Mfum is a town in Cross River State where it is not uncommon to find traders and articulated lorries crossing the lines that separate Nigeria and Cameroon. Items like foods, fruits and petrol are conveyed across the border. But these are not the only things that exchanged between the two countries as one could add marriage ties to the list.

“In this Mfum town, and even the next major town, Ajassor near Ikom in central Cross River State, there have been marriages between Nigerians and Cameroonians,” Miss Adam said. Shanty is a 37 year-old Cameroonian engaged to a Nigerian man for the last five years. According to her, she is one of many cross border couple as inter-marriages have been a thing in that community for long.

A native of Bamenda, Cameroon, Shanty came to Mfum for trade and some profit. She has found love instead. Many Cameroonian women, she said, are dying to marry Nigerian men. She said the interest in Nigerian men is not a recent phenomenon but one that has been entrenched in them.  She said this is so because they see Nigerian men as not only very hard working, nice but creative and alert.

Keen to marry her fiancé of five years, Shanty does not see any cultural impediments to the wedding as the traditions across the borders are almost the same.

“The potential suitor or husband will have to approach the woman’s family and obtain a list of items required for the traditional marriage,” she said. “When the marriage has been sealed, the offspring from it will be Nigerian. It is the same thing if a Cameroonian man marries a Nigerian woman, the offspring will be called Cameroonians.”

One Nigerian man who thinks he knows the reason for the interest from Cameroonian women is Mr. Enagu Ojiang, Chairman of the task force committee of the Nigeria Vegetables Buyers Association at the Nigeria/Cameroon border. The association regulates imports of fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes, from Cameroon.

“They think that there is good life, peace and vast opportunities in our country,” he said. “Therefore, their women mostly chase our men. Their men, too, do.  Of course, you can trust, our men have also found love from Cameroon.”

Admitting that this was not a new trend, Ojiang said there are mutual benefits in such unions. “Anyhow, it is the Cameroonian woman that really benefits.  They want to come to Nigeria,” he said. As for the benefits on the Nigerian side, he said, “Our boys would take advantage of it because they will use the Cameroonian women to import much needed goods like fruits and vegetables from Cameroon.”

He also thinks that the disturbances in Southern Cameroon, where there is a secessionist campaign might have helped push up the numbers of those interested in marrying into Nigeria. But Shanty insists that the interest predated the crisis.

In a roundabout way, Ojiang admitted this may be the case. “In Ajassor community near Ikom or this Mfum border community, if you can check, there are many Cameroonians who have integrated for a very long time,” he said.

Bishop Ndoma Nyambi, a structural engineer by profession and chairman of Nigerian Society of Engineers in Ikom LGA said that most Cameroonians have since settled in and become Nigerians.

He said many of them have been indigenized and obtained citizenship certificates with attendant benefits.

Nyambi who retired recently from the Cross River State ministry of works said that it can be very difficult to detect them because they, too, are linguistically related as they speak Ejagham, the common language in many border towns, fluently.

“They know the entire history and customs of their host communities and speak with fluency the local dialects. Many of them have since indigenized and are attuned to our system. The only way you can pick them out is when they begin to speak French otherwise it is difficult to distinguish them,” he said.

“I agree there have been many intermarriages between many boundary communities in Nigerian and Cameroon. I think it is to the advantage of both countries. There is yet no international law that prohibits such marriage. It is through these marriages that Cameroonians have inundated our towns. Ikom to Cameroon is only 27 kilometers by car. Such towns like Kalime (formerly called Lasmeto), Ajassor in Etung LGA benefit from these marriages,” he said.

He points at recent developments in the area such as the construction of an expansive international border market, construction of an international road, as facilitated by the World Bank, the avalanche of new housing estates by private individuals as some of the things that might have prompted the increased interest of Cameroonian women in finding love across the border.

This is aided by the increasing border trade in cocoa, plantain, banana, yam, cassava and palm fruits that have brought people across the border into close contact.

The volume of trade between the two countries is high. For instance, a truckload of tomatoes from Cameroon coming into Nigeria is worth over N3 million.

“During what is known as deep season, from June/July, over 40 trucks cross the border in a day. That is roughly N120 Million.  As at 12 Noon today, only 8 truckloads of tomatoes have so far crossed the Cameroon border into Nigeria,” he said.

His union, he said, helps in checking smuggling and a similar outfit in Cameroon does its bit as well.

“The way our union operates, there is no way smugglers can succeed through this border or other routes. I can assure that only our union members are involved in this cross border trade. Even in Cameroon, they have similar union that regulates and ensures that only their registered members produce and supply tomatoes. They are licensed by Cameroonian authority to export tomatoes.  We, too, have license to import Cameroonian tomatoes to Nigeria. We even have an MoU between the two unions.”

But how much is the current political tension over ongoing agitation for Ambazonia Republic in Cameroon affecting the cross border tomato trade?

“The Amazonian boys usually disturb us and do block the roads so that our trucks could not pass. We have usually negotiated and bribed them with money and baskets of tomatoes. Two weeks ago, for three days they blocked the roads, and that was the reason tomatoes were scarce in Nigeria. Now they have warned that they have declared Mondays as no movement day. And this will tremendously impact against supply of tomatoes in Nigeria,” he said.

While this is distressing news for trade, for lovers there is still optimism since love is not a commodity on the contraband list, chances of marital unions being forged across the border remain extremely high.

Culled from Daily Trust

The agony of widows, infants and the vulnerable Cameroonian refugees cooling off in some Taraba communities seemed to be getting worse owing to their increasing number amidst meagre resources to cater for their well-being. At the last count, over 4000 refugees from Furawa sub-division, Baji, Nkan, Mashi, Lisan Lutu Cameroon among others have migrated to some communities in Ussa and Kurmi local government areas of Taraba state to escape the mayhem unleashed on agitators for the independence of Southern Cameroon.

For those plagued with one ailment or the other, help seemed far-fetched as many lamented difficulty in getting medical help, coupled with starvation which has made them frail and pitiable. When Vanguard visited Fikyu and Toso villages where some of them were being accommodated, the residents were weary and decried neglect by government and authorities responsible for refugees.

However, for people like Patience Andekun, what mattered was how to cater for the twins she gave birth to while fleeing her home country when the crises escalated to her village two months ago. Her husband who has been missing since the crisis started in her village seemed to be less of her worries right now. Other refugees also recounted how they escaped being consumed in the crisis and their present predicament.

“I gave birth to twins while running away—Patience Narrating her ordeal to Saturday Vanguard, Patience Andekun, the young mother of two said pandemonium broke out while she and her husband were asleep but had to run in different directions to escape being killed by the gun wielding attackers who stormed their village. She said, “I had to run because if I had stayed I would have been killed by now. I was pregnant but I never minded my condition to save my life like every other person that made it out of my village alive. “On the way, I started feeling pains and discovered that the babies were about coming. At this time I never even saw my husband because he also ran away when they started killing people in the village. “It was on our way to this village that I gave birth to the twins I am carrying now. I had to save their lives and mine by running. How I wish my husband was here to see our babies but I can’t tell if he is dead or alive. But since I came here, the church has been helping me and the children with food and accommodation.”

I hope to see my wife one day —Ezekiel——— Another refugee, Ezekiel Rimar who fled his village in Baji with his only daughter lamented how he missed his wife whom he left behind. According to him, “I only picked my daughter when the crisis escalated to my village while my wife ran in a different direction. I have been here for about two months and hope to see my wife someday because I miss her. “We ran here to live with some of our relatives who have been staying here for sometime and I really regret how everything turned out because we lost a lot of people. The way we have been living our life there even before the crisis was terrible. There was no payment of salaries and most projects were not sited in the south which was why our people raised a motion for its independence and that was how the crisis started.”

We’re suffering —Refugees Dominic Amah one of the refugees who ran into Toso village while outlining some of their challenges told Vanguard that they lacked basic amenities. He emphasized that children and nursing mothers have been plagued with various forms of ailment which has compounded their hardship and sought respite for their suffering. “It has not been easy since we came here especially concerning feeding and access to health facilities. Even to use the toilet is a very big challenge. Children have contracted water borne diseases and are suffering from diarrhea and malaria. Though the local government chairman and members of the community have been assisting us in different ways since we came, but we still need humanitarian gesture from the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other Non Governmental Organisations”, he pleaded.

Another refugee from Furawa subdivision, Polycarp Andy in his submission commended their host community for the help so far but felt disturbed with their growing number weekly. He however allayed fears of putting much pressure on the community with their problems which he believed might degenerate into a humanitarian crisis, thus rendering both the refugees and the community helpless. He said “some of our brothers who went back to see how the situation was in our villages keep running back as the onslaught was still going on. As at last Saturday, over 15 of our people came into Kpambo-puri in Ussa and more people keep coming into Nigeria every week. “We have been suffering ever since but at the communities they have been assisting us with food and accommodation, otherwise, starvation would have killed some of us. But we want the government of Nigeria and the world at large to intervene because I am afraid that with our increasing number, the communities harbouring us might run out of resources to care for us and themselves.”

The Community leader of Fikyu village, Ezra Ukwe and chairman of Ussa local government area, Rimamsikwe Hassan told Vanguard that residents of the community were groaning because their humanitarian service had started to take its toll on them. They noted that some of the refugees were living with members of the community who have deployed their meagre resources to take care of the victims. Ukwe then pleaded with government at all levels to assist residents of the community in whatever form to reduce the burden on his subjects. “Our appeal to the government is to assist us by bringing some relief materials for our visitors to live normal lives like every other member in the community till they return to their country”, he said

The Chairman of Ussa local government area, Rimamsikwe Hassan told Vanguard that the Red Cross had earlier visited some villages to take statistics of the refugees with the promise to return with help which had not come. Hassan who said the burden was overwhelming disclosed that four communities in his local government were hosting some of the refugees with their number increasing every week. “The refugees are in Kpambo- piri, Jatau, Kanpiya and Fikyu village, with Fikyu having the least number of about 250 refugees including children as at last count. “When they (refugees) first moved in, the Nigerian Red Cross society visited some of the villages to take statistics and promised to come back, but ever since they have not returned. “We have equally written to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, NCFRMI, but we are yet to get a reply from them. “We also wrote to the United Nations Refugee Commission and they have replied us but we are yet to see them here and we hope if our story is given publicity and they become aware of what these people are going through here, it will hasten their visit to us here. “However, the state government through SEMA brought relief materials for the victims, but we also want the Federal government to come in and liaise with the Camerounian authorities. “The state Commissioner for Health has been here but the refugees still need assistance in terms of medical needs, especially the children, the aged and nursing mothers”

www.vanguardngr.com

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state made this position known when he received the newly appointed general officer commanding, 82 division of the Nigerian army, Major General Emmanuel Kabuk and the outgoing flag officer commanding, eastern naval command, Rear Admiral Matthew Emuekpere in government house Calabar.

Ayade told the military commanders of consistent insecurity along the Akpayafe river boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon, urging the top military personnel to add their voices to his to persuade the government at centre.

Already, according to the governor, the presidency has been briefed but no action has been taken, a situation Ayade described as unjust and inhuman to the people of Bakassi in particular and cross river in general after forcefully taking their lands and oil wells.

On their part the military commanders promised to continue to provide adequate security within their areas of jurisdiction. The issue of Bakassi people, according to Governor Ayade remains an unsettled question despite his government’s intervention in housing, health and social services. There is still a lot of internal tension and heat in the area on a daily basis which is beyond the capacity and jurisdiction of the cross river govt.

AIT

Violent clashes resumed late Thursday afternoon between rival militias south of the Libyan capital, just hours after a truce was announced to end fighting that has killed almost 30 people since Monday.

The fighting broke out on Monday in suburbs south of Tripoli and continued into Wednesday evening after a truce collapsed, despite an appeal by the United Nations for calm.

The clashes had paused on Thursday after a ceasefire agreement announced by officials from western areas, but by late afternoon the hostilities had resumed. Residents in the Khellat al-Ferjan area reported the use of heavy weapons and rifle fire.

Two teenagers were killed when a rocket hit a house in the Sebia district, according to a local official and AFP journalists on the scene. The health ministry had earlier said at least 27 people were killed and 91 were wounded in this week’s fighting, most of them civilians.

Fayez al-Sarraj, the leader of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), has tasked forces from western and central regions of Libya with ensuring the rivals adhere to the ceasefire.

These forces are meant to guarantee the withdrawal of the two rival camps from front lines and ensure normal life returns in the districts affected by the fighting.

To be ‘held accountable’

The proposed pacifying forces consist mainly of powerful armed groups from the cities of Misrata and Zintan in the west, which are technically under the GNA’s defence ministry.

Under the orders of Sarraj, who heads the Libyan army, these military units will be allowed to operate in the capital and its environs only until September 30, when they must leave.

The Misrata and Zintan militias controlled the Libyan capital from the fall of dictator Muammar Ghadhafi in 2011 until 2014, when a coalition of militias mainly from Misrata seized the city. This week’s fighting has pitted Tripoli militias loyal to the GNA against the so-called 7th Brigade.

This unit is from the town of Tarhuna southeast of the capital and is supposed to operate under the GNA’s defence ministry. In a televised speech, Sarraj said on Thursday that the 7th Brigade had been “dissolved” since April, before calling on the rival camps to respect the ceasefire.

In a joint statement, the embassies of Britain, France, Italy and the United States on Thursday said they were “deeply concerned about the recent clashes in and around Tripoli that are destabilising the situation”.

“Pursuing political aims through violence will only further exacerbate the suffering of the population of Libya, and threaten broader stability”, the statement said. “Those who undermine Libya’s peace, security and stability will be held accountable.”

Separately on Thursday, the UN’s refugee agency said it had helped earlier in the week to evacuate hundreds of migrants held in a detention centre close to where clashes were raging.

Some 300 migrants mainly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia were transferred Tuesday to the capital’s Abu Salim detention centre, “which is in a relatively safer location where international organisations can provide aid to them”, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said.

The Libyan capital has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since Kadhafi’s fall. Successive transitional authorities, including the GNA, have been unable to form a functioning army or regular security forces and have been forced to rely on militias to keep the city safe. In mid-2017, pro-GNA militias neutralised several rival groups in Tripoli. Since then, clashes have been rare.

(AFP)

Traffic officials in South Africa say at least ten people died after a bus traveling from South Africa’s Cape Town to the Eastern Cape overturned in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The accident occurred at around 2 a.m. (2400 GMT) 50 kilometres outside Beaufort West, a town in the semidesert Karoo region. Another 30 passengers were injured.

“The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle which then overturned,” said Kenny Africa, provincial traffic chief for the Western Cape.

“We are not sure if driver fatigue could have played a role.”

South Africa has a very poor road safety record despite having the continent’s most modern road network. More than 14,000 people were killed in road accidents last year, according to official statistics.

REUTERS

NO fewer than 4,000 refugees from Southern Cameroon have invaded border communities in Kurmi and Ussa Local Government areas of Taraba State. The refugees, mostly women and children, fled their home country following escalation of hostilities between Francophone and Anglophone communities, over agitation for the independence of Southern Cameroon. Vanguard discovered that the host communities are groaning under the burden of increasing number of refugees, which could lead to humanitarian crisis in the area.

It’s ethnic cleansing— one of the refugees, Polycarp Ande, who fled from Furawa sub-division into Fikyu village, alleged that Cameroonian soldiers led the ethnic cleansing. According to him, hunger, lack of health care, lack of shelter and idleness were major challenges, which, he noted, in turn had ripple effects on their community, dominated by subsistence farmers. He explained that villagers and churches had been feeding them, and expressed worry over their increasing number amid meagre resources.

According to Ande, “some of our brothers, who went back to see how the situation was in our villages, keep running back as the onslaught is still going on. As at last Saturday, over 15 of our people came into Kpambo-piri in Ussa and more people keep coming into Nigeria every week. “Our children are the most affected because they can’t go to school and we want the government of Nigeria and the world to come to our aid.”

Village Head of Mubi-Toso, Yakubu Akama, and his counterpart in Fikyu village, Ukwe Ezra, in separate submissions, expressed concern over possible invasion of their terrain by the feuding parties. They further appealed to the Federal Government for adequate security and provision of relief materials for the refugees. It’s overwhelming, we need help.

Council boss and Chairman of Ussa Local Government Area, Rimamsikwe Hassan, for his part, lamented that the massive influx of Cameroonians into some communities in the council is overwhelming. He said: “The refugees have moved into Kpambo-piri, Jatau, Kanpiya and Fikyu village, with Fikyu having the least number of 250 refugees, including children, at the last count. “When they (refugees) first moved in, the Red Cross visited some of the villages to take statistics and promised to come back, but ever since they have not returned. We have equally written to the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally-Displaced Persons, NCFRMI, but yet to get a reply from them. “However, the state government through SEMA brought relief materials for the victims, but we also want the Federal Government to come in and liaise with the Cameroonian authorities.”

www.vanguardngr.com

Blanket amnesty, renegotiating military deals with Russia and restructuring the army are among the several demands that armed groups in the Central African Republic have presented to an African Union expert panel seeking to broker peace in the country.

An AU document, seen by AFP, lists 97 demands by the armed groups in return for peace, with a government of national unity required along with the amnesty and a restructuring of the army.

The African Union has been leading a peace process in the Central African Republic but there has been little progress.

The C.A.R. crisis

CAR descended into violence in 2013 following the ouster of the majority-Christian country’s president, Francois Bozize, by a coalition of Muslim-minority rebel groups called the Seleka.

In response, Christians, who account for about 80 percent of the population, organised vigilante units dubbed “anti-balaka.”

France intervened militarily to help force out the Seleka before handing on to a UN peacekeeping mission.

However, the central government remains very weak, with its authority largely confined to Bangui, and violence has led to thousands of deaths.

According to a diplomat in Bangui, representatives of each armed group are expected to meet with the AU panel in the western town of Bouar on Monday to seek to “harmonise” their demands, before submitting the final list to the authorities.

But the government has so far refused to accept any conditions for the cessation of hostilities.

The Russian question

Another demand received by African Union experts is a review of military deals between the CAR and Russia.

Moscow has had a high diplomatic presence in the country in recent months and is seeking to organise a parallel mediation meeting on Saturday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, according to sources.

CAR spokesman Ange-Maxime Kazagui on Monday denied any government involvement in those talks and reaffirmed Bangui’s strong support for the African Union mediation.

Backed by the United Nations and the Central African Republic’s main partners, the African panel has also met with former presidents Michel Djotodia, in Benin, and Francois Bozize, in Uganda.

There have been numerous attempts at mediation in CAR since the start of the crisis, and seven peace deals have been signed, without any sign of calm being restored.

AFP

Dozens of Cameroon’s tribal rulers have fled their palaces in the English-speaking southwest region after armed men pulled the chief of the Balondo people out of church and killed him. Separatists have abducted and killed other chiefs in the region, allegedly for collaborating with the government.

At the Catholic church in Buea, southwestern Cameroon, people gathered to pray on Sunday afternoon for the late chief Stephen Itoh Esoh.

A week ago, gunmen pulled the supreme chief of the Balondo people out of the Baptist church in Ekondo Titi village and shot him dead.

Among those praying was Peter Njumbe, a Cameroon lawmaker. He said if the chief had listened to them, he might still be alive.

The chief refused to run away from Ekondo Titi, said Njumbe. He would not abdicate from his throne because of death threats. He would only abdicate if his own people told him they no longer wanted him and that he should leave the throne, says Njumbe. The chief would not abdicate his responsibilities, he added.

Strikes and violence erupted in the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon in late 2016, in response to the forced use of French in schools, courts and other public institutions. A separatist movement is pushing for independence under the name Ambazonia.

Chief Itoh is the eighth traditional ruler killed by armed men in the southwest region within the past four months.

Since July, the separatists have abducted seven other chiefs in the southwest and three in the northwest they accused of collaborating with the government. They circulated videos on social media of the chiefs pledging their allegiance to armed separatists, presumably under duress.

One of the abducted chiefs was later found dead, provoking widespread condemnation, while the others were released.

Many traditional rulers have fled the English-speaking regions to avoid becoming targets, according to the government.

Chief Joseph Ebong of Atati village escaped to Nigeria after being threatened with violence. Speaking by phone, he said he will only return to Cameroon when peace returns to English-speaking areas.

“We are appealing to both the national and international community to turn their eye on Cameroon and try to see how they can solve this problem before we shrink into a full-fledged, full-scale war,” Ebong said.

Traditional rulers say Cameroon’s military offers them little protection.

The governor of the southwest region of Cameroon, Bernard Okalia Bilai, is calling on the chiefs to return. He says the military has been deployed to defend the people, including the chiefs.

“They should come back to their homes. The forces of law and order are there to protect them against all acts of terrorism,” Bilai said. “The traditional rulers, we invite them to come back.”

The attacks on the tribal chiefs have generated widespread criticism of the separatists in Cameroon.

Ebenezer Teba is a member of the elite in the southwestern town of Lebialem. He says the assaults on traditional rulers — custodians of ancestral traditions are unacceptable.

“It is an atrocity that has reached its apex,” Teba said. “Of course, those who are attacking are known. They are those claiming to be fighting for the independence of southern Cameroons. They are attacking traditional rulers because they feel these traditional rulers are giving information to government troops to enable government troops to attack them. So they want all traditional rulers, they are forcing all traditional rulers, to support their course.”

Sociologist Bernard Arrey, however, blames the chiefs. He says they are getting involved in politics and taking sides against the wishes of their people.

“Chiefs are meddling into politics,” Arrey said. “It is not strange to see chiefs treated like common citizens. Chiefs have lost control of their population, they have lost control of their dignity. Most of them are even victims of these fighters because they think that the chiefs are some sort a liaison, they relay information. They are some sort of a sell-out to the government forces.”

The armed separatists have never denied responsibility for the abductions and killings. They have instead issued warnings on social media against any chief collaborating with the government.

Cameroon’s government says it is counting on the chiefs to help end the fighting in the English-speaking region.

The government says hundreds of people, including more than a hundred policemen and troops, have died in violent clashes since January.

Source: VOA

A public inquiry has opened in South Africa, probing alleged corruption under scandal-tainted former president, Jacob Zuma, who is accused of overseeing widespread graft during his nine-year reign.

The inquiry, which could take two years to deliver its findings, is set to hear evidence of allegations that Zuma let ministries and government agencies be plundered for private gain in a scandal known as “state capture.”

Much of the probe is expected to focus on Zuma’s relationship with the Guptas, a wealthy Indian family accused of wielding undue political influence.

An earlier report by a watchdog detailed allegations that Zuma ensured the Gupta family won preferential contracts with state companies, including huge mining deals, and were even able to choose cabinet ministers.

Zuma himself appointed the inquiry in January on the orders of a high court, weeks before he was forced to resign from office as criticism grew from within the ruling ANC party.

Zuma’s alleged involvement in multiple graft scandals damaged the party’s image ahead of elections next year.

His successor President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to tackle corruption.

The inquiry will in part establish whether official appointments were “disclosed to the Gupta family or any other unauthorized person before such appointments were formally made,” said inquiry head Raymond Zondo, the country’s deputy chief justice.

Although the inquiry does not have powers to arrest or prosecute, it can refer matters for possible criminal investigation.

“At the heart of the investigation is whether outsiders influenced government or state-owned enterprises for selfish gain,” said the commission’s lead lawyer Paul Pretorius on the inquiry’s opening day.

State funds looted

Pravin Gordhan, a former finance minister now responsible for state companies, has estimated that around 100 billion rand ($6.8 billion) of state funds may have been looted through corrupt awarding of government tenders.

Gordhan is among those expected to give evidence, along with his former deputy Mcebisi Jonas.

Jonas has alleged he was taken by Zuma to the Guptas’ home in Johannesburg, where Ajay Gupta said he would be appointed finance minister.

When Jonas refused, Ajay allegedly offered him 600 million rand and asked if Jonas had a bag to take away 600,000 rand in cash immediately.

Pretorius said the commission would probe whether Zuma violated the constitution “by facilitating the unlawful awarding of tenders of state-owned enterprises.”

Zondo vowed a thorough investigation and called for members of the public to submit their own evidence, but he expressed disappointment at the lack of cooperation from government officials.

The local Sunday Times said Zuma has been invited to appear, but the commission’s spokesman declined to comment.

Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.

“I hope that the inquiry gets to the bottom of how the South African state was captured in the way it was and what can be done to prevent this from happening again,” David Lewis, executive director of South Africa’s non-profit organization Corruption Watch, told AFP.

Zuma, 76, was forced to resign in February when ANC lawmakers turned against him.

The former president also has been charged with 16 counts of graft linked to an arms deal from before he became president.

(Source: AFP)

Cameroon’s government has announced the arrest of six soldiers following a probe into a video released a few weeks ago that documented the abuse of civilians, the privately-owned Cameroon Info news site reports.

It marks a U-turn from their previous denials that any arrests had been made over the video which emerged last month.

The six soldiers are suspected of being the perpetrators of, or accomplices in the summary executions of women and children in the Far North Region, Cameroon Info reports.

In the clip which circulated widely on social media, men wearing military fatigues shoot two women, including one with a baby on her back, and a little girl.

They are heard accusing the victims of being connected to the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

Source: Daily Trust