Headline News

1, February 2026

Football: Bamboutos Mbouda arrives at stadium with 8 players, no technical staff ⁰

An unusual occurrence in Cameroon’s second division, Elite Two! Bamboutos Mbouda club, which was scheduled to play Avion FC Académie on Saturday, 31 January 2026, in the first round of the 2025-26 season, showed up with only eight players.

The team also arrived without any technical staff. During the match, two of the eight players on the pitch were injured and left their teammates. Bamboutos Mbouda could not continue the match with only six players. As a result, the match was stopped by the officials.

It is now up to the Disciplinary Committee of the Cameroonian Football Federation to decide on the outcome of the match.

Source: Dailysports

31, January 2026

Congo-Kinshasa: More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse ⁰

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located.

Rubaya produces around 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where locals dig manually for a few dollars per day, has been under the control of the AFC/M23 rebel group since 2024.

The collapse occurred on Wednesday and the precise toll was still unclear as of Friday evening.

“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women. Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Muyisa said, adding that about 20 injured people were being treated in health facilities.

Source: Agencies

31, January 2026

Fela Kuti is first African musician honoured with Grammys Lifetime Achievement award ⁰

Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti to make history as first African honoured with posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. After a lifetime of clashes with successive powers in Nigeria, the recognition comes nearly three decades after Fela’s death and long after his influence reshaped global music.

He is one of several artists getting the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, the eve of the main Grammys gala.

Others are Cher, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan.

In the 1970s, Fela the multi-instrumentalist and full-of-life performer invented Afrobeat: a mixture of jazz, funk and African rhythms.

That laid the groundwork for Afrobeats – a later genre that has attracted a global audience by blending traditional African rhythms with contemporary pop sounds, with its roots in Nigeria.

Two years ago the Grammys introduced the category of Best African Performance in 2024 and it has been dominated by Afrobeats artists, especially from Nigeria.

Of the five nominees for the Best African performance this year, three are Nigerian Afrobeats singers, after another Nigerian, Tems, won last year.

“Fela’s influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyonce, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats,” said a citation on the Grammys list of this year’s honourees.

Known also as the “Black President”, the activist and legendary musician, died in 1997 at the age of 58.

His legacy lives on through his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti, and grandson Made.

“This acknowledgment coming at this time when all three of us are present. It feels wonderful,” Grammy-nominated Made Kuti said.

“It feels wonderful that all of us are still practicing Afrobeat, still taking the legacy as far as we can take it.”

‘Better later than never’

Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Fela’s first cousin and head of the family, said on Friday the award was “a celebration for the African people and they should take (it).. as their award. Another African is being celebrated.”

“But we also want to send a message to those who are giving these acknowledgements, please …not wait till people are dead,” she said.

As to what would have been Fela’s reaction, Ransome-Kuti said: “I’m sure he would have said better late than never” although “in his lifetime he was not particularly interested in being recognised in the external world, particularly the western world”.

Fela was arrested frequently by military governments during his career, sometimes for political activism and sometimes also on allegations of theft, which he denied.

His first brush with the law dated back to 1974 when he released his famous album “Zombie”, generally considered by the military authorities in power as a diatribe levelled at them.

His songs were long, defiant and explicitly anti-governments in power and anti-corruption.

His manager, Rikki Stein, speaking on the phone from Los Angeles where he will join the Kuti family at the ceremony, was confident the award would “significantly uplift Fela’s music”.

“Fifty albums out there. I’m sure it’s going to continue onward and upward.”

“An increasing number of people what weren’t even born when Fela died are expressing interest in listening to Fela’s music and hopefully Fela’s message,” he said

Source: AFP

30, January 2026

South Africa and Israel expel envoys in deepening feud ⁰

South Africa ordered Israel’s top diplomat to leave the country within 72 hours on Friday, citing a “series of violations” and prompting the Israeli government to expel Pretoria’s own diplomatic representative.

Several protests have taken place in South Africa against Israel’s actions in Gaza, with some calling for the embassy in Pretoria to be closed

Ties between the nations are already strained by South Africa’s case before the United Nations top court in 2023 to argue that Israel’s war on Gaza amounts to genocide.

The South African foreign ministry said it had informed Israel that its charge d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, was “persona non grata” and “required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours”.

“This decisive measure follows a series of unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice which pose a direct challenge to South Africa’s sovereignty,” it said.

Breaches included “the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks” on President Cyril Ramaphosa, the statement said.

The foreign ministry also accused the embassy of a “deliberate failure” to inform South Africa of visits by senior Israeli officials.

The Israeli foreign ministry swiftly responded that South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Shaun Byneveldt, “is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours”.

South Africa laid a case before the United Nations top court in 2023 to argue that Israel’s war on Gaza amounted to genocide, which it denies.

In a statement on X, it accused Pretoria of “false attacks against Israel in the international arena” and described Seidman’s expulsion as a “unilateral, baseless step”.

Seidman was Israel’s most senior representative in South Africa after Tel Aviv recalled its ambassador in 2023.

‘Abuse of privilege’

South African officials were angered by a tweet from the Israeli embassy in November that commented: “A rare moment of wisdom and diplomatic clarity from President Ramaphosa.”

The post was in reaction to a news story citing Ramaphosa as saying “boycott politics doesn’t work”, in reference to US President Donald Trump’s decision to not attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg.

Source: France 24

30, January 2026

US: Former CNN host Don Lemon arrested after anti-ICE protests ⁰

Former CNN host Don Lemon has been arrested after he entered a Minnesota church and filmed anti-immigration enforcement protesters as they disrupted a service.

Lemon, now an independent journalist, was taken into custody by federal agents on Thursday night while in Los Angeles covering the Grammy Awards, according to a statement from his lawyer Abbe Lowell.

“Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court,” the attorney said. Lemon, 59, is due to appear in federal court in LA on Friday.

He went into the Cities Church in St Paul on 18 January with a group of protesters who said one of the pastors was an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement posted to his client’s Instagram account on Friday.

The lawyer added: “This unprecedented attack on the First Amendment and transparent attempt to distract attention from the many crises facing this administration will not stand.”

In his own defence, Lemon said in a recent video: “Once the protest started in the church, we did an act of journalism, which was report on it.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday that federal agents also arrested three others: Trahern Jeen Crews, local independent journalist Georgia Fort and Jamael Lydell Lundy.

She accused them and Lemon of participating in a “coordinated attack” on the church. The exact charges the government will bring against Lemon is unclear. The BBC has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.

Source: BBC

30, January 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Norway extends detention of Ayaba Cho ⁰

Norwegian courts extended the pretrial detention of Ayaba Cho Lucas by eight weeks in December 2025, pushing the deadline to Feb. 9, 2026. Authorities arrested the Cameroonian-born separatist leader in Oslo in September 2024. The decision places Ayaba Cho into his second consecutive year of provisional detention following a series of extensions.

Ayaba Cho Lucas, whose legal name is Cho Lucas Yabah, faces suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Norwegian investigators accuse him of directing massacre and assassination operations from Norway in Cameroon’s crisis-hit North-West and South-West regions.

Judge Bendik Bang Pedersen justified the continued detention by citing risks of evidence tampering and witness interference if authorities released the suspect. The court argued that these risks remained substantial given the nature and scope of the alleged offenses.

Since December, Norwegian judicial authorities have also expressed concerns over a possible escape attempt, according to Emmanuel Nsalai. Nsalai, an American lawyer of Cameroonian origin, initiated the legal proceedings.

Nsalai said prosecutors could indict Ayaba Cho by Jan. 31, 2026. He added that authorities could base the charges on complicity in war crimes, crimes against humanity and or acts of terrorism. A trial could open later this year if prosecutors move forward.

Source: Sbbc

27, January 2026

Victoria United Vs PWD Bamenda: FECAFOOT suspends five match officials over controversial refereeing ⁰

Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) has suspended four referees and a match inspector following contentious refereeing decisions during a game in the country’s flagship football tournament, the MTN Elite One Championship.

In a statement, FECAFOOT said the match, which was played on the opening day of the championship between Victoria United and PWD of Bamenda, was “marred by clearly questionable refereeing decisions”.

The match, hosted by Victoria United on Sunday, saw four yellow cards shown to PWD Bamenda, two PWD goals disallowed, and three penalties awarded to Victoria United.

“The refereeing quartet and the match inspector who officiated during the said match have been provisionally suspended from all activity pending the conclusion of the ongoing disciplinary procedures,” FECAFOOT said in the statement Monday night.

FECAFOOT said it was also investigating “serious suspicions of match-fixing” in the Dynamo Douala vs AS Fortuna match, played on the same day.

Match-fixing in Cameroonian football has come under the spotlight in recent times, with stakeholders alarmed by the increasing cases of alleged manipulation of results in the country’s MTN Elite One Championship and lower tiers.

“FECAFOOT reaffirms its unwavering commitment to integrity, transparency in competitions, and fair play-values essential to the development of national football. It reiterates that only the outcome on the pitch should be decided,” the statement said.

Source: Xinhuanet

27, January 2026

Dollar Bonds: The biggest risk is what Cameroon looks like post Biya ⁰

Cameroon became the second African nation in less than a week to sell dollar bonds, as frontier markets take advantage of risk-on sentiment to raise funds.

The central African nation priced a $750 million five-year bond at a yield of 10.125%, according to a person familiar with the matter. That compares with a yield of 10.75% on a seven-year dollar note it issued in 2024, when the country last went to market.

Cameroon is rated B-, six levels into junk, by S&P Global Ratings — the same as Nigeria, Pakistan and Angola.

Emerging markets are benefiting from investors shunning the US as geopolitical tensions rise and the independence of the Federal Reserve remains a concern. Risk premia of African frontier markets from Mozambique to Gabon have narrowed to levels below 1,000 basis points over US Treasuries in recent days, prompting nations on the continent and elsewhere to raise foreign-currency-denominated debt.

With conditions having shifted since the last time it came to market, Cameroon should have been in a “position to issue in the single digits,” according to Leo Morawiecki, an emerging-markets analyst at Abrdn Investments in London.

“The biggest risk is what Cameroon looks like post Biya,” he said in reference to the nation’s 92-year-old leader Paul Biya, who won an eighth term in October. “And its very difficult to price that into the bonds as getting a grip on Cameroonian politics is extremely difficult.”

The nation’s $550 million dollar bond due 2031 added 0.27 cents on the dollar Tuesday to 100.80 cents, pushing the yield lower by 6 basis points to 9.31%.

Benin last week sold a $500 million seven-year note at a yield of about 6.2% and an inaugural dollar-denominated sukuk. Ecuador sold $4 billion of bonds on Monday, its largest-ever issuance, in a return to global credit markets after restructuring its debt in 2020. The Democratic Republic of Congo plans a debut $750 million offering in April, the country’s finance minister told Bloomberg last week.

Seasoned eurobond issuers in Africa, such as Ivory Coast and Benin, are unlikely to care that other countries are coming to market given their years of experience, Morawiecki said. “But it likely does have a bigger impact on inaugural issuers such as DRC that look for signs of investor confidence in Africa.”

The continent’s average sovereign-risk premium over US Treasuries fell to the lowest since 2018 this month, and stood at 326 basis points on a closing basis on Monday, according to a a JPMorgan Chase & Co. index.

Source: Bloomberg

26, January 2026

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Coach Sacked by Eto’o receives salary, AFCON bonus ⁰

Drama continues to be witnessed in Cameroon as Belgian coach is reportedly still being paid and even received an AFCON bonus when he was removed before the tournament kicked off.

The power struggle within Cameroon football continues after it emerged that Belgian coach Marc Brys is still getting paid even after he was removed just before the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Brys was removed by the Samuel Eto’o-led FECAFOOT, the country’s football federation, on the eve of AFCON 2025 with David Pagou installed ahead of the tournament.

Pagou led the Indomitable Lions at AFCON 2025, reaching the quarter-final, where they were eliminated by hosts Morocco.

Cameroon Football Federation Raises Concerns Over CAF Disciplinary Procedures Involving Samuel Eto’o

However, according to Sport News Africa, Pagou’s appointment did not have the approval of the Sports Ministry, who hires and pays the national team coach, and as such, he is yet to be paid for his duties.

Meanwhile, Brys, who was hired by the Ministry but was rejected by FECAFOOT, is still getting paid and is reported to have even received an AFCON bonus despite not leading the team at the tournament.

How Much Was ‘Sacked’ Coach Paid?

This is because his contract was not terminated by the appointing authority (Sports Ministry) who still consider him the national team coach.

“The state never officially terminated Mr Brys’s contract,” a source told Sport News Africa. “Whether we like it or not, the administration cannot unilaterally suspend a contract without a legal basis.”

Brys was reportedly paid a bonus of 20 million CFA francs, or approximately €30,500 (Ksh4.6 million) in relation to Cameroon’s performance at AFCON, based on the contractual agreement signed when he was hired, while he is earning a monthly salary believed to be between €44,000 (Ksh6.6 million) and €60,000 (Ksh9 million), which includes dues to his assistant and video analyst.

The Belgian coach has repeatedly maintained that he still considers himself the Cameroon coach as he has never been formally terminated while Eto’o has never recognised him.

With the drama, Pagou is left in between as the Sports Ministry has allegedly refused to pay him as they do not recognise him while Eto’o insists it’s the government’s duty to pay the national team coach.

Source: Pulsesports

26, January 2026

Football: Senegalese national killed in Morocco after AFCON final ⁰

A Senegalese national has been killed in Morocco following the Africa Cup of Nations final, according to a report by Senegalese journalist Lala Rassoul, prompting shock and calls for justice within the Senegalese community.

The journalist said the victim, identified as Charles Diouf, was attacked by unknown individuals after the conclusion of the final match.

He sustained multiple stab wounds from a bladed weapon and later died from his injuries. No further details were immediately available about the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Lala Rassoul explained that the incident took place under conditions that remain unclear and are now the subject of official investigations.

The competent authorities are expected to determine how the events unfolded and to identify those responsible for the killing.

The death has cast a shadow over the aftermath of the Africa Cup of Nations final, which had drawn large crowds and intense emotions.

While celebrations and gatherings followed the match, the reported killing has shifted focus to concerns over safety and accountability.

Members of the Senegalese community expressed deep sadness and disbelief at the news.

Many have called for a thorough and transparent investigation, urging authorities to establish the facts and ensure that those involved are brought to justice.

The case has resonated widely among Senegalese supporters and expatriates, who described the incident as a devastating loss.

The journalist’s account underscored the uncertainty that continues to surround the case, noting that official findings will be crucial in clarifying what happened.

Until investigators conclude their work, questions remain about the motive for the attack and the identity of the assailants.

As the investigation proceeds, the incident has highlighted the profound impact such acts can have beyond the immediate tragedy, affecting communities already processing the emotional intensity of a major sporting event.

For many Senegalese, the focus has shifted from the outcome of the final to mourning a compatriot and seeking answers.

Authorities have yet to release further information, and no arrests have been announced.

The Senegalese community continues to await developments, emphasizing the need for clarity, justice and accountability in the wake of the reported killing.

Source: Africa Soccer