Headline News

26, November 2018

Trading bullets for ballots, former al Shabaab No. 2 tests Somalia’s democratic process ⁰

When al Shabaab’s deputy leader Mukhtar Robow defected from the jihadist group, it was hailed as a major step for peace hopes in Somalia. But now that he’s running for a December 5 regional election, some think it’s a step too far.

At a crowded meeting hall in the southern Somali city of Baidoa last month, Mukhtar Robow faced a gathering of local politicians and reporters squeezed into the room as a crowd of supporters and curious onlookers gathered outside the premises.

Robow, also known as Abu Mansour, is no stranger to the media spotlight. As one of the founding members of al Shabaab — the al Qaeda-linked Somali terrorist group — Robow once served as the jihadist group’s deputy leader and spokesman.

For many years, he was the public face of the organisation, appearing in al Shabaab propaganda videos, granting interviews to local journalists and addressing press conferences in the Somali wilds. As an al Shabaab military commander with battlefield experience and training in Afghanistan, Robow was considered a dangerous man. The US slapped a $5 million bounty on his head and the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on him as a “specially designated global terrorist”.

That was before he fell out with al Shabaab’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, in a power struggle. In 2013, he quit the jihadist group, publicly denounced al Shabaab, and retreated to his village in southwestern Somalia, where he was protected by his militiamen and the community.

Four years later, Robow was back in the news when he surrendered to Somali forces in August 2017 in what was widely hailed as a historic defection.

A year later, Robow was pushing the envelope again.

At the October gathering in a Baidoa hotel, the charismatic former Shabaab leader officially declared he was running for regional elections originally set for November 17 and later postponed to December 5.

Source: France 24

26, November 2018

Kenya Questions Yaounde Over Shooting of Father Cosmas Ondari ⁰

The government has officially initiated the inquiry questioning Cameroon authorities over the death of Father Cosmas Ondari at the Mamfe Diocese in Cameroon. Kenyan authorities through the ministry of foreign affairs in a statement further advised citizens to remain vigilant in areas where security is not entirely guaranteed.

“The government of Kenya has through the High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, has urgently and formally inquired from the government of the Republic of Cameroon about the circumstances leading to the death of Father Ondari.” the ministry announced in a statement on Saturday.

Amb Macharia Kamau during vetting by Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee for position of Principal Secretary

Foreign Affairs PS Macharia Kamau in the announcement affirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding Kenyan citizens and members of the church.

Macharia indicated that the ministry was relentlessly seeking answers from the Cameroon government following the shooting of the Catholic priest.

Cameroon authorities have on their part distanced their military from the priest’s shooting.

The state’s Information Minister, Issa Bakary, in an interview with BBC Radio on Friday, held that the military was not responsible for Ondari’s death.

“The military respects the church and civilians. That’s the work of rebels. We shall do investigations and follow them to their hiding. The military is clean on this one,” the Minister claimed.

At least 21 bullet holes could be counted on the Kembong church, according to Bishop Andrew Nkea who visited the scene a few hours after the priest was killed.

At the time of the shooting, Father Ondari was with was with catechists and a few church followers doing cleaning.

Kenyan Catholic Priest, Father Cosmas Omboto Ondari, who was shot dead on Wednesday

Source: Kenyans.co.ke

25, November 2018

London: Cameroonians paid a poignant tribute to Ma Lay ⁰

Cameroonians in East London in the United Kingdom paid a poignant tribute on Saturday the 24^th of November 2018 to Ma Lay who recently travelled to the land of our ancestors. Ma Lay who migrated to the UK from Cameroon more than forty-five years ago, passed away on the 7th of September 2018 after a brief illness.

The vibrancy of her funeral rites was a testament to the life she lived in the UK as every Cameroonian tribal extraction in London was impressively represented. Cameroon Concord News had a chat with many in attendance and the general feeling was that she was a woman who unified the Cameroonian community in Great Britain.

“She opened her heart and home to all who came in contact with her during the freezing winter,” Ma Gla who spoke on behalf of the Cameroonian community noted. The colourfulness of the wake keep and the nonstop singing for more than seven hours has never been experienced by the Cameroonian community in the UK.

“It was a perfect occasion to say Thank You and Good-bye to a great woman. She lived a life of laughter and had a great sense of humour” said Dr Mrs Patience Abangma.

Ma Lay leaves behind four children and eight grandchildren to mourn her. She will be laid to rest in the City of London Cemetery tomorrow Monday the 26th of November 2018.

By Sessekou Asu Isong

25, November 2018

Suspected militant attack kills 12 in north Mozambique ⁰

Twelve people have been killed in a suspected militant attack in northern Mozambique, with thousands of villagers fleeing into neighboring Tanzania, police sources said Sunday.

Militants have launched several attacks in the majority -Muslim province during the last year, stoking unrest just as Maputo pushes ahead with oil and gas development in the region.

Early Friday, “there was an attack in Nangade district, where there are no security patrols.

The attackers killed 12 people, mostly women and children,” a police source in Cabo Delgado province, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

The attack took place in the village of Chicuaia Velha, just a few kilometers (miles) from Tanzania, forcing several thousand people to seek safety cross the border, police said.

A local journalist said the villagers were hacked to death with machetes or died after the attackers torched their homes.

“The district of Nangade is far from the sea where the police have focused their efforts, which allowed the assailants to enter and attack and then retreat,” another police source said.

“They use guerrilla tactics and attack several points simultaneously. It’s hard to control the situation,” he said.

It was the third such incident in the last month in Cabo Delgado, leaving a total of 20 dead.

Internally displaced people and residents unload a truck with goods of first necessity, food and blankets in Naunde, northern Mozambique on June 13, 2018 after fleeing militant attacks. (Photo by AFP)

Analysts say the nascent insurgency staged its first attack in October 2017 year hitting a police station and military outpost in the northern town of Mocimboa da Praia, killing two officers.

‘Strong local dimension’

Experts believe the militants — most of whom are members of the Kimwani ethnic group — are also motivated by grievances over perceived discrimination in favor of the Makonde people, the tribe of President Filipe Nyusi.

Over the last year, the insurgency has claimed more than 50 lives in gun, grenade and knife assaults.

The authorities have already prosecuted more than 200 suspects, including some Tanzanians and Somalis.

The violence has shaken government plans for Cabo Delgado, a coastal province in the far north that will be a base for development since natural gas reserves were discovered.

US oil and gas giant Anadarko earlier this year temporarily evacuated workers from the area and halted operations after the US embassy in Maputo issued an alert warning of imminent attacks.

The government has been using the potential energy bonanza from estimated reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet (5.1 trillion cubic meters) of gas off the northeastern shores to predict strong future growth for the former Portuguese colony.

(Source: AFP)

25, November 2018

Nigerian President Breaks Silence on Military Base Attack ⁰

Nigeria’s president has finally broken his silence about the deaths of dozens of soldiers killed by Islamist militants a week ago in the northeastern state of Borno.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s office issued a statement Saturday, saying that he had “expressed deep shock over the killing of military personnel.”

“Immediate measures are being taken to ensure that the loopholes which led to the fatalities are blocked once and for all,” according to the statement.

The president said he will meet with military and intelligence chiefs “in the coming days” to plan their “next steps.”

At least 40 soldiers were reported to have been killed Nov. 18 at a military base in the village of Metele.

Security sources, however, told Reuters that around 100 Nigerian soldiers were killed in the attack that they say was carried out by the Islamic State in West Africa.

The Nigerian Army did not acknowledge the attack until Friday and has not provided information about casualties.

Source: VOA

25, November 2018

Southern Cameroons War: What Father Omboto said minutes to his death in Kembong ⁰

Father Cosmas Omboto shouted at few catechists and church members to hide behind the church before meeting the bullet, it has been revealed.

An emotional Bishop Andrew Nkea of Mamfe Diocese says Omboto, a Kisii priest working in St Martin Tours Parish in Kembong was shot dead by government soldiers who were shooting at the church.

“It’s painful that we lost him while at service. Soldiers started shooting indiscriminately and Father Omboto moved around asking those presenter to hide behind the church.

“The bullet met him in front of the church when asking catechists and worshippers to hide behind the church on Wednesday 3pm,” Nkea told BBC Radio.

The youthful priest who was ordained in 2017 March by Bishop Joseph Mairura, is said to have returned to volatile Kembong in April this year, four months after running away to Mamfe Diocese.

And back at Gusii home, a section of priests have joined his family in mourning with some calling for stability in South West part of Cameroon.

“It’s sad that the Mill Hill priest, our son was killed in a foreign country. We call for enhanced security in Cameroon for the sake of poor people. We shall organise for his burial,” said Father Lawrence Nyaanga.

Separatists anglophones are engaged in running battles with government forces after their agitation to break away from francophone dominance failed.

Source: Hivisasa.com

24, November 2018

Battle for Ambazonia: “The situation in Nkambe, Bali, Kembong, Ekok and Wum is very volatile” ⁰

The French and the United States governments including the Roman Catholic Church should pressure President Biya and his small group of Francophone political elites to stop the war in Southern Cameroons, says an academic and chairman of the Manyu Global Forum Seseskou Dr. Peter Ako adding that the situation in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is now deplorable.

In a telephone conversation with our senior political man, Soter Agbaw-Ebai late yesterday, Sesekou Dr Ako Peter revealed that the Ambazonian Interim Government (IG) and the Ambazonia Security Council (ASC) were developing a new self defense strategy that will be implemented on Ground Zero soon. He showered praises on the Lebialem Dragons and hinted that there was an urgent need for the IG to order a tactical withdrawal of Restoration Forces in Bali, Batibo including parts of Menchum and Mezam until the new ASC policy goes operational.

“The situation in Nkambe, Bali, Kembong, Ekok and Wum is very volatile. This is nothing new. The French Cameroun government is carrying out raids in these localities in a very brutal manner. I think there is an urgent need for a kind of tactical withdrawal of Restoration Forces. I have endorsed that already in Eyumojock and Akwaya sub constituencies in the Manyu County,” said Sesekou Dr Ako Peter.

“I am not allowed to comment on self defense issues particularly with people of the press. But I want to assure Southern Cameroonians that an inquiry took place on the happenings in Nkambe that was ordered by Acting President Ikome Sako which established the use of helicopters and machine guns by French Cameroun security forces,” Sesekou Dr Ako Peter told Cameroon Concord News Group.

The former MECA USA Chairman also observed that “Whilst the French Cameroun regime is calling these genocidal campaigns a war against separatists, the killing of innocent Southern Cameroons civilians including Christian Missionaries should be condemned internationally and there should be pressure put on the French Cameroun regime to dialogue with the Ambazonian Interim Government.”

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Soter Agbaw-Ebai

24, November 2018

Southern Cameroons leader, 9 others charged with terrorism!! Trial to begin Dec.6 ⁰

A pro Biya Francophone Attorney General on Thursday November the 22nd charged the leader of the Ambazonian republic and nine others with terrorism. The Yaoundé Military Tribunal held a secret hearing with what is now known as the Nera 10 in the absence of the abductees’ lawyers and the Southern Cameroons leaders were transferred afterwards to the Yaoundé Principal Prison, in Kondengui.

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government’s spokesman, Hon. Chris Anu reported that eyewitnesses saw nine of them as they went through protocol at the Kondengui high security prison. Chris Anu added that “If anything, the event is a clear indication that Yaoundé has no intentions to release the leaders of our revolution in spite of the calls for their immediate and unconditional release.”

The French Cameroun judge who earlier met with the 85 year old Biya privately at the Unity Palace leveled the charge against President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe the interim head of state of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia including nine of his top aides. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that several detained Ambazonian activists are facing the same charge. A well-placed source in Yaoundé hinted this reporter that President Biya has ordered another Francophone judge to begin the trial on December the 6^th.

No human rights activist or legal representations were allowed outside or inside the Yaoundé Military Tribunal where the so-called preliminary hearing took place. The International Crisis Group including many humanitarian organizations has criticized the abduction and illegal extradition of the Southern Cameroons leaders from Abuja, Nigeria.

The Southern Cameroons Acting President Dr Samuel Ikome Sako has also been quoted as saying that President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is not a terrorist but a great leader who has fought for years against French Cameroun colonial rule in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Elsewhere, Cameroon military said on Friday that it has killed at least 43 armed Ambazonia separatists’ fighters. The Biya regime army spokesperson also observed that troops destroyed at least three camps in several operations since Thursday in Bali village in the Mezam administrative area and Abu village in the Fundong administrative area in the North West region. The military reportedly seized a huge consignment of guns, ammunition, machetes, motorcycles and drugs.

The military added that they found the separatist hideouts after tracking one of the gunmen suspected of kidnapping 79 students and three staff members from a school on Nov. 4. La Republique du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons are both experiencing deadliest-ever socio-political crisis and the worst since the war to crush the UPC uprising, when the two territories were governed by the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo. More than 4000 Southern Cameroonian civilians have died in the ongoing violence including some 1600 Cameroon government army soldiers. The Southern Cameroons war has also claimed the lives of a sea of foreign and local missionaries.

The protests against French Cameroun dominance were triggered by a proposed system overhaul by Anglophone teachers and lawyers. Recently, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Herman Jay Cohen again noted that the ongoing war for territorial control between French Cameroun and the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is unwinnable by either side, and therefore recommended that the protagonists should approach the current Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Affairs, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, to begin a mediation process to end the imbroglio. The former diplomat and scholar who brokered a peace deal to end the Eritrean versus Ethiopia war in 1991, among others, made the statement in a recent tweet on his official Twitter handle @CohenOnAfrica.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

24, November 2018

Time for France to give back looted African art ⁰

African artworks held in French museums – richly carved thrones, doors to a royal kingdom, wooden statues imbued with spiritual meaning – may be heading back home to Africa at last.

French President Emmanuel Macron, trying to turn the page on France’s colonial past , received a report Friday on returning art looted from African lands.

From Senegal to Ethiopia, artists, governments and museums eagerly awaited the report by French art historian Benedicte Savoy and Senegalese economist Felwine Sarr, and commissioned by Macron himself.

It recommends that French museums give back works that were taken without consent, if African countries request them – and could increase pressure on museums elsewhere in Europe to follow suit.

The experts estimate that up to 90 percent of African art is outside the continent, including statues, thrones and manuscripts. Thousands of works are held by just one museum, the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, opened in 2006 to showcase non-European art – much of it from former French colonies. The museum wouldn’t immediately comment on the report.

Among disputed treasures in the Quai Branly are several works from the Dahomey kingdom, in today’s West African country of Benin: the metal-and-wood throne of 19th-century King Ghezo, the doors to the palace of Kign Gele, and imposing, wooden statues.

The head of Ethiopia’s Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Yonas Desta, said the report shows “a new era of thought” in Europe’s relations with Africa.

Senegal’s culture minister, Abdou Latif Coulibaly, told The Associated Press: “It’s entirely logical that Africans should get back their artworks. … These works were taken in conditions that were perhaps legitimate at the time, but illegitimate today.”

The report is just a first step. Challenges ahead include enforcing the report’s recommendations, especially if museums resist, and determining how objects were obtained and whom to give them to.

The report is part of broader promises by Macron to turn the page on France’s troubled relationship with Africa. In a groundbreaking meeting with students in Burkina Faso last year, Macron stressed the “undeniable crimes of European colonization” and said he wants pieces of African cultural heritage to return to Africa “temporarily or definitively.”

“I cannot accept that a large part of African heritage is in France,” he said at the time.

The French report could have broader repercussions. In Cameroon, professor Verkijika Fanso, historian at the University of Yaounde One, said: “France is feeling the heat of what others will face. Let their decision to bring back what is ours motivate others.”

Germany has worked to return art seized by the Nazis, and in May the organization that coordinates that effort, the German Lost Art Foundation, said it was starting a program to research the provenance of cultural objects collected during the country’s colonial past.

Britain is also under pressure to return art taken from its former colonies. In recent months, Ethiopian officials have increased efforts to secure the return of looted artifacts and manuscripts from museums, personal collections and government institutions across Britain, including valuable items taken in the 1860s after battles in northern Ethiopia, Yonas said.

In Nigeria, a group of bronze casters over the years has strongly supported calls for the return of artifacts taken from the Palace of the Oba of Benin in 1897 when the British raided it. The group still uses their forefathers’ centuries-old skills to produce bronze works in Igun Street, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Eric Osamudiamen Ogbemudia, secretary of the Igun Bronze Casters Union in Benin City, said: “It was never the intention of our fathers to give these works to the British. It is important that we get them back so as to see what our ancestors left behind.”

Ogbemudia warned the new French report should not remain just a “recommendation merely to make Africans to calm down.

“Let us see the action.”

Source: AP

24, November 2018

Nigeria: Army confirms Boko Haram rampage, mute on casualty figures ⁰

The Nigerian Army has confirmed one of the the deadliest attacks by Boko Haram on its troops with the known casualty figures rising as high as a hundred slain soldiers.

The Army in a statement on Friday said the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion at Matele indeed took place.

“Whilst it is true that there was an attack on the location on 18 November 2018, it has however, become necessary to correct several misinformation being circulated with regards to this unfortunate event,” the statement read in part.

The army explained that its delay in relaying the incident was because of procedural issues on having to inform the next of kin of affected troops before going public with such information.

Whiles claiming there was misinformation in figures and videos currently circulating on social media, the army failed to provide a casualty figure. They also urged against spread of Boko Haram propaganda materials.

“Furthermore, it suffices to observe that several social media, print and online publications have been brandishing false casualty figures as well as circulating various footages of old and inaccurate BHT propaganda videos and alluding same to be the attack on 157 Task Force Battalion.

“Whilst it is understandable how such misinformation can spread in this era of social media frenzy, the spurious circulation of some of these videos only contribute to further propagate the propaganda intent of the terrorists; to misinform the populace and portray themselves as what they are not.

“So far, the situation is that the location is under control as reinforcing units have been able to repel the terrorists and stabilize the situation,” the statement added.

Meanwhile the local news portal, The Nation Nigeria quotes an unnamed soldier that escaped the attack as saying an advanced team of the insurgents came into the based as friendly forces and went into the office of the commander where they fired at him and five other soldiers that were with him in his office.

The Army command in Maiduguri have evacuated bodies of soldiers killed by Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday at Metele village in Guzamala Local Government Area of North Borno State, the portal added.

Source: Africa News