Activists in Cameroon say there has been a 60% increase in people applying for the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery, also known as the Green Card Lottery. Thousands of people have been lining up at internet cafes to apply for the program, citing a need to escape a poor economy and the country’s separatist conflict.

Twenty-nine-year-old teacher Getrude Tanlaka, who is among those entering the visa lottery at a cafe in Yaounde, says she is searching for better economic opportunities.

“I just want to get out. That is why I am playing the American lottery. My family has suffered a lot and this is the time for me to take care of them,” she said. “In Cameroon, I cannot do that. I work every day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the remuneration is very discouraging, but in America it will be very easy. It is an opportunity to step out and change my life.”

Tanlaka says her mother also signed up for the lottery to increase the chances of them succeeding.

The Digital Rights Coalition, an alliance of civil society groups advocating for online rights and safety, says Cameroon’s estimated 200 cybercafes have seen a 60 percent increase in people applying for the visa lottery this year.

They say this follows a sharp dip in 2021 due to the high number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19. The State Department reports that entries to the American Visa Lottery program from Cameroon dropped to 151,000 last year — about half the number from the year before.

Now, says the coalition, many people are hoping to escape economic hardship caused by high inflation and a separatist conflict in western Cameroon, which has claimed at least 3,500 lives.

Akaba James, the coalition’s coordinator, says his organization is warning people to avoid scammers who charge money for unhelpful lottery advice.

“There are thousands of fake sites, fake people on YouTube providing advice about the DV lottery when they themselves have very little understanding of that process,” James said. “Ensure that wherever you play the lottery, you collect your receipt, and preserve it very well so that by the time the results are out, and you happen to win, then you can proceed with the filling of your visa application form, the DS 260, and then eventually getting your second notification letter and going for an interview and eventually paying your green card fee and traveling to the U.S.”

Police say some scammers have been arrested but are giving no details.

Meanwhile, some cybercafe owners have been charging illegal fees of between $2 and $7 for each electronic entry for the visa lottery.

Applications can be submitted for free at www.state.gov as recommended by the U.S. Department of State.

Jeffrey Presnell, vice consul at the U.S. embassy in Yaounde, said recently on local television channel STV that people enrolling for the Green Card Lottery must have at least a secondary education.

He also advised applicants to closely follow the rules spelled out on the document.

“Another common mistake that we see is that applicants do not include all of the members of their family. It is very sad because sometimes we see applicants that have won the lottery come and they are disqualified because they did not list all the members of their family. If you just have a fiancee, you should not list your partner on that application,” Presnell said.

He advises applicants to only list the names of legal spouses or children who live with them.

Source: VOA

A social worker at South Gloucestershire Council children’s services has been barred from the profession for posting an obscene video involving youngsters on Instagram.

Rodrigue Ekwelle-Nkwelle received a suspended jail term at Bristol Crown Court in April 2021 for distributing an indecent image of a child in the most serious abuse category and possessing extreme porn, which also involved animals.

Social Work England has now removed him from its register following a fitness-to-practise hearing, which bans him from working in the sector.

The regulatory body’s panel ruled he committed serious misconduct that created a risk to the public.

Ekwelle-Nkwelle, 43, also failed to disclose a previous allegation of sexual misconduct from 2013, from a woman with mental health problems, when he applied to employment agency HCL Workforce, the panel’s report said.

In June 2020, while working as a locum social worker for South Gloucestershire Council for nearly three years from October 2017, he uploaded the video involving children to Instagram, Social Work England’s report said.

He pleaded guilty in court to the pornography criminal charges, and a judge last year gave him a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, along with 150 hours’ unpaid work and 30 days’ rehabilitation.

Ekwelle-Nkwelle, whose address at the time of sentencing was given as Broad Street in Staple Hill, was also handed a sexual harm protection order and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

The Social Work England report following last month’s three-day regulatory hearing said: “The panel considered that these were convictions of a very serious nature.

“It was satisfied that children and animals are likely to have been harmed by their involvement in the images which Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle had dealt with.

“It was alarmed at his suggestion that the fact that the images came from Cameroon affected his decision whether to disclose them.”

The report said the crown court judge had rejected his explanations – that he posted the video out of “naivety” – as “manifestly false and unbelievable”.

Ekwelle-Nkwelle, originally an asylum seeker from Cameroon, who did not attend the hearing and was not represented, said in February 2021 in response to the regulatory concerns that the videos were “sent to him randomly and not by his request”, the report said.

“He said that when he had distributed the video it had been to decry some of the ‘ill things’ that were occurring in Africa and Cameroon in particular,” it said.

“Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle expressed his total shame of himself, the shame he had brought on his family and his profession.

“He said that he understood that he ought to have reported the matter to the police.

“He said it was poor judgement, not to have promptly reported the matter, because it was from Cameroon.

“He said that he accepted that his fitness to practise was impaired due to the concerns raised and added ‘but I would like to categorically stress that, I am not a person will hurt any individual, not to talk of a child’.

“Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle stated that he had fled his country and claimed asylum in the UK due to numerous adversities he had faced in Cameroon…He said he knew becoming a social worker was the best way to repay the UK.

“As a result he felt very down about the situation he had put himself in.”

But the panel said that while he had offered some explanation around the distribution conviction, he “had not explained the facts relating to the other conviction for possession of extreme pornography”.

The report said: “The panel considered that it had no demonstration of any insight from Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle regarding the effect that engaging in the distribution and possession of such images has on the subjects of the material.

“The panel concluded that, in the absence of demonstrated insight and remediation, there was a risk of repetition of past behaviour which involved a risk to the public.

“In addition, the panel was of the view that members of the public who were aware of Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle’s convictions and the underlying facts would be extremely shocked if there was no finding of impaired fitness to practise.

“The panel was concerned that there was a potential pattern of rule-breaking by Mr Ekwelle-Nkwelle.”

It said the adjudicators ruled that his failure to disclose the previous sexual misconduct allegation “materially hindered the agency in conducting a risk assessment” on his application for employment.

The report said he was accused of making sexual advances towards a service user with mental health problems but police took no further action because she did not wish to support an investigation.

Ekwelle-Nkwelle was temporarily suspended from his social work degree course as a result but was then allowed to complete it in 2015 and got his first job in the profession with Wiltshire Council from March 2016 to October 2017, it said.

“The panel concluded that the conduct underlying the convictions together with the dishonest misconduct was fundamentally incompatible with being registered as a social worker,” it added.

Source: Bristol World

Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on Monday discussed with visiting German Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simen Katja Keul about the prospects of returning artifacts that were removed from the Central African country during the colonial era.

“There is a great interest by the German civil society to deal with this past and to work together on it, like for example the restitution of cultural goods,” Keul told reporters after the meeting in the capital, Yaounde. Keul added that the common procedure was being looked at to reinforce cooperation in this regard.

Major museums, auction houses, and private collectors in Germany have faced growing pressure in recent years to repatriate priceless works of art and other antiquities from African nations.

In May, Cameroonian authorities said during a cabinet meeting that they were working with reputed local and international experts and associations to ensure that the art objects abroad are returned “honorably, administratively and safely” to the country.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon says Equatorial Guinea has deported several hundred Cameroonians, some of whom say they were fleeing terrorist and rebel attacks at home. The government of Equatorial Guinea says the deportees were economic migrants and is planning to deport 7,000 Cameroonians in all by the end of the year.

Scores of Cameroonians applauded Monday while welcoming back at least 200 of their citizens who were deported. But the well-wishers are not happy with Equatorial Guinea’s actions. Civilians shouted that by deporting Cameroonians, the oil-rich country is being indifferent to people who have rendered services as mechanics, electricians, bricklayers, miners and other types of workers.

Nguenang Rigobert, one of the deported Cameroonians, says he lost his teaching job in Equatorial Guinea. Nguenang says he, like many Cameroonians in Equatorial Guinea, are victims of what he calls the Cameroon government’s lack of interest in the plight of its citizens outside the country. He says Cameroon should have negotiated for Equatorial Guinea to give Cameroonians more time to acquire resident and work permits.

Nguenang said several dozen of the deported Cameroonians fled their country in part because of its ongoing separatist crisis. Others left because of Boko Haram terrorism in the north.

Some deportees said they were tortured and their property looted in Equatorial Guinea. Others said they spent several nights in detention centers and were freed after agreeing to return to Cameroon unconditionally.

Nouhou Bello, the most senior Cameroon government official in Ocean, the administrative unit where Campo is located, says President Paul Biya asked him to receive the deported civilians and make sure they travel to their towns and villages in peace.

Bello says Cameroonians who have arrived in Campo since Friday have confirmed to government officials that they were in the neighboring state illegally. He says some of the deportees told officials their visas had expired while others acknowledged lacking travel documents when they went to Equatorial Guinea.

Bello called on Cameroonians staying in Equatorial Guinea illegally to return home or risk being locked up.

Earlier in October, the government of Equatorial Guinea said it would embark on a mass deportation of people living illegally in its territory.

Officials said insecurity has mounted due to an influx of about 30,000 economic migrants within the past three years. Equatorial Guinea accused job-seeking youths, especially from Cameroon and Nigeria, of harassment, theft and armed banditry.

Essomba Innocent is an economic analyst at the National University of Equatorial Guinea. He says in January 2020, the country signaled that it did not want illegal economic migrants in its territory and laid the foundation stone for construction of a border wall with Cameroon.

Essomba says in June 2020, Equatorial Guinea agreed to pause the construction of the controversial wall after Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Central African Republic agreed to voluntarily repatriate their citizens living in Equatorial Guinea illegally. He says people who are being deported should not ask the government of Equatorial Guinea for compensation for goods they acquired when their stay was illegal.

Equatorial Guinea is a tiny central African nation of around 1.5 million people. The International Monetary Fund reports that the nation took in approximately $45 billion in oil revenues between 2000 and 2013, catapulting it from one of the world’s poorest countries to the one with the highest per capita income on the African continent.

Source: VOA

Cameroon government army soldiers deployed to Ndu in the North West region have arrested a prominent fan of English Premier League Club Chelsea FC on lame and ridiculous reason that he dressed his bed room in blue colours which is similar to the Ambazonia separatist movement.

Tebopost that made public the story on social media did not reveal the name of the Stamford Bridge fan.  Information filtered from Ndu that the Francophone soldiers performed a brutal and unprovoked attack against the Chelsea FC fan before he was ferried away to an unknown destination.

A photo released on face book by family members clearly indicates that he is a Chelsea fan and not a member of the Southern Cameroons separatist movement.

Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Ndu said he has seen video footage shared by some elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) showing heavily armed troops placing the young man in a military vehicle.

“For dressing his room with the colours of the football club that he supports in England, he was beaten and kicked like a football by Francophone soldiers” a family member was quoted as saying on a live pidgin news broadcast.

By Sama Ernest

State prosecutors of the Special Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the all-powerful Secretary General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh following his refusal to appear before judges on October 18.

Ngoh Ngoh was summoned “physically” on October 18 by investigators to be interviewed in the context of “Covidgate”, a scandal following several cases of misappropriation of public funds and overcharging, documented by a report of the Chamber of Auditors.

Cameroon Intelligence Report now understands the Biya acolyte is presently using his high-level contacts within the security apparatus to avoid arrest.

An aide to the so-called Minister-Secretary General believes that the Special Criminal Court procedure is akin to “harassment” aimed at weakening the head of state’s main collaborator in order to push President Biya to “get rid” of him.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

In the night of 21-22 October, jihadist militants managed to take control of the Cameroonian army’s advanced post in Djibrilli, on the border with Nigeria. The attack has rekindled debate over cuts to military spending in the fight against Boko Haram.

Africa Intelligence reported that recent appointments within the Cameroonian army show that the Biya Francophone regime in Yaounde has made the battle against Ambazonian fighters its military priority. But this high-risk restructuring has depleted resources in the north, where Boko Haram jihadists are now in control.

By Rita Akana with files

Since 2013, communities in Cameroon’s Far North Region have suffered attacks from the violent extremist group Boko Haram. The divisions of Mayo-Tsanaga, Mayo-Sava and Logone-et-Chari have been hardest hit. The terror group has also been responsible for several kidnappings, most recently in the Lake Chad communities of Tchika (in August) and Kofia (in September).

But other groups besides Boko Haram are increasingly kidnapping people, according to research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and Association Sembe in the North and Far North regions. Perpetrators include former shepherds and criminal gangs comprising Cameroonians, Nigerians, Nigeriens and Chadians. The kidnappers live in the bushes and mountains along the Cameroon-Nigeria border and team up with local accomplices who act as informants.

The phenomenon has continued for over a decade, with trends worsening in the past four years. One interviewee said: ‘About 60 cases have been recorded, and a lot more go unreported as most families prefer not to raise the alarm when their loved ones are in captivity.’

People are generally reluctant to involve the authorities in finding their relatives. In most cases, they fear their family members will be killed if the government or security forces become involved, so they negotiate privately with the kidnappers. Families also doubt the security forces’ ability or commitment to free their loved ones safely. Vigilantes are sometimes called on to help but lack the appropriate weapons to confront the criminals.

Kidnappings are more frequent in the dry season when communities are accessible. The attacks often occur late at night. Armed groups of about four to 10 attackers storm houses, sometimes firing shots in the air to dissuade residents from resisting. Many victims are taken across the border into Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic or kept in Cameroonian hideouts.

The research shows that subdivisions like Bourrha, Hina, Mogode and Mokolo are the most affected in the Far North. In Cameroon’s North Region, the Touboro subdivision is the hardest hit, with over a dozen cases reported from January to October 2022.

The most targeted villages are situated in rural areas with little or no state presence, including police, gendarmerie or military. It takes time for information to reach the security forces when incidents occur.

The ransom amount demanded depends on the status of the victim or their family and ranges from 1 million CFA francs to tens of millions of CFA francs. Male family heads are often the prime targets, but women and children are also taken.

Negotiations take days, sometimes weeks, with gangs upping the pressure and threats to obtain the ransom. They use well-planned tactics to cover their tracks, including regular changes of hideouts in or outside Cameroon. Victims are usually released unharmed once the criminals’ demands are met, but some are injured if their families delay paying the ransom.

In places where Boko Haram’s terror attacks are rife, kidnapping by criminal gangs is almost non-existent. These include Moskota, Tourou, Kolofata, Amchide and Fotokol, among others. However Boko Haram seeks to expand into new areas, as is happening in Nigeria, so communities cannot afford to be complacent.

Efforts have been made to address the problem. On 3 August, the gendarmerie uncovered a gang of male and female kidnappers in Ngong in Cameroon’s North Region after the abduction of a four-year-old girl. In June, gendarmes arrested 10 people responsible for several incidents in Badjengo. In the same month, the Rapid Intervention Battalion secured the release of eight hostages in Touboro. The security forces’ success and restoration of order were credited to their close collaboration with local authorities.

While Boko Haram takes hostages not just for ransom but to use as recruits, suicide bombers, labourers and brides for fighters, economic gain remains the primary motivation for the ongoing kidnappings.

Before Boko Haram, highway robbers terrorised border communities in the North and Far North regions. But the terrorist insurgency has made the areas more volatile. Criminal groups now have access to more sophisticated arms, and some have adopted Boko Haram’s modus operandi. Security forces are more likely to be deployed where Boko Haram attacks are high, leaving other border villages with little or no protection. This makes them fertile ground for criminal gangs.

The increase in kidnapping networks could see Cameroon’s security situation degenerate further. The more money these groups make, the more powerful they become, with the potential for staging further high-profile attacks. The lucrative nature of kidnapping could attract recruits to the gangs and enable them to equip themselves better.

ISS research shows how Boko Haram and bandits team up in Nigeria to carry out criminal activities, including kidnapping. The proximity and coordination between these groups in Cameroon mean the same could happen there.

Kidnappings are causing untold hardship in border communities already suffering from poverty and the effects of climate change. Insecurity has also fractured community life, as villagers have become more suspicious of one another.

More police, gendarmes and military posts are needed across border communities. At the same time, civilians and law enforcement must collaborate to share information and build mutual trust. Authorities need to tap into existing community-centred approaches to enhance vigilance and tracking capabilities. And those accused of abductions must be arrested and prosecuted.

Building the socio-economic resilience of communities is also essential to help them resist the lures of bandit groups.

Culled from ISS Africa

An arrest warrant has been reportedly issued against the powerful Minister-Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Cameroon Intelligence Report has gathered from a well placed source at the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé.

Our source revealed that the arrest order was made following Minister Ngoh Ngoh’s refusal to appear before the court on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.

The so-called powerful Secretary General at the presidency is under investigation over his management of Covid 19 funds and Cameroon Intelligence Report understands several  government cabinet ministers auditioned at the Special Criminal Court in Yaounde have all stated that they simply carried out standing instructions that were given by Minister Ngoh Ngoh.

 A renowned French Cameroun political commentator BORIS BERTOLT who confirmed the news on social media said Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh blatantly refused to answer 16 questions that were given to him by state prosecutors.

After a closed door meeting with the president of the special criminal court, Justice Annie Noëlle Bahounoui with the consent of Justice Minister Laurent Esso issued the arrest warrant against Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

This item is still developing

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé