Headline News

11, December 2020

Ghana opposition candidate Mahama rejects ‘fraudulent’ election results ⁰

Ghana’s opposition candidate John Mahama on Thursday rejected as “fraudulent” the results of the country’s presidential and parliamentary elections in which President Nana Akufo-Addo won a second term.

Challenging election results could test the stability of the west African nation, where previous electoral grievances have been pursued through the courts.

A day earlier, the electoral commission said that Akufo-Addo had won 51.59 percent of the vote on Monday, ahead of Mahama with 47.36 percent.

But Mahama rejected those numbers.

“I stand before you tonight unwilling to accept the fictionalised results of a flawed election,” he told a news conference.

“We will take all legitimate steps to reverse this tragedy of justice.”

The 62-year-old claimed that “numerous steps have been taken to manipulate the results of the election in favour of the incumbent.”

The tightly contested race has led to tensions between the two main parties, with the opposition candidate accusing the president of abuse of power.

“Armed forces featured heavily as an intimidating measure to reverse election results,” Mahama said and called on the international community “to remain engaged in what is happening in Ghana and to take careful note of the current threat that is being waged to our democracy.”

According to the provisional results published by the electoral commission, Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) won 137 seats in parliament, while Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) won 136.

The full results of the parliamentary elections have not yet been announced but the opposition leader said his party had in fact won 140 seats.

‘Work together’

It is not uncommon for presidential candidates to contest results.

Mahama and Akufo-Addo are long-standing rivals and this was their third election battle.

In 2012, it was Akufo-Addo who contested Mahama’s win.

In a victory speech to supporters Wednesday, the 76-year-old president-elect said it was time “irrespective of political affiliations, to unite, join hands and stand shoulder to shoulder.”

“The Ghanaian people through the results have made it loud and clear that the two parties, the NPP and NDC, must work together especially in parliament, for the good of the country.”

Observers, both Ghanaian and foreign, viewed polling as generally free and fair, but police said five people were killed and 19 injured in election-related violence.

Akufo-Addo and Mahama had signed a symbolic peace pact ahead of the vote, which the 15-nation regional bloc ECOWAS urged “all political parties and their leadership to respect.”

Ghana has recorded high levels of growth during Akufo-Addo’s first term as he worked to diversify an economy largely dependent on cocoa exports and more recently oil and gold.

On education in particular, he is considered to have done well, which matters in a country where 18- to 35-year-olds account for more than half of all eligible voters.

But while Ghana has made large strides in recent years, many still live in extreme poverty, with scarce access to clean water or electricity.

Severely hit by the pandemic, growth in the nation of 30 million people is expected to fall this year to its lowest in three decades.

The International Monetary Fund is pencilling in growth of 0.9 percent for the country, down sharply from 6.5 percent growth in 2019.

An urgent task for the next government will be to limit mounting debt and control rising inflation.

Source: AFP

10, December 2020

Bahamas: Southern Cameroonian refugees being detained for long periods ⁰

IMMIGRATION Minister Elsworth Johnson said yesterday he is not aware of any abuses happening at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre despite claims that several asylum seekers are being deprived of certain rights in contravention of Bahamian law.

However, he noted that if such injustices are being done, those workers responsible will be dealt with accordingly.

His comments to the press came after Human Rights Bahamas over the weekend raised alarm about the alleged illegal detainment of several Cameroonians at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

According to the activists, the group sought to take refuge in the Bahamas after fleeing war-torn Cameroon in Central Africa out of fear of their lives after having experienced many injustices there.

Rights Bahamas claimed the Cameroonians have been detained at the Detention Centre for long periods of time that contravene the laws of this country.

When asked to respond to the claims outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Johnson said he could not directly address the matter, but noted there’s a process every applicant must go through in order to obtain refugee status.

He said: “I can’t speak directly to it but there’s a process that persons go through that’s internationally accepted and we’re going to go through that process and if those individuals prove to be entitled to asylum, we will see how best we could assist.

“But, it’s not always that the country where they claim asylum would sometimes give it. You look to see your capacity, or you can refer to the United Nations to see how best they can assist in these matters.

“So, we’re investigating it but as always, it’s the department’s intention and obligation to follow the law to ensure the rule of law is upheld and the dignity of everybody who finds themselves in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is protected and so we’re doing that.”

Mr Johnson also defended the integrity of the Immigration Department yesterday, noting that the agency has faced false accusations of abuse in the past.

“Anybody that is held and anyone that is taken in the protected custody of any agency in the Bahamas, we have a constitutional duty to protect those persons, to ensure equality before the law and to see that their rights are protected. That is what the government is obligated to do and we’re going to ensure that that happens,” he insisted to reporters.

“But what I want y’all to do sometimes is you know there were some booklets that were put out with immigration officers with firearms, attack dogs, people being beaten which I’ve said in the past are ridiculous and dishonest.”

He added: “And when I question persons as to why they would publish such lies, they indicated they were doing it for sensationalism and that’s not right. You know I took one of your colleagues, she’s not here, into the Detention Centre and allowed her to go in almost every section.”

“I took her down in the back to let her see and inspect and it was my belief that she found just what the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights had said in 2019 when it commended the Bahamas for the improvement at the centre was just that.

“We have one of the best eateries that provide food for detainees and they do it very well. There’s food that the detainees eat, the immigration officers eat and I eat from the establishment so there’s no difficulties there and so we’re trying our best as a small country in the conscience of COVID-19 to do what is right and what is acceptable by the law. “

Asked whether any abuses were being done at the centre, he replied: “Not that I know of and if abuses occur, they will be dealt with. They will be dealt with and you can see from what we’ve been doing obviously led by the director and his team where we find there are abuses by the law, persons go before the courts and we have sat with IOM and many number of human rights entities to ensure that what we’re doing meets not just first with our constitutional mandate but our international treaties that we signed onto.”

Rights Bahamas has threatened to take legal action against the government over the asylum seekers’ treatment.

Source: Tribune 242.com

10, December 2020

Yaoundé: Harsh repression of opposition and dissenting voices shows no sign of relenting ⁰

The arrests, arbitrary detentions and prosecutions in military courts of opposition members who were peacefully gathering are the latest example of Cameroonian authorities’ crackdown on dissenting voices since late September, Amnesty International said today.

At least 500 people were arrested on 22 September, the majority of them members of the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC). Of those, 160 remain in detention, 13 have been sentenced to prison by civilian courts, and 14 appeared before a military court.

“The harsh repression of opposition and dissenting voices shows no sign of relenting in recent months. People simply exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly and demonstration have paid a high price with prison terms based on trumped-up charges,” said Fabien Offner, Amnesty International West and Central Africa researcher.

“The authorities must immediately put an end to the mass arbitrary arrests and detentions and immediately release prisoners of conscience.”

Protests were scheduled on 22 September by the MRC in several towns, but they were banned by the authorities which waged a campaign of arrests and arbitrary detentions of MRC supporters.

According to the lawyers, at least 160 arrested people remain in detention as of 25 November, in the towns of Douala, Yaoundé, Bafoussam and Nkongsamba. The lawyers have filed applications for their release 45 times but were rejected each time.

Eight people have been sentenced to two years in prison on 17 November by the court of first instance of the town of Mfou (Center) which found them guilty for « gathering, assembly and public demonstrations, and rebellion in group”.

Five other people have been sentenced on 6 November to four months in prison in the town of Nkongsamba (West) for attempt of public demonstration.

Use of military courts

Fourteen people arrested on 22 September were prosecuted by the military court in Bafoussam (West) between 24 and 25 November, for “attempted insurgency and unauthorized public demonstration and gathering “.

One of the defendants was also prosecuted for “contempt to the President of the Republic” and for holding “two signs calling for the departure of President Biya’’.

At least 45 other MRC members also arrested on 22 September were convicted of “attempted revolt”, “rebellion”, “aggravated assembly” and “lack of national identity card’’ by the Yaoundé military court, which placed them in pre-trial detention. Those imprisoned include Olivier Bibou Nissack, Maurice Kamto’s spokesman, and Alain Fogue Tedom, national treasurer of the MRC.

In Yaoundé, Awasum Mispa Fri, president of MRC women’s group was arrested on 21 November and charged by a military court with “complicity in revolution and rebellion” after demanding the end of Maurice Kamto’s house arrest along with dozens of other women. She was put in pre-trial detention. Kamto’s house arrest took effect on 22 September and was lifted on 8 December.

In a separate incident, four members of the movement, Stand Up for Cameroon, very active in the anglophone regions, were arrested on 18 September by the gendarmerie in Douala after attending a meeting at the headquarters of the opposition Cameroon People’s Party. They are still in pre-trial detention after being brought before the Douala Bonanjo military court, which charged them with “attempted conspiracy, revolution and insurrection”.

“Military courts should in no way be competent to try civilians as reminded in the guidelines and principles on the right to a fair trial of the African Commission on Human and People’s’ rights,” said Fabien Offner.

MRC member arrested in September in Douala

Amnesty International spoke to a MRC member arrested in September in Douala, who said he was subjected to torture or other ill-treatment during his interrogation, which took place without the presence of a lawyer at the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) located at the port of the town. He was then detained incommunicado for two months and five days in another site, without being brought before a judge.

Released earlier this month, he told the organisation he had gone to the DST after receiving a police summons. After he refused their demand to unlock his phone, a police officer handcuffed him and tied his arms to his feet:

“He asked me if I am a MRC member (… ) if I voted in the last election… if I took part to the protests… Then told me I was stirring up rebellion. Again, he told me to unlock my phone, I refused, and he slapped and punched me at the face….,” he said.

“Later policemen handcuffed my hands behind my back. I got into the back of a pickup, and was taken to another area, still handcuffed like a bandit. I was searched, they took down all my identification documents, and put me in a windowless room, with mosquitoes, and no drinkable water. This is where I spent over two months…. “

“Acts of torture or other suffering inflicted by DST agents on those arrested should be impartially and independently investigated and those responsible prosecuted and punished,” said Fabien Offner.

Culled from Amnesty International

10, December 2020

Football: Choupo-Moting opens Champions League account for Bayern Munich ⁰

The Cameroon international made a significant contribution for the Bavarians to help them secure an unblemished record in the group stage

Eric Choupo-Moting scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern Munich in their 2-0 victory over Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old was afforded his second start in the European competition and made the most of the opportunity to open his account for his side.

The Cameroon international teamed up with the Bavarians in the summer from French champions Paris Saint-Germain, and has been in fine form since joining the German Bundesliga side and reigning champions of the European Competition.

The game started with both sides aiming to outwit each other but failed to find the back of the net before the end of the first half.

After the restart, however, Niklas Sule broke the deadlock powering home a fine header beyond the reach of goalkeeper Guilherme. Choupo-Moting then doubled Bayern Munich’s lead with a perfect finish, his third goal for the club since his arrival at Allianz Arena.

The attacker featured for the duration of the game in his ninth appearance across all competitions for the club.

The victory ensured the German side reached the next stage of the Champions League without dropping a single point in the group stage.

Hans-Dieter Flick’s men secured 16 points from six games, finishing above Atletico Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Choupo-Moting will hope to continue his fine form in front of goal when Bayern Munich take on Union Berlin in their next league game on December 12.

The forward had previously featured for Hamburger SV, Mainz 05, Schalke 04 before moving to England to feature for Stoke City. He left the club to team up with PSG following their relegation from the Premier League and shone during his time in France.

Choupo-Moting is currently Cameroon captain and has made more than 50 appearances for the Indomitable Lions.

Source: Goal.Com

10, December 2020

Ghana’s tactful president Nana Akufo-Addo wins second term ⁰

Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo, a former human rights lawyer with the reputation of a smooth operator, has won a second term with 51.59 percent of votes in Monday’s tightly contested election.

The 76-year-old ran against 11 candidates including his long-time opponent John Mahama, 62, a former president himself known as “a man of the people”. He came in second with 47.36 percent of votes.

Akufo-Addo, who sports ‘Harry Potter-esque’ glasses, is a London-educated economic liberal with a cheerful smile. But while he often comes across as jovial, he is a dynamic and forceful leader.

In a speech that went viral in 2018, the president pleaded with fellow Africans to get rid of a dependence mentality towards former European colonisers, aligning himself with historic pan-African leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah and Jerry Rawlings.

“Long before he came into politics, he was somebody who had built a strong reputation fighting the military dictatorship, which enabled him to build friendships across political lines,” said Kwesi Jonah, a senior research fellow at Ghana’s Institute for Democratic Governance.

Current chairman of the regional bloc ECOWAS, he more recently played an important role mediating political crises in Togo and Guinea.

– High growth during first term –

In 2016, after two failed attempts at the presidency, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader rode to power on promises that included free high school education and a factory in each of Ghana’s districts.

On education in particular, “he has done very well,” said Jonah — a point that counts in a country where 18- to 35-year-olds account for more than half of all eligible voters.

While in office, he launched the Year of Return to encourage descendants of slaves to “come home” and encourage investments.

Ghana has recorded high levels of growth during his first term in office as he worked to diversify an economy largely dependent on cocoa exports and more recently oil and gold.

But many still live in extreme poverty with scarce access to clean water or electricity.

Severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, growth in the nation of 30 million people is expected to fall this year to its lowest in three decades, to 0.9 percent according to the International Monetary Fund.

That is a steep decline from 6.5 percent growth in 2019.

– Anti-corruption drive –

Born in the capital Accra in 1944, Akufo-Addo was never far from power. His family, richly royal and deeply political, includes three members of Ghana’s legendary “Big Six”, considered the country’s founding fathers.

After picking up an accent in Britain, along with a lifelong passion for Tottenham Hotspur, Akufo-Addo worked as a lawyer in France before returning to Ghana.

Throughout his career, as a lawyer, then member of parliament and minister, he built a strong anti-corruption reputation.

“Everybody saw him as the guy who, when voted into power, would be able to bring corruption under control,” said Kwesi Jonah, a senior research fellow at Ghana’s Institute for Democratic Governance.

Once in office, he appointed a special prosecutor to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials.

But the prosecutor, Martin Amidu, resigned in November, shortly after releasing a report into a government-backed royalties deal, accusing the president of obstruction and interference.

Despite denials of any wrongdoing from the government, it did not put Akufo-Addo in a flattering light and discontent with his administration — many of which include family members — is simmering.

During this year’s campaign, the president did not make ambitious promises as he had in 2016.

“He has been in power for four years,” said Jonah, “so he knows it is very difficult to get money to do things.”

A first and urgent task will be to limit mounting debt and control rising inflation.

Source: AFP

10, December 2020

French Cameroun: Ruling CPDM Crime Syndicate claims victory in first regional election ⁰

The party of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya overwhelmingly won in the country’s first regional election held over the weekend, according to official results published Wednesday, in a vote which was boycotted by the opposition.

The long-serving leader had called the election partly to defuse a separatist insurgency in the English-speaking west.

A 24,000-strong electoral college made up of municipal councillors and traditional chiefs voted to fill the posts of 900 regional councillors: 90 for each of the country’s 10 regions.

The ruling party won in nine of the 10 regions, while the 10th was won by a party in the presidential majority, according to results collected by AFP region by region from the Ministry of Interior and from Elecam, the body in charge of organising the vote.

The results did not come as a surprise, as municipal councillors with the greatest proportion of votes were overwhelmingly from the ruling party.

In the anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions, which have been plagued by a bloody conflict between the military and separatist groups for nearly four years, Biya’s party, the People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), was the only one in contention.

The two main opposition parties, Maurice Kamto’s Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) and the Social Democratic Front (SDF) had both boycotted the polls.

Kamto has organised protests against Biya in recent months, claiming that holding elections before finding a solution to the secessionist conflict in the anglophone regions amounts to supporting partition.

The army has been fighting secessionists since 2017, and both sides are accused of abuses against civilians.

The government had presented these first regional elections as a historic step in completing the country’s decentralisation of power and settling the anglophone crisis — even if they were first set out in the 1996 constitution.

Biya dusted off the measures after coming under intense pressure from the international community over the uprising that has so far cost 3,000 lives and forced more than 700,000 people to flee their homes.

Biya, who has ruled the country for 38 years, has faced an unprecedented surge of street protests against his regime in recent years.

In addition to that, the far north of the country has been repeatedly targeted for attacks by jihadists.

Source: AFP

9, December 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Mayor’s residence burnt in Bamenda ⁰

Ambazonia Restoration Forces defending the Mezam County have burnt down the residence of the Mayor of Bamenda II, Peter Chenwi. The mayor’s residence situated in the Ntasen neighborhood in Bamenda III Subdivision went up in flames on Monday, December 7, 2020.

The mayor reportedly took part in the so-called regional elections banned by the Ambazonia Interim Government, fled his Ntasen home and relocated to Up-Station in Bamenda.

The Francophone administration in Bamenda, the chief city in Southern Cameroons Northern Zone said in a statement that no human casualty was recorded when armed men stormed the Mayor’s Ntasen residence on Monday.

Ambazonia Restoration Forces have already declared that they would enforce the death penalty all over Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia soonest and the names of many South West Chiefs and North West Fons are prominent on the list.

Cameroon Concord News understands several traditional authorities and councilors across Southern Cameroons were transported to the polling centers in military vehicles just to prove that the elections took place in normal circumstances.

At the heart of the crisis, which started in 2016, was a strike by teachers and lawyers, in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. The professionals, supported by citizens of their areas, protested the unfair use of the French language and unjustified appointments of French speakers in their territories. Cameroon is a bilingual country. By 2017, the situation had spiralled out of control and developed into a fully-fledged separatist war. Both government forces and separatists are now bogged down in a conflict that observers say, can only be resolved through dialogue.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

9, December 2020

Africa Cup of Nations: Gambia fined for letting Gabonese team sleep on airport floor ⁰

Gambia was fined $100,000 for the unsporting reception accorded to the visiting Gabonese national team in November.

Gabon were in the west African country for a 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifier.

In its ruling published on Tuesday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) chided the hosts for non-compliance “with the loyalty, Integrity and sportsmanship values and rules of Fair Play”.

“The Disciplinary Board decided to impose upon the Gambian federation a fine of 100.000 USD (One Hundred Thousand US Dollars) of which 50.000 USD (Fifty Thousand US Dollars) are suspended on the condition that the federation is not found guilty of a similar offense within a period of twenty-four (24) months”, read part of the ruling.

The Gabon delegation were told they were not allowed to leave the airport because of an administrative problem and were forced to sleep on the floor before being allowed to leave in the morning after government intervention.

The incident garnered global attention after Arsenal captain and Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tweeted about it.

Gabon lost the tie 2-1.

Gambia and Gabon are in drawn in Group D along with Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

CAF also fined the Gabonese football federation $10,000 for ‘offensive and degrading material that undermines the honor and image of the Confederation of African Football’ published by Aubameyang.

Source: Africa News

9, December 2020

Helicopter carrying air rescue crew crashes in French Alps, five killed ⁰

Five people were killed in a helicopter crash in the French Alps on Tuesday and a sixth was injured and fighting for his life, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The helicopter was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission when it went down at an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,905 feet), local authorities said.

The pilot of the aircraft, which also had another pilot on board as well as two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers, was able to eject and give the alert.

Three helicopters were dispatched but had been unable to reach the accident site due to fog while rescue teams were also trying to approach by ground, the Savoie prefecture said in a statement.

France’s air accident bureau said separately that it had opened an investigation and would dispatch a team to the site.

Source: REUTERS

9, December 2020

Racism in European Football: Turkish President condemns remarks made against Pierre Webo ⁰

Paris Saint-Germain’s decisive Champions League game with Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday was suspended in the first half as the players walked off amid allegations of racism by one of the match officials. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he “strongly” condemned the alleged racist remarks.

The row erupted after Basaksehir assistant coach Pierre Webo, the former Cameroon international, was shown a red card during a fierce row on the touchline with staff from the Turkish club appearing to accuse the Romanian fourth official of using a racist term.

Television microphones picked up a furious Webo repeatedly asking why a racist term had been used to describe him.

The game at the Parc des Princes stopped in the 14th minute, with the players walking off around 10 minutes later.

Basaksehir’s Senegal international striker Demba Ba, among the substitutes for the away side, could be heard remonstrating with the official, saying: “When you mention a white guy, you never say ‘this white guy’, you just say ‘this guy’, so why when you mention a black guy do you say ‘this black guy?'”

“I strongly condemn the racist remarks made against Pierre Webo, a member of the Basaksehir coaching staff, and I believe that UEFA will take the necessary measures,” Erdogan tweeted after the incident.

The match, being played behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, is decisive for PSG who need a draw to clinch qualification for the last 16 from Group H, which also contains RB Leipzig and Manchester United.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)