Headline News

16, April 2025

Football: Gabon forward Boupendza dies aged 28 in China ⁰

Gabon international Aaron Boupendza has died at the age of 28 after reportedly falling from a building in China.

The forward featured for his country at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Cameroon and won a total of 35 caps for the Panthers.

He had joined Chinese club Zhejiang FC, based in the city of Hangzhou, from Romanian outfit Rapid Bucharest in January.

Boupendza began his career in his homeland with CF Mounana and went on to have spells with sides in France, Portugal, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Gabon’s football federation (Fegafoot) announced the news of his death on social media.

“Boupendza is remembered as a great striker who made his mark during the [Afcon] in Cameroon,” the statement said.

“Fegafoot and the Gabonese football family offer their sincere condolences to his family.”

Gabon’s president-elect Gen Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was among those to pay tribute to Boupendza, describing him as “a talented centre-forward who brought honour to Gabonese football”.

Source: BBC

16, April 2025

Cameroonian youth urged to embrace hope despite multiple challenges ⁰

Over the weekend, several dioceses in Cameroon, comprising Kumbo, Douala, Edéa, and Buea, celebrated the Diocesan 40th World Youth Day and entrance into Holy Week in each of their dioceses. The three-day event was a powerful demonstration of the capacity of young people to mobilize and reinvigorate the Church’s mission in Africa and the world.

More than a traditional annual event, the celebration of the 2025 edition of World Youth Day in Cameroon was a lively occasion ushering-in Holy Week.

The Diocese of Kumbo, located in the English-speaking part of Cameroon saw a long procession of young people carrying palms during the liturgical celebration. Saint Sylvester’s College of Sop was the convergence point and gathering place for thousands of young people who in unison acclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of Mary.”

Accompany Christ to Jerusalem

In his introductory speech, the Bishop of the Diocese of Kumbo, Bishop George Nkuo, urged the youth, in his diocese, to work and walk together not as a confused, agitated, and disorderly crowd pushing Jesus on the path of His Passion, but as a people marching with a clear purpose: “to accompany Christ to Jerusalem, to walk with the Savior, and to experience the power of our redemption.”

In the Archdiocese of Douala, thousands of the Diocese’s young people also gathered around Archbishop Samuel Kleda to close the Archdiocesan three-year Synod for Youth, which first convened in September 2022. The Archbishop published an exhortation for this occasion.

Following the three-year Synod, the Archdiocese of Douala has since made recommendations designed to address pertinent issues arising from the three-year process.

Meetings of communion and friendship

4,000 youths from the Archdiocese of Yaoundé also spent two days and two nights on pilgrimage at the Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Nsimalen, guided by their chaplains and mentors.

In the Diocese of Edéa, hundreds of young people spent three days at the Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Dyzangue under the guidance of Bishop Jean Bosco Ntep and diocesan youth chaplains.

Speaking at the end of this gathering, Father Bikéna Tonyè emphasised that theirs was “a meeting of communion, friendship, and knowledge of the Word of God. We invited the youth to be optimistic in a context that we know is difficult. They must persevere and hope for better tomorrows,” the Bishop urged.

Stay steadfast in faith and hope

And finally, in the Diocese of Buea, the youth gathered on a Sunday with Bishop Michael Bibi at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral, an event that coincided with the continued celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of this Diocese.

Bishop Bibi called on the youth to embrace greater commitment to the Church and to “proclaim Christ with pride in word and deed: learn to become exemplary leaders, steadfast in faith, despite the multiple challenges that confront you, and imitate the spirit of obedience of Christ,” he said.

Source: Vatican News

16, April 2025

Bishop of Bafoussam calls on voters to ‘make no mistake’ in this year’s election ⁰

As Cameroon gear up for a presidential election later this year, a Catholic bishop in the central African country has urged citizens to vote their consciences and to avoid errors in their choice of president that they may live to regret.

Cameroonians are scheduled to vote in a Presidential election in October, with the country’s 92-year-old President, Paul Biya – in power now for over 43 years – still expected to seek an eighth mandate.

The world’s oldest leader will face a fractured opposition-with the leading names including Professor Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement who claims to have won the 2018 Presidential election; Lawyer Akere Muna, one-one time President of Transparency International – Cameroon and a leading actor in the fight against corruption; Joshua Osih of the opposition Social Democratic Front; and Cabral Libii, a journalist, law lecturer and opposition member of parliament.

Convinced that this year’s election could be an inflection point in the country’s political story, Bishop Paul Lontsie-Keune of Bafoussam, in Cameroon’s West Region, has called on Cameroonians to massively register and vote in the election.

Addressing thousands of Christians who took part at a recent pilgrimage at the Our Lady of Maria Sanctuary in Douelong, Bamougoum, West Region, the cleric warned Cameroonians against choosing the wrong person that could lead to a lifetime of regret.

“Cette année no make erreur,” the bishop said in a mixture of French and English – a lingua-franca developed by Musician Lapiro de Mbanga. The statement loosely translates as “this year, make no mistake.”

He recognized the freedom of every citizen to vote for any candidate of their choice, but noted that if citizens vote against their consciences – as often happens when money is used to buy votes – then they would be opening the highway to a lifetime of regret that they had a chance to make history, and they busted it.

“Vote your conscience, it is decisive. You can engage in politics but be guided by your conscience. You can be a good Christian and a good politician,” the bishop said.

“You have an assignment to participate in elections… remain engaged to build this beautiful country that belongs to us all,” he said.

He urged the Christians to resist what he called the “demon of intimidation.” Without citing names, Lontsie-Keune made references to the intimidating tactics employed by Cameroon’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji.

Nji has frequently made reference to the blender and what it does to spices to demonstrate how the state would deal with those who go against the law.

“When you maintain law and order, you do so without qualms… I’d like to tell you that the maintenance of law and order, you have to understand, is like the blender and the criminals for us are the condiments. When you put peanuts, pepper, tomatoes and garlic in the blender, it’s the paste that comes out, you have to remember that,” Nji has said. He recently warned political parties against any form of protests, using the same metaphor.

“Don’t be discouraged; don’t die before your death,” the bishop said as he called on Cameroonians to resist all forms of intimidation.

“Cameroon is neither a grave nor paradise,” Lontsie-Keune remarked.

“The real country of ‘If I had known’ is not prison but hell fire and the master there is Lucifer. Be afraid of the country of ‘If I had known and also be afraid to stay away from the Kingdom of God,” he said.

The reference to Hell in connection with the next presidential election aligns with what the Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo of Yagoua in Cameroon’s Far North region said earlier in the year.

“We’re not going to suffer any more than this. We’ve already suffered enough. The worst is not going to come. Even the Devil should first take power in Cameroon and then we’ll see,” the bishop said, insisting that Biya should have no more business at the helm of the state.

“Resist the demon whose mission is to silence you. The characteristic of the demon is to reduce others to a silent mood; so that they can reign…they will also warn you that if you talk you will see,” he told his flock.

Catholic bishops had in a pastoral letter released on March 28 not only urged citizens to massively register and vote, they also insisted on the values of integrity, patriotism, morality, vision, and a capacity to manage transparently as some of the criteria voters should look for in any of the candidates.

They also called for a code of conduct to guide the election-one that will make for a peaceful, free and fair election, whose outcomes should be accepted by all.

Source: Crux

16, April 2025

World Bank increases funding to Cameroon by 21% ⁰

The World Bank has stepped up its financial support to Cameroon. Since April 2023, the institution has added $826 million, or about CFA475 billion, to its local portfolio. The total now stands at $4.5 billion, or roughly CFA2,700 billion, up from $3.7 billion (CFA2,220 billion). This marks a 21% increase in just two years.

Cheick Fantamady Kanté, who oversees the World Bank’s Cameroon portfolio, shared the news during a review session held on April 14, 2025, focusing on the projects funded by the institution.

There are 22 active projects in Cameroon backed by the World Bank. These include both national and sub-regional programs, with 17% of them classified as national projects that include direct budget support. Kanté highlighted that the energy and transport sectors alone absorb $2.3 billion (about CFA1,380 billion), making up half of the total commitment.

Figures from Cameroon’s Ministry of Economy show that 66% of the funds are going into infrastructure. That translates to ten ongoing projects: four in energy, five in transport, and one focused on digital transformation.

The rural development sector has four projects. Governance accounts for three, education has two, and social development is represented by just one.

The significant increase in funding reflects the World Bank’s continued commitment to building up Cameroon’s key infrastructure, while still supporting essential social programs.

Source: Business in Cameroon

15, April 2025

Ukraine: Trump blames Zelensky for starting war after massive Russian attack ⁰

Donald Trump has again blamed Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war with Russia – a day after a major Russian attack killed 35 people and injured 117 others in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.

The US president said Ukraine’s leader shared the blame with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the “millions of people dead” in the conflict.

“You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles,” he said at the White House on Monday.

His comments followed Russia’s strike on Sumy on Sunday – the deadliest attack on civilians this year. Moscow also hit the city’s outskirts on Monday night.

Trump on Monday had first described the attack as “terrible” but said he had been told Russia had “made a mistake”. He did not give further detail.

Moscow said it had targeted a meeting of Ukrainian soldiers, killing 60 of them, but did not provide any evidence.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian media reported that there had been a medal ceremony for military veterans in the city on the day of the attack. Zelensky sacked Sumy’s regional chief on Tuesday, for allegedly hosting the event, local media reported.

Trump on Monday also blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for the war’s casualties- which are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, not the millions he’s claimed.

“Millions of people dead because of three people,” Trump had said. “Let’s say Putin number one, let’s say Biden who had no idea what the hell he was doing, number two, and Zelensky.”

Questioning Zelensky’s competence, he said the Ukrainian leader was “always looking to purchase missiles”.

“When you start a war, you got to know you can win,” the US president said.

Trump has repeatedly blamed Zelensky and Biden for the war, despite Russia invading Ukraine first in 2014, five years before Zelensky won the presidency, and then launching a full-scale invasion in 2022.

Trump further argued on Monday that “Biden could have stopped it and Zelensky could have stopped it, and Putin should have never started it. Everybody is to blame”.

Tensions between Trump and Zelensky have been high since a heated confrontation at the White House in February, where the US leader chided Ukraine’s president for not starting peace talks with Russia earlier.

By contrast, Trump has taken action to drastically improve relations with Moscow.

Trump’s administration has sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine and has held negotiations with Moscow that have cut out Kyiv.

Trump said he had a “great” phone call with Putin last month, and the Russian president sent him a portrait as a gift a week later.

In February, Washington voted with Moscow against a UN resolution that identified Russia as the “aggressor” in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

After talks between US and Russian officials failed to produce a ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump said he was “very angry” with Putin, though he added he had a “good relationship” with the Russian leader.

Source: BBC

15, April 2025

Minister Obi Eta Jerome’s death – What do we know? ⁰

One of Anglophone Cameroon’s most celebrated road construction engineers and former Minister of Public Works Obi Eta Jerome died suddenly in Yaoundé after becoming ill.

Minister Victor Mengot who confirmed the sad news to the entire Manyu community at home and in the diaspora said “My dear brothers and sisters, once again Manyu has lost one of its remaining elephants. It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing into glory of H. E. OBI ETA Jerome. May his soul find solace at the bosom of the Almighty God. Victor MENGOT, Patron MECDA.”

The leader of the Manyu Solidarity Group UK Prince Julian Ebai has offered his sincere condolences following Minister Eta Jerome’s death.

In a statement, the Prince said: “My thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time. May his soul rest in peace.”

Alfred Bate Bawak who headed the North Sub-section of the ruling CPDM party in Great Britain before the Southern Cameroons crisis says Minister Eta Jerome was a “tour de force in Manyu and South West politics, who took Manyu close to first world development standard”.

Eta Jerome Obi joined the ruling CPDM party at a time of relative success in the 90s. He modernized the Tiko Sub Section after he was elected Sub Section President, ensuring its machinery was overhauled and its message was polished.

He retired from the public service, joined the private sector and served as technical director at the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) under the stewardship of Peter Mafany Musonge.

His decision to join the CDC marked his return to frontline politics and the completion of a Manyu road business that he started in the early 80s.

It is not every Manyu political veteran that receives a tribute from Manyu female associations upon news of their death.

That Eta Jerome’s devotion to Manyu development has been praised by Dr Mrs. Patience Abangma feels significant.

The President-General of the Manyu Women’s International Association (Nyene Mawn) Dr Mrs. Patience Abangma said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with his family, and those across Cameroon mourning the loss of former Public Works minister Eta Jeroma Obi. The South West region road dream he cherished so closely, and came so close to delivering, will never die.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, April 2025

Pope Francis transfers Cameroonian-born Nigerian Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia ⁰

Pope Francis has transferred Cameroonian-born Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, who has been serving as Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia.

The Addis Ababa-based Apostolic Nunciature has been vacant since May 2024, when the Holy Father transferred Archbishop Antoine Camilleri to Cuba.

The latest appointment of Archbishop Udaigwe, a Nigerian national who previously served as the representative of the Holy Father in Benin and Togo was made public on Saturday, April 12, by the Holy See Press Office.

Born in Brian in July 1964 in Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea, Archbishop Udaigwe was ordained a Priest in May 1992 for the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Nigeria.

He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1994. The holder of a Doctorate in Canon Law served in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, as well as in the United Kingdom before he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio.

While Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Benin in February 2013, assigning him the Titular See of Suelli, his Episcopal Consecration on 27 April 2013 took place at the start of Pope Francis’ Papacy.

Archbishop Udaigwe, who officially presented his credentials in Benin in June 2013 was the following month appointed the representative of the Holy Father in Togo.

Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka in June 2020.

Source: AciAfrica

15, April 2025

CDC banana exports hit 10,400 tons in Q1 2025 ⁰

The Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) exported 10,400 tons of bananas between January and March 2025, according to data from the Banana Association of Cameroon (Assobacam). This is the company’s best quarterly performance in seven years.

The last time CDC reached this first-quarter level was back in 2018, when it shipped 11,631 tons. Later that year, the company was forced to halt operations due to the escalating Anglophone crisis in the South-West and North-West regions. Armed separatist groups took over CDC plantations, turned some into operational bases, destroyed infrastructure, and killed staff. By September 2018, the company had completely stopped exporting bananas.

CDC resumed activities in June 2020, after nearly two years of shutdown. But recovery was slow. In Q1 2021, it exported just 5,317 tons of bananas. That number dipped to 4,541 tons in Q1 2022, then rose to 7,289 tons in 2023 and 7,712 tons in 2024. Breaking past 10,000 tons this year signals real progress, driven by the gradual reopening of CDC’s abandoned banana farms in 2021.

The return to form is tied closely to improved security in the region and renewed support from the government, CDC’s sole shareholder. Since 2021, the state has been working to stabilize the company and help it recover.

In a speech delivered on January 15, 2025, in Buea, South-West Region, Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé explained how the government stepped in to address the company’s heavy debt load. He announced that the state reached a deal with two local banks—Société Générale and AGF Bank (formerly Banque Atlantique Cameroun)—to take over and restructure CDC’s social and wage-related debt.

“The state, through a debt takeover agreement, transferred CDC’s debt of CFA59.8 billion to the two banks. This included CFA35.4 billion in unpaid wages and CFA24.1 billion in social security contributions. As part of the deal, CFA20 billion was paid to workers in 2024, and the remaining CFA15 billion will be paid this year. The tax debt of CFA31.8 billion was converted into CDC equity,” the minister said.

With the final wage payments expected in 2025—covering all salary arrears as of June 2023—CDC may finally get the breathing space it needs. There is also a broader effort underway. According to Paul Tasong, Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy, the government is currently in talks with international partners to secure funding for CDC.

Source: Business in Cameroon

14, April 2025

Algeria to expel 12 French embassy officials ⁰

Algeria has asked 12 French embassy staff to leave the country within 48 hours, France’s foreign minister has said.

Jean-Noël Barrot added that it was linked to the indictment of three Algerians in France on Friday, one of whom is a consular official.

They are accused of involvement in the abduction last year of Amir Boukhors, 41, an outspoken critic of Algeria’s government who has an audience of more than one million people online. He had reportedly been granted asylum in France in 2023.

Barrot urged Algeria to “abandon” the expulsions and said France was ready to “respond immediately” if they went ahead.

Boukhors, also known as Amir DZ, has lived in France since 2016.

He was abducted in April 2024 in the southern suburbs of Paris and released the following day, according to his lawyer Eric Plouvier.

Plouvier told the AFP news agency that Boukhors had been “the subject of two serious attacks, one in 2022 and another on the evening of April 29 2024”.

French media reported that he was forced into a car with a flashing light by “fake police officers”, then released the next day in woodland without explanation.

Algerian authorities accuse the influencer of being “a saboteur linked to terrorist groups”. The North African nation has issued nine international arrest warrants against him, accusing him of fraud and associations with terrorist organisations.

He denies the allegations. In 2022, the French courts refused attempts to extradite him to Algeria.

The case is the latest in a growing number of incidents to have exacerbated a rift between France and Algeria.

They include the arrest and imprisonment in Algeria of French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal, who was accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity.

Algeria recalled its ambassador from Paris last year after France backed Morocco’s claim to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

The 12 French officials asked to leave on Monday include some members of the French interior ministry, a diplomatic source told AFP.

On Monday, Barrot said: “I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures… if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately.”

Barrot claimed that the expulsions were a response to the indictment of three Algerian nationals on Friday in Paris – including the consular official – on charges including abduction, arbitrary detention and illegal confinement and participating in a terrorist organisation.

Algeria’s foreign ministry said it had summoned French ambassador Stéphane Romatet in response to “express its strong protest” and called for the official’s immediate release, according to the official Algerian news agency.

It added that the individual “was arrested in public and then taken into custody without notification through the diplomatic channels”.

The ministry claimed the move was “not a coincidence as it happens in a very specific context with the aim of stymying the process of relaunching bilateral relations”.

Tentative steps have been made to repair relations between the two nations with a phone call between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune taking place in March.

“The two presidents had a long, frank and friendly exchange on the state of bilateral relations and the tensions that have built up in recent months,” a joint statement read.

Following an official visit to Algeria on 6 April where he met with Tebboune, Barrot said he hoped for a “new phase” in relations.

Source: BBC

14, April 2025

US: 7 900 Cameroonians face deportation ⁰

The Trump administration has terminated temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians in the US, a US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on Friday, building on Trump’s far-reaching immigration crackdown.

An estimated 14 600 Afghans eligible for Temporary Protected Status will now lose it in May. Some 7 900 Cameroonians had access to the status but will lose it in June under the termination.

US President Donald Trump, a Republican, took office in January pledging to deport record numbers of migrants in the US illegally. At the same time, he has swiftly moved to strip migrants of temporary legal protections, expanding the pool of possible deportees.

Trump has criticized high levels of illegal immigration under Democratic former President Joe Biden and said Biden programs offering legal status overstepped the bounds of the law.

The TPS program is available to people whose home countries experience a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. The status lasts 6-18 months, can be renewed by the Homeland Security secretary, and offers deportation protection and access to work permits.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem found that the conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer merited the protected status, spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Trump tried to end most TPS enrollment during his 2017-2021 presidency but was thwarted by federal courts. A US district judge in late March blocked his attempt at ending the status for Venezuelans, saying that officials’ characterization of the migrants as criminals “smacks of racism.”

Source: Reuters