attach great importance to its activities in Cameroon. For the last sixteen years, we have been working to expand our business and increase the number of our customers, and we have become the fourth largest bank in the country.

Ecobank is a modern, pan-African, forward-looking bank committed to using digital technology – in our case, mobile banking – to deliver cost-effective, convenient and flexible banking solutions to its customers.

While we are committed to rolling out our digital strategy, we continue to offer our services in our agencies, ATMs and cash points in nine of the country’s ten regions. We would like to sincerely thank our customers for their loyalty. ”

By Sonne Peter with files from Cameroon Info.Net

5, August 2017

Torture allegations against French Cameroun troops on American base is investigated ⁰

The U.S. military has opened an inquiry into allegations that French Cameroun troops carried out torture and murder at a base where American troops were present, a U.S. spokesman said Friday.

Amnesty International last month said it had documented 80 cases of abuse by La Republique troops at their Salak base in the country’s Far North region. Amnesty alleged the abuses were carried out between 2013 and 2017 against people suspected of involvement with Nigeria-based Boko Haram extremists.

Amnesty said U.S. troops were present at several locations within the Salak base, headquarters of the Rapid Intervention Battalion. Col. Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, said a “commander’s inquiry” has been launched to determine if any U.S. troops were aware of any of the alleged abuses.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government has criticized the Amnesty report. Most of the cases investigated by Amnesty International involved men 18 to 45 years old, though the group documented the mistreatment of some women, children and people with mental and physical disabilities.

“Detainees were severely beaten with various objects including electric cables, machetes and wooden sticks,” suspended from poles and subjected to drowning, the report said, adding that many were deprived of food, water and medical attention.

Several people interviewed said they had witnessed deaths after torture. Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 2.7 million in northeastern Nigeria and neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The countries all contribute to a multinational force to combat the insurgency.

Source: FOXNews

4, August 2017

TB Joshua: How to know your CPDM political leader uses witchcraft ⁰

If you see a rich CPDM politician such as Hon. John Ebong Ngolle or Minister Atanga Nji Paul emerging from a funny nasty building or location, putting on African attire, or if you watch them address the masses in a specific coat and regularly pats their shoulder that is witchcraft in action.

We had witnessed many of the above scenarios in the early days of multiparty politics when the Right Hon. Simon Achidi Achu had control of the North West province and the Maradona of South West politics, John Ebong Ngolle was still in active service.

During the 1990s, an election was the season of harvest for witch doctors, and if Southern Cameroons history is anything to go by, politicians were seen trooping to dusty huts in droves to ‘bewitch’ voters, their opponents or to simply arm themselves with talismans to ward off juju.

When party nominations or news of a new cabinet appeared to be just around the corner, witch doctors were raking in cash by the truckload. CPDM politicians even accused opponents in the SDF of visiting witch doctors at night while joining congregations in Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches on Sunday mornings.

Some years ago during the violent demonstrations that were caused by food shortage, President Biya in a statement, made a mockery of his opponents within his ruling CPDM party that they were visiting some weak and inefficient sorcery dens to boost their chances of ousting him. Biya did not name the said politicians but we now know them from the lists of those in the Kondengui High security prison.

While some CPDM politicians visit native doctors to win elections, others outsource them to eliminate rivals. In Manyu Division, elderly women were paid millions to dance on the streets naked so that no CPDM candidate could lose a seat in the National Assembly.

To win a ministerial seat, many from Southern Cameroons had to visit the twin lakes in the Kupe Muanenguba constituency while many others traveled to neighboring Nigeria. A parliamentary seat required some nights with the chief priest at a cemetery. To be a governor, the stakes were even higher including numerous trips to the Pigmies in the East and to Oku in the North West. The witch doctors in some occasion accepted installment payments. One had to pay a reasonable amount before the elections and the rest after winning.

For instance, when the CPDM wins, the cabinet minister pays more and part of the extra is burnt and is mixed with special ointment. The Minister had to apply this oil on his seat in his office to enable him stay in the Biya cabinet. A witch doctor revealed that he gave CPDM politicians ‘special spices’ to rob on their manhood and make love to young girls recruited from nearby high schools.

The spices were added to the food served to the girls during the reception after the rallies. The concoction worked like magic, noted one of the South West CPDM regime. “It hardly backfires and you were assured of a lucrative position in government.”

The CPDM clients must undergo a special ‘cleansing’ ceremony. The big men and women had to drop a 500 frs coin in a calabash for greeting the spirits then proceeded for body anointment, similar to a massage, using oil and fresh herbs. This was aimed at ensuring the client’s body responds to the so-called medication. After this, you were ready to receive the juju powers.

Affluent people who are predominantly in the ruling CPDM have a lot to lose if things don’t go their way. So, for them, if it’s witchcraft that can make sure they are comfortable in their positions, they will go for it. Poor people have little to lose and their solution is usually fervent belief in Jesus Christ. So, many CPDM politicians are engaging in witchcraft despite being active in their professed religions, and this is worrying.

John Ebong Ngolle, seen recently at TB Joshua in Nigeria was a youthful administrator very much loved by Prime Minister A.N Jua and was appointed Senior Divisional Officer by Jua in 1965. He served in all divisions in the South West and North West provinces and in some cases twice. His last SDO position was in Ndian Division from where he was appointed Governor of the South West Province in 1989 to replace Magloire Ngemba who was transferred to Bamenda.

Just over a year later, he was appointed to the North West Province. He played his political cards very well and helped get the CPDM all the 20 parliamentary seats in the North West that made Achidi Achu prime minister and head of government.

He became a cabinet minister in 1992 and was given additional responsibilities as board chair of Sonara and CPDM political bureau member. His other administrative colleagues (Majority of blessed memory) served honorably and died peacefully. Joseph Mbassi Ngoh, Bambot Sickot, Tabi Arram Mpey, Akoto Ndang. Today, here is the biological son of a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC rolling on the floor in a black church in Nigeria with a pastor pushing his head like a common sinner.

Another pathetic CPDM case is that of Oben Peter Ashu! The late arrogant administrator was Senior Divisional Officer for Ndonga Mantung and many Southern Cameroonians have opined that he masterminded the ‘Ndu Masacre’. With the help of John Ebong Ngolle, the then Minister of Territorial Administration, Gilbert Andze Tchoungui appointed Oben Ashu as Governor of the South West province to replace Etame Massoma who was moved to the West.

Governor Oben Peter Ashu instituted his famous “Come No Go” policy and targeted the grass field people. Oben was dropped by the Biya regime and on retirement in Buea he worshiped at St Martin Catholic Church in Bokwango Buea. He met HIM and openly asked for God’s forgiveness.

Chief Inoni Ephraim had a meteoric rise in the system and it was believed he had the best juju man that the CPDM leadership could rely on. President Biya even spent a night at his residence in Bakingili when he visited the volcano eruption site.

He has been everything in the regime including prime minister and head of government. Recently, he told some Supreme Court judges that he has met HIM and he was now at peace with Jesus Christ.

We all know that Ebong Ngolle did not go to TB Joshua for healing. He went there to destroy the pact he had signed with the devil over the years. Our Southern Cameroons politics needs hygiene.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Cameroon Concord News Group

4, August 2017

Major Darrel Efu Egbe is installed as the new commander of the Support Battalion ⁰

Major Darrel Efu Egbe, 41, has taken over from another woman, Col. Dr Nga Owona Nkounou as Commander of the Command and Support Battalion. She was commissioned during a ceremony at the court yard of the headquarters of the First Joint Military region in Yaoundé.

The Military Region that covers the Centre, South and East Regions is in charge of protecting the administrative units of its zone of command. During the brief military ceremony void of speeches, the new commander was presented to the troops of the Command and Support Battalion with instructions to obey her orders in the line of duty, the execution of military orders and in respect of Cameroonian law.

Brigadier General Simon Ezo’o Mvondo, Commander of the First Joint Military region told the newly installed to revive the command and support battalion.

The senior military officer is a wife and mother of three. She holds a War College Diploma obtained in Jaji Kadouna in Nigeria. She is also holder of a Higher Diploma in International relations. She began her military career in 1988 in the Combine Service Military Academy. She graduated as a lieutenant as part of the Captain Lissia Matna batch.

Source: CRTV