The Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, recently announced in the National Assembly that CFA7 billion has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the Edéa-Kribi road. He highlighted that two companies are already working on this route, which has suffered significant deterioration. The funds for the project come from the Public Investment Budget (BIP) and the African Development Bank (ADB).

Nearly CFA4 billion of the total amount comes from the BIP and the Road Fund, while CFA3 billion from the ADB are part of the Ring Road project in the Northwest. Specifically, part of the funding from the Ndu-Nkambe-Misaje section of the Ring Road project will be used to rehabilitate the Edéa-Kribi road. The Minister assured that “the work is progressing, and progress is visible despite heavy rainfall.”

The road, which stretches for about 110 km, connects Edéa in the Littoral region to the port city of Kribi. Its poor condition has made it difficult for people and goods to travel. The companies handling the work are Mag Sarl and Somaf.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Known for his outspoken nature, Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine, a renowned Supreme Court Judge and human rights activist died on Christmas day at the age of 74. The news was confirmed by his family in Buea the chief city in the South West region.

Ayah Paul was a strong critic of the Cameroon’s powerful Francophone dominated political establishment. Ayah complained of pains around his chest and was rushed to the Buea Regional Hospital where he breathed his last.

Born in 1950 in Ngali, Akwaya Subdivision in Manyu, Lord Justice Ayah was among the few English speaking Cameroonians who served at the Supreme Court. His life was dedicated towards his career and he went on to defend the rights of millions of Cameroonians, children and other minorities.

Lord Justice Ayah started his career after he graduated from the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) in Yaoundé in 1976.  He was Vice-President of the Court of Appeal in Buea in the South-West region, before becoming a member of the National Assembly in 2002. In August 2007, he was elected Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly.

Lord Justice Paul Abine left the ruling CPDM crime syndicate and founded the People’s Action Party (PAP). He was arrested on 21 January 2017 for advocating a return to federalism which was against the rule of Cameroon’s longest-serving dictator Paul Biya. He was tried before the military court in Yaoundé and was released from prison by presidential decree on 30 August 2017 after spending more than 8 months in detention at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison.

Ayah Paul Abine became a champion for democracy, human rights and remains the only Cameroonian Supreme Court judge ever detained by the blood thirty regime in Yaoundé.

In 2023 he told this reporter that his life was in danger from the country’s top spy agency General Directorate of External Research, Cameroon’s intelligence agency.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The scheduled hearing at the Yaoundé military tribunal in the case of slain journalist Martinez Zogo is unlikely to yield significant progress. Defense lawyers have appealed the presiding judge’s November 11 rejection of their objections to the detention of their clients.

The appeal, filed with the Centre Region Court of Appeal, seeks to overturn Colonel Missé Njoné’s decision. Defense attorneys aim to compel the judge to reconsider procedural aspects of the preliminary investigation and judicial inquiry. If successful, the appeal could lead to the release of several of the 17 accused, including prominent businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and former Directorate General for External Research (DGRE) head Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.

At the December 3 hearing, defense attorneys highlighted the unavailability of the contested decision. The tribunal assured them it would be forwarded to the court registry soon. However, the appeal court cannot proceed until it formally receives the case file, leaving the trial in limbo pending a ruling on the appeal.

This marks the second appeal filed by the defense since the trial began in March. In July, defense lawyers sought to compel Judge Missé Njoné to provide them with a copy of the case file. The court denied the request, ruling that Cameroonian law does not mandate the judge to share the document. Some lawyers have since appealed this decision to the Supreme Court.

In January 2023, Zogo’s mutilated body was discovered in the northeastern outskirts of Yaoundé. As director of Amplitude FM, a radio station in the capital, Zogo was known for his popular program exposing corruption among high-profile figures.

Investigations revealed that a DGRE commando kidnapped, tortured, and murdered the journalist. The revelations led to the arrest of 17 individuals, including 12 DGRE agents.

Source: Sbbc

The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) said on Monday that food insecurity in Cameroon is worsening, with over 3 million people currently affected.

In its daily flash report, ECHO cited the Cadre Harmonisé, a food security assessment framework, which found that 2.7 million people are projected to face acute food insecurity during the lean season from June to August 2025.

The lean season, the period between harvests, is typically a time of food scarcity for many households.

ECHO noted that these figures represent a 4.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The three regions most impacted by food insecurity are the Far North, North-West, and South-West.

The Far North region is expected to be the hardest hit, with over one million people projected to face acute food insecurity during the lean season. ECHO attributed the worsening food security situation to several factors, including unprecedented flooding in the Far North region in 2024, escalating conflict-induced violence, and rising food prices.

Source: Business in Cameroon