Basil Atangana Kouna, an ex-convict and former minister sent to jail for robbing the country of massive financial resources was today seen at the Unity Palace, a place where no ex-convict should be seen.

The ex-convict was recently released following a special order from the country’s president, Paul Biya, on the grounds that the thief had returned CFAF 1.2 billion to the state.

Basil Atangana Kouna was picked up in Nigeria like a common criminal when he presented his diplomatic passport to check into a hotel in Nigeria.

The crook had disguised as a woman to fly out of the country, but landing in Nigeria did not imply that he was off the hook.

He was rapidly returned to Cameroon where he answered for the numerous white collar crimes he had committed when he was the Managing Director of CAMWATER.

A few months after his release, the criminal was received at the Presidency for reasons which are still unknown by the taxpayer.

In decent environments, this ex-convict is not supposed to get anywhere close to the corridors of power.

By Rita Akana

Another lake in Menchum Division is threatening to blow up and residents of the region have been packing up and leaving, fearing that what Lake Nyos did in 1986 could also happen in that small locality.

Despite a serious plea by the residents, the Yaoundé government has remained indifferent.

For now, the residents have left their homes and only show up from time to time to harvest their crops when they feel they can do so.

This item is developing

At least three Cameroonian soldiers were killed Sunday in an attack by separatist fighters in the war-torn Anglophone region of Northwest, security and local sources said Monday.

The attack took place Sunday night in the Bafut area of the region. A military vehicle carrying three soldiers ran on an improvised explosive device planted along a road by separatist fighters, and the explosion killed the three soldiers instantly, according to an army officer in the region.

Separatists also fired a rocket at a military vehicle in the region in an attack over the weekend, with several soldiers wounded, according to an army statement.

Also in the Southwest region, another English-speaking region, the army repelled an attack by separatist fighters on a gendarmerie brigade in Eyumojock, according to security reports.

In the past week, separatist fighters stepped up attacks on military positions in the two Anglophone regions where they attempt to establish an independent state.

Source: Xinhuanet

Education officials in Cameroon say improved security in its western regions have allowed more than 200 schools that had been shut by separatist threats since 2017 to reopen for the new school year. But critics note officials said the same thing last year only to see scores of schools shut down again following rebel attacks. School officials Monday assured schoolchildren, parents, and teachers that their safety is assured despite ongoing rebel threats against schools that reopen.

Cameron Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo said that top military and security officials met Monday to assess the security situation in the country’s western regions ahead of the new school year that begins September 5.

Assomo assured teachers and students that their safety in all western schools opened by education officials will be protected by government troops.

Ngwang Roland Yuven is the government official in charge of secondary education in the Northwest region.

Yuven says several hundred teachers have not yet reported to their respective schools.

“We expect all the school administrators and all the teachers to be where their schools are located,” he said. “Now if we have some communities where the issue of insecurity is at such a terrible level, it would not even be the teacher or the principal telling us, because all of us would see the realities on the ground. I have always reminded my collaborators, my teachers and principals that whatever difficulty that you have, the problems should be reported so that necessary action is taken.”

Bernard Okalia Bilai, the governor of Cameroon’s English-speaking Southwest region, says the government decided to open the schools in towns and villages where peace has returned. He says he is pleading with civilians who have kept children out of school for a long time to make sure their children have an education which is a fundamental human right.

“The situation being under control does not mean that we have seized all the guns circulating in some remote areas. But that is banditry. All the activities are resuming, life is coming back to normalcy, people are moving freely, but we must remain vigilant behind the government for schools to resume all over in the two{western} regions concerned and all over the republic [Cameroon],” he said.

The government says it has ordered its military to shut down community schools that do not respect the official academic calendar and curriculum prepared by the central government in Yaounde.

Separatists in English-speaking western Cameroon launched their rebellion in 2016 after what they said was years of discrimination by the country’s French-speaking majority. The rebellion degenerated into an armed conflict in 2017 when fighters ordered the closing down of schools and transformed some into separatist training camps.

The conflict has killed more than 3,300 people and displaced more than a half-million according to the U.N.

Source: VOA

The Manyu women’s development and cultural group, MOHWA, has clearly taken the driver’s seat in efforts aimed at driving development in Manyu Division. In conventions which took place in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the women’s unity group is proving that there is strength in numbers.

Over the weekend, MOHWA United States raised some USD 80,000, the equivalent of CFAF 50 million and some of their enthusiastic members are saying that this is just the beginning. The money raised will be sent home for water projects in Manyu Division and for the rebuilding of the Mamfe District Hospital which was burnt down a few months ago. The figures for MOHWA UK and Canada are not yet in but there is a determined effort to change things in Manyu Division. 

Speaking about the demonstration of strength by Manyu women worldwide, we had a chat with Dr. Joachim Arrey of the Global Think Tank For Africa who had nothing but praises for these women who are now clearly demonstrating that theirs is also a development-oriented association.

“I have been reliably informed that MOHWA worldwide is changing the narrative. For long, many people thought that these women were just there to show-off their dresses and jewelry, but what happened in Maryland last week has clearly demonstrated that we, the people of Manyu, can count on our women when it comes to developing our Division. I have seen the videos and they speak volumes. The efforts in the UK, Canada and the United States speak for the women’s determination to bring much-needed help to the people of Manyu Division,” he said.   

“I have nothing but praises for them. They even liaised with their men to make their effort bigger and better. The results are in, and we must support these women so that they can continue leading us into a new era. Past criticism of this group could have helped to jolt its members into action. I consider those criticisms as a shock therapy. The women are doing well, and I hope Manyu ladies in other parts of the world will join the effort. The women deserve my respect, and I will urge them to keep it up. There is nothing that can defeat a bunch of determined, hard-working and beautiful women if they join forces to achieve something meaningful. I doff my hat to them,” he said.

“However, when organizing such major events, they should also liaise with the media so that their stories can be told. The media can also help to galvanize more support for such a women’s group which has a clear vision and strategy to achieve its goals,” he concluded. 

Meanwhile, in Mamfe, many people are talking about the new MOHWA which is now pro-poor and pro-action. Many people in Manyu Division are looking forward to seeing those MOHWA-financed projects string out of the ground. The people are full of praises for the women and are very grateful to those who engineered the idea of bringing Manyu women in a massive structure which is enabling them to demonstrate their strength.

Cameroon Concord News also spoke to a Manyu politician in Yaoundé who elected anonymity and he said that he was aware of what was happening in America and that he was very happy that the women have finally decided to take the bull by the horn. He called on Manyu leaders, chiefs, and administrative officials to come up with a Manyu development structure which should be able to drive development on the ground. 

“If the Diaspora has decided to give a helping hand to development efforts in Manyu, those of us here in Cameroon should be working with the Diaspora to ensure that our collective goals are realized. We cannot continue to be indifferent to changes taking place around us. The Diaspora is a key development force, and we should use this moment to change the Manyu development rhetoric,” he said.  

 “I am also urging the men, especially those of EKPE, to demonstrate that EKPE is not just a drinking and eating organization. The number of EKPE members in Cameroon and abroad should help us raise significant amounts of money towards the rebuilding of that hospital,” the politician said.

By Briyan Tambe Ashu

A Southern Cameroonian man has succumbed to the gunshot wounds he suffered after Cameroon government army soldiers shot him in Weh, Menchum Division just a week before his daughter’s wedding ceremony.

Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Wum, the chief town in Menchum Division reported that the yet to be identified man was shot by Francophone soldiers in the head as he was walking to the local market near his home in Weh.

The Ambazonia Interim Government confirmed in a communiqué that the 47-year-old suffered a critical injury in the head and succumbed to his wounds as he was being rushed to a hospital in Wum.

The exiled Ambazonian leader Dabney Yerima has been quoted as saying that the 47-year-old was unarmed and was simply heading to the Weh market before being shot.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the father of three had sent out invitations to his daughter’s wedding, scheduled to be held this coming week.

Vice President Dabney Yerima condemned the killing, saying the Biya French Cameroun regime would persist with its acts of terrorism as long as the international community allows Yaoundé to continue to act with impunity.

Professor Carlson Anyangwe also condemned the killing and said, “La Republique du Cameroun seeks to continue with its policy of marginalization and occupation through repeated attacks on Southern Cameroonians and the daily killings of Ambazonia citizens, without being held accountable by the international community.”

According to the Ambazonian Interim Government, the French Cameroun regime has claimed the lives of some 45, 000 Southern Cameroonians since the start of the war in 2016.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai