Headline News

1, May 2017

Blair to ‘get his hands dirty’ with UK politics again ⁰

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has announced his plan to “get his hands dirty” with domestic politics again, 20 years after beating John Major to enter Downing Street.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper published on Monday, Blair said he is returning to politics in order to fight against the UK leaving the European Union (EU).

Blair led the Labour Party to a landslide victory on May 1, 1997 – two decades ago today — ending its 18 years in opposition and winning 418 seats, the most the party has ever held. He led Labour from 1994 to 2007.

Blair said he will not be standing in the June general elections, but added that he wanted to launch a political movement to formulate the policy debate as Britain begins its two-year-long complex negotiations to leave the EU.

The 63-year-old, whose ten-year tenure as the British PM was marred by his controversial decision to join the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, admitted that he would face intense criticism for returning to politics.

Source: Presstv

30, April 2017

Douala: Soldier charged after 2 women stabbed to death ⁰

A soldier serving with the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR has stabbed two women to death in Douala. Military sources revealed that the serviceman carried out the evil act on the night of April 27^th to the 28^th at Ndogpassi, a popular district in Douala, the economic metropolis.

According to Cameroon Concord News sources, the soldier who recently returned from a mission to Limbe in Southern Cameroons killed his first victim inside a hotel room and then alarmed by the cries of her girlfriend, the second girl reportedly pregnant and working at the Inn, rushed into the room and was violently stabbed.

After the death of the pregnant lady, a chain of solidarity was set in motion by medics who had arrived the scene to obtain the separation of the fetus from her mother’s body. The operation was successful and was done in the presence of some judicial authorities in Douala including a State Counsel. The Francophone army has not yet reacted on this nasty and malicious act of one of its elements.

By Eyong Johnson

30, April 2017

War on terror: Fighting erupts in Kolofata District, casualties reported ⁰

A dozen of Boko Haram fighters were killed during a heavy gun battle in the Kolofata district in the Mayo-Sava Division, the Far-North region. The militants of the Nigerian Islamic sect armed with war rifle and on motorcycles attacked the village of Ndaba located at a border crossing in Nigeria forcing people to flee.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the Cameroonian army under the banner of the Joint Multinational Force, whose first sector is stationed at Mora, reacted decisively. According to our source, some 12 assailants were killed and 6 elements of the Rapid Intervention Batallion, BIR were wounded by bullets- one seriously.

More than thirty civilians were also wounded during the Boko Haram onslaught on Ndaba. A day before the attack on the Kolofata district, 4 members of the vigilance committee based in Achigachia died in clashes with Boko Haram terrorists who alleged allegiance to the organization of the Islamic state and is now called, Province of Islamic State in West Africa.

Early in the morning of Friday, a Kamikaze was killed and 1 civilian seriously wounded, in a suicide bombing in Tchakarmari. Sporadic fighting has been reported recently when the Yaounde authorities long announced that the army had weakened the group.

By Rita Akana

30, April 2017

Archbishop of Bamenda says he does not know who is dragging him to court ⁰

After a nebulous group known as the consortium of parents dragged the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province to court to answer a seven-count charge brought against them, L’Effort Camerounais caught up with the Archbishop of Bamenda to have his reading of the present imbroglio. Excerpts:

How do you react to the recent court summons of the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province?

My reaction is certainly one of disappointment because, in the first place, I do not know who is dragging me to court especially as the supposed plaintiffs have denied that they are not the ones responsible for the court summons. They accuse the Bishops of failing to ask parents to send their children back to school and of condoning to the acts of those who illegally requested for boycott of school thereby causing some confusion and persistently refraining from performing the duties of teaching children. They further accuse us of condoning to the resistance organized by some individuals and thereby causing social unrest.

On the contrary, the Bishops have issued several communications all in an attempt to appeal to the parties to seek a peaceful solution to the current social unrest plaguing our country. In all our communications and, even in my homilies, violence in all its forms and no matter the origin has been vehemently condemned. We have never asked or encouraged anyone to organize ghost towns or civil disobedience. We have never closed down our schools or sent any child away who wanted to be taught. Parents themselves chose to come and withdraw their children after news spread that the gate of Sacred Heart College Mankon was vandalized. In effect, we have lost enormously because over seven hundred million had been spent in buying food stuff, books and didactic material for the running of schools. Unfortunately, all fees had not been paid when the strike started so the money has not been recovered. Instead we stretched beyond our limits to get money with which we paid teachers and supported the staff for several months after the strike started. We held meetings with parents and teachers to discuss the possibility of reopening our schools but parents chose not to send their children. To be accused now of not having ordered schools to resume is surprising. So, I am totally disappointed in whoever is behind this act.

Do you think someone is behind all this and who could that be?

Yes, I strongly believe so but I do not know who. I say this for a number of reasons. In the first place, because the representatives of the so-called “Consortium” are mostly military personnel. Secondly, because one of the charges is that my refusal to pay teachers’ salaries is causing a loss in taxes to the State. So I do not know if their interest is the loss of taxes to the state or it is the children’s welfare they are interested in. Our schools have Parents Teachers Associations right up to the diocesan level and nothing like a consortium of parents as the summons indicate. No one has brought any complaints against us with regards to the social unrests and we refused to listen.

Furthermore they accuse us of propagating “false information liable to injure public authorities and national unity” and of attempting to justify “grievances and apprehensions which is being carried out against the security of the State”. So, from the look of it, there is someone behind all this and I am anxiously looking forward to meeting whoever is calling the shots.

Does the Church have a preference for a particular style/system of government?

Not at all, because the Church does not meddle in politics and has no political leanings. In our memorandum to the Head of State we have advised the government on what to do to have a peaceful solution to the existing problems. That is the best we can do as the voice of the voiceless that we are. We can only advise but cannot impose on the government. We do this by presenting to the government what complaints the people have and how to go about solving them. The Church is strictly apolitical and does not express any preference for a style of government.

You are aware that Christians from all over the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province were mobilizing to storm the courts had the matter not been suspended. Do you encourage such an action?

I am aware of this because I received calls from Yaoundé, Douala, Buea and other towns. People called to give me their moral support, to reassure me of their prayers and to inform me they will be in court with me because they are the parents who refused to send their children to school and not the bishops. I informed the Governor of the North West Region just in case he did not know about it so that he takes his responsibility to ensure there is maximum security so that the peaceful protest march the people had planned to have will go on without escalating into violence. As to whether I encourage them, I would say I did not ask anyone to accompany me to court and in my communiqué to them about the summons, I only asked them to pray for a peaceful solution and to remain calm. But I think people are aware that they have a right to express themselves and that is why they chose to accompany me to court.

Do you not think a situation like that could stir another uprising or could be considered by government as such?

I would not have cautioned the Governor about impending danger if I did not foresee that some people could take advantage of the planned peaceful protest march to cause chaos. I already mentioned that all along we have been condemning violence no matter the source. So, I have to do what I can to avoid it.

Christ’s Faithful in the Diocese of Buea were bracing up to travel to Bamenda in solidarity with the Church in Bamenda and Kumbo. Is Bamenda going to do same to Buea, Mamfe and Kumba?

We intended going down to Buea as well for the simple reason that actually it is the Church’s hierarchy in our Ecclesiastical Province that has been dragged to court. And since there are two regions, they cannot, from a legal point of view, bring the Bishop of Buea to come and answer charges in Bamenda. So, all the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province are in court just as all the leaders of the Presbyterian and Baptist Churches in the two regions are also in court. So, the difference is only where one answers the case because the charges are the same. One of the accusations in the summons is about “the Catholic Church”; and that is a very serious accusation. It would have been totally different if I were accused as the Archbishop of Bamenda or if it were the Bishop of Buea, for example; but as the Catholic Church, I am afraid the Holy Father may have to come and answer the charge in this situation because he is the head of the Catholic Church. So, that is the gravity of it.

So, what will be your reaction if whoever is dragging the bishops to court suddenly realizes this gravity and decides to withdraw the case?

They are free to do so. If they think that they have no charges against us or that they are accusing us wrongly, they are free to. We are only praying that we should not go into situations that are meaningless; things should be founded and should be done properly because nobody enjoys going to court. And the question you asked, as they always say; “have you looked for a peaceful and amicable solution to the problem before going to court?” That is why I would have expected those who are bringing us to court to confront us and if we cannot satisfy them, if they have founded grievances, then they are free to go to court. This explains why the issue of the Church being dragged to court is really an embarrassment to us and I think to anybody. I hope that they will not keep on suspending the case indefinitely because justice delayed is justice denied.

Your Grace, the matter in Buea has been postponed to the same June 5, like that of Bamenda. What reading do you make of that action?

Well, they have a right to put it on whatever date suits them. If they have chosen to put both cases on the same day only they know why they have chosen to do that. I cannot interpret their act. But I know that the reason advanced for postponing the case in Bamenda is not convincing enough. The death of a lawyer or any court official should not cause the entire court to close down. That of Buea is even worse because no reason for its postponement was advanced.

What do you think can be the quick solution to the current social unrest and how soon can that be?

I think the solution is there. We have the knife and the yam. It is very clear. By “we” I mean the Cameroon nation and its authorities. We have the knife and the yam because we have more than a 50-year history. All these problems are man-made and we have been living through them. Let us have the courage, as I said earlier, to take the bull by the horns, look at the problems in the face and look for meaningful solutions. We would be a more peaceful country. This can only be done through genuine and honest dialogue and with the establishment of a truth and reconciliation committee. Cameroon has been hailed for being an oasis of peace. We do not want to lose that. We want to continue being an oasis of peace and we want to continue being an example to follow in our sub region. We do not want to push things to a point that people become exasperated and do foolish things. Let us listen to one another, accept one another and do things in one another’s interest.

But Your Grace, there was dialogue with the inter-ministerial committee and the Prime Minister made several trips to the North West to dialogue with the people. Are you insinuating there was no genuine dialogue?

When it started the inter-ministerial committee seemed to be in genuine dialogue with the teachers’ union leaders. But shortly after the discussions, some leaders were arrested and are still in jail. This shows there was some bad faith and no trust in the people they were dialoguing with. I have the impression that the PM did not come to dialogue but to present an agenda of a prepared solution to the problem without true and honest dialogue. In this case there was no dialogue but a monologue because he spoke and everyone listened to him but he did not listen to anybody. So I insist that people should face the facts as they are and listen to each other during the dialogue.

30, April 2017

A new Mike Tyson is born ⁰

Anthony Joshua emerged victorious from the biggest post-war boxing bout held on British soil by knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in front of a 90,000 crowd.

The two titans squared off at Wembley Stadium watched on by the cream of Hollywood’s A-list.

The British fighter was floored in the sixth round but fought back to drop the Ukrainian with dramatic late onslaught in the eleventh.

Klitschko returned to his feet for the third time in the bout but referee David Fields waved the fight off with the former champion unable to defend himself.

29, April 2017

Tanzania fires 10,000 civil servants over fake documents ⁰

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Friday fired nearly 10,000 civil servants accused of having falsified academic qualifications to get their jobs. The civil servants have been given 15 days to leave their jobs or risk jail terms of up to seven years.

Speaking in the capital, Dodoma, Magufuli described the 9,932 officials as “robbers and shoplifters” and ordered them to “immediately disappear from their work stations.” “The 9,932 employees recruited on the basis of false diplomas will not receive their salary for this month of April and have to leave their positions immediately,” Magufuli said. He added that the posts would be filled by “qualified persons” as soon as possible and called on local media to publish the names of those fired.

The officials had been implicated by an independent evaluation that sought to determine the validity of the academic papers of public employees in Tanzania. The evaluation followed a countrywide crackdown on phantom workers on the public payroll. Since winning elections in 2015, Magufuli has strengthened his reputation for fighting corruption with decisions many see as aimed at improving service delivery.

Source: Presstv

29, April 2017

Musonge Commission: The rise and fall of the Peter Mafany Anglophone gang ⁰

The members of the so-called National Commission for Bilingualism and Multiculturalism have been installed into their functions. The Thursday 27th April 2017 ceremony at the Yaoundé Conference Centre has been rubbished by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. The team headed by an anti grass-field former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge was commissioned by the Head of Government, Philemon Yang, on behalf of the Head of State.

In trying to divert from the Southern Cameroon problem and quest for an independent state, the PM called on the members to foster the two official languages for the sake of peace and national unity. The PM said bilingualism remains a rare asset of development and social cohesion at a time when French Cameroun political elites orchestrated the longest internet shut down ever recorded in the African continent against West Cameroonians. The ceremony came just two days after President Biya signed a decree appointing a certain Cornelius Chi Asafor as Secretary General of the commission. The Chairman of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism said work will effectively begin this coming week.

Created by a presidential decree that was made public on the 15th March 2017, the Musonge Commission which composed of 15 members is a primitive and cheap design by the Biya Francophone regime to downplay the Southern Cameroons crisis. Its objective is to ensure the equal use of English and French as two official languages which has no bearing with the ongoing Anglophone crisis.

By Sonne Peter

29, April 2017

The Situation in Southern Cameroon: A Call for a Halt to Human Rights Repressions ⁰

The ILA (Nigeria) Committee on Justice and Human Rights, acting under the protective mandate of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, is concerned over the ongoing events in the Republic of Cameroon and has considered it imperative to add its voice to the variously expressed opposition to the wanton violation of the rights of the people of English speaking Provinces of Cameroon by the Government of the Republic of Cameroon.

The facts upon which the intervention of the Committee is established, as verified by CNN, Amnesty International and the African Bar Association, are as follow:

That residents of Cameroon’s two English-speaking provinces have longstanding grievances against the largely-francophone central government, complaining of economic marginalization and the imposition of French legal and education systems upon them;
That in November and December 2016, Anglophone lawyers led protests against the use of French in courts, resulting in clashes with police in which protesters were killed;

III. That the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) and Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), responded with series of strikes and “Operation Ghost Town” – a form of nonviolent resistance that requiring all supporters to stay at home;

That following the strikes, schools and courts in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been shut since November 2016;
That on January 17, the government banned the CACSC and the SCNC, holding them responsible for the protests. The CACSC President Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Secretary General Dr. Fontem Neba were arrested on charges relating to terrorism, and are yet to regain their freedom and have not been offered all the necessary facilities for fair and impartial trial.

Being aware that the issues leading to the current impasse are not new, the Committee takes cognisance of the following:

(a) that the current situation is intimately linked to the events that occurred in British Southern Cameroon in the context of decolonisation having its root in the League of Nations Mandate System that partitioned Cameroon between Great Britain and France and which culminated in the plebiscite of the United Nations on Southern and Northern Cameroon independence question;

(b) That matters arising from the plebiscite have been a subject of litigation and discussion at several international forums, particularly, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples;

(c) That the Committee is aware that the facts presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights on the Southern Cameroon (‘Ambazonia’) in the case of Gorji-Dinka v Cameroon (2005) AHRLR 18 (HRC 2005), particularly, paragraphs 2.1 to 3.2, were unchallenged by the government of Cameroon;

(d) The Committee also takes cognisance of Kevin Mgwanga Gunme et al v Cameroon (communication 266/03) in which, after it had painstakingly considered the position of both parties, the African Commission made the following findings:

On the facts presented that Cameroon’s law enforcement officers were employing torture, amputations and denial of medical treatment to suppress the Southern Cameroon question, against the claim of government of Cameroon that the agitators had perpetrated terrorist acts in the country, the Commission found Cameroon liable, emphasising that the methods employed by Cameroon were unjustified;
On the imposition of French on the Anglophone regions, the Commission found that it was wrong for institutions, such as banks to force Southern Cameroon based companies to change their basic documents into French in violation of Article 2 of the African Charter;
On the failure of Cameroon to guarantee fair trial to the Anglophone activists, the Commission found Cameroon in violation, for:

– transferring individuals from Southern Cameroon to Francophone Cameroon for trial by military tribunals,

– denying interpreters to those tried in civil law courts;

The Commission found (concerning the individuals that were tried in French without the help of interpreters) that, having denied them the opportunity to adequately prepare their defence, Cameroon violated articles 7.1.b, 7.1.c and 7.1.d of the Charter.
The Commission was categorical in finding that the tendency of military tribunals is to act as an extension of the executive, rather than the judiciary, and that they are not intended to try civilians but to try military personnel under laws and regulations which govern the military. The Commission finds that trying civilians by the Yaoundé and the Bafoussam Military Tribunals was a violation of the right to fair hearing;
The facts before the Commission showed cases of suppression of demonstrations with excessive force as well as the unlawful arrest and detention of protesters, peaceably exercising their right to freedom of assembly. The Commission found that some of the detained persons were acquitted while some died at the hands of security forces or in detention. The Commission found Cameroon in violation of article 11 of the African Charter.
The Commission also condemned the relocation of business enterprises and location of economic projects to Francophone Cameroon, which generated negative effects on the economic life of Southern Cameroon as a violation of article 19 of the Charter.

(e) Having carefully considered the similarities of behaviour of the government of Cameroon that gave rise to the aforementioned cases to those now being employed by the government (and which show that Cameroon failed to implement the recommendations of the Commission), it is the view of this Committee that for their currency and relevance to the presence situation, fitting to adopt and reiterate the recommendations and to strongly urge the Cameroonian government to take all necessary steps to implement the findings as an important step towards the resolution of the historic Southern Cameroon question.

(f) Accordingly, we call on the government of Cameroon to, among others:

release forthwith all those who are currently detained or are being tried for and in respect of matters arising from the southern Cameroon question;
commence a process of national dialogue and payment of compensation to all individuals whose rights have been violated by the unwarranted use of force by the government of Cameroon against the people of Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
address the grievances expressed by the English speaking Provinces of Cameroon through its democratic institutions. The 1993 Buea and 1994 Bamenda Anglophone conferences raised constitutional and human rights issues which have been a matter of concern to a sizable section of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon for quite a long time;
immediately begin sincere, inclusive and purposive process of consultations towards the amendment of 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon to address the demands of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, particularly since it did not accommodate the concerns expressed through the 1993 Buea Declaration and 1994 Bamenda Proclamation;
abolish all discriminatory practices against people of Southern Cameroon, including equal usage of the English language in business transactions;
stop the transfer of accused persons from the Anglophone provinces for trial in the Francophone provinces;
ensure that every person facing criminal charges be tried under the language he/she understands;
locate national projects, equitably throughout the country in accordance with economic viability as well as regional balance;
enter into constructive dialogue with the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, and in particular, CACSC and the SCNC, to resolve the constitutional issues, as well as grievances which could threaten national unity; and
to carry out judicial reform towards guaranteeing the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
That the Southern Cameroonians’ should cooperate with sincere and meaningful attempts by the government to resolve their grievances by constitutional means.

Dr Amos O Enabulele,

Chairman

ILA (Nig) Committee on Justice & Human Rights

29, April 2017

Bilingualism and Multiculturalism: David Abouem says “We are not out to impress Biya” ⁰

Former Governor David Abouem a Tchoyi has said that the members of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism are not out to impress President Biya. The members were installed on April 27, 2017 by Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

Abouem observed that “The President has signed a decree setting out our powers, and now there is the law and the spirit of the law, and each one of us should indicate how he understands the spirit of the text.” “We have a road map set by the decree of the President of the Republic. The first task is to understand the full extent and then on the basis of the program of action that we are going to put in place, each one will intervene according to his / her sensitivity and according to the problems on the agenda. What he thinks, we exchange and then we move towards a common position “.

On the fact that the Commission remains an advisory body, David Abouem, noted that “I have been in these commissions before. I can tell you that we sat on a similar commission in 1979 and made a number of recommendations, with medium- or long-term application and President Ahidjo applied all of them, at least, those that were of immediate and short-term application.”

The former baron of the regime pointed out that “If someone had reflected on the problem of Anglophone justice, on the problem of Anglophone teachers who had even made forward proposals to the president of the republic in October when the crisis began, I am sure that the situation would not have evolved.”

Fru James

Cameroon Concord News

29, April 2017

Ecobank Cameroon: Gwendoline Nzo-Nguty is new Executive Director ⁰

Gwendoline Abunaw Nzo-Nguty is the new Executive Director of Ecobank. After a long experience in finance the Cameroonian now finds herself at the head of the bank.

In 1998, Gwendoline obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Banking and Finance from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Later in 2003, at the London Metropolitan University in England, she received an MBA in Finance and the Barclay’s Bank Award.

Gwendoline Abunaw began her professional life in August 1998 as an information analyst at the Credit Administration Department at Standard Chartered Bank in Cameroon until August 2001. She returned from London in 2003 and joined Ecobank Cameroon for the first time as Account Manager in the Department of Large Enterprises for a year.

In 2004, she became an account manager at Citibank. Through her hard work and determination she became manager of the senior accounts. A position she held until January 2011. In February 2011, she joined Ecobank Cameroon this time as Director of Large Enterprises. Gwendoline Abunaw was appointed to the Board of Directors of Ecobank Cameroon in May 2014 and was confirmed as Director of Grandes Enteprise for Cameroon and the Cemac area.

This rich financial pathway was rewarded in July 2015 by a promotion as deputy general manager of Ecobank Cameroon. Less than two years later, Gwendoline Abunaw is now the lead of this financial institution in her country.

Source: MAG WP