Per his own autobiography, the late Cameroonian businessman, Victor Fotso, made his way through the world as an enterprising youngster selling peanuts. It was one of the popular cash crops grown in the western Cameroonian town of Bandjoun.

Soon enough, Fotso became a trader who dealt in anything that sold off the shelves and quickly. He opened a shop in Mbalmayo in central Cameroon in 1947. The business was great because by 1960, while still under 40, Fotso diversified into commercial transportation. And then Pierre Castel, the founder of Caste Group, now France’s largest producer of wine, came to town after Cameroon gained independence.

Fotso became Castel’s chief partner in Cameroon, distributing Castel’s beverages. After a decade of his relationship with Castel and other French investors, Fotso was known to have had investments in agricultural produce, petrochemicals, hospitality and electric batteries. In 1997, he would open the first private Cameroonian-owned bank, Commercial Bank of Cameroon (CBC).

Between 1996 and 2020 when he died, Fotso was the mayor of his native Badjoun. He was respected as a self-made man and President Paul Biya could count on him for reasons political and more. Fotso also had as many as 25 women with whom he birthed 121 children, according to various reports. And so when he died at the ripe old age of 94 leaving behind more than $200 million, drama was very much expected.

It has been reported that Fotso may have allocated more than $3.5 million for his own funeral. That was the first point of the family fracas that has seen factions formed among the 146 heirs. Suspicions that some of Fotso’s heirs want to pocket the money for themselves have been stated. His eldest son, Roger, had to put out a press release reminding all his relatives that the departed patriarch was a respected man whose memory could not be denigrated over this issue.

Funeral funds are not the only thing splitting Fotso’s family. There are suspicions that his last will in testament could have been forged and that matter has ended them in court. Yet, it does seem to an outsider that some among Fotso’s living relations feel the need to be heard now lest they are lost when his largesse is shared. State investigators have been combing through his offices across the country for any and all relevant documents pertaining to his estates.

Other factions, led by Yves-Michel Fotso, a man who is supposed to be serving a life sentence in Cameroon but managed to find his way to Morocco, are desperate to get down to the extent of Fotso real estate holdings. This particular angle involves a former Cameroonian soccer star who married one of Fotso’s daughters and became an administrator of the businessman’s real estate holdings.

In the meantime, the funeral of Fotso has stalled as the legal battles rage on. In Cameroon and among many international observers, eyes are firmly fixed on the intrigue in the Fotso family.

Source: Face2face Africa

At least five people were reportedly killed in the North West on Friday by a roadside bomb explosion that targeted a convoy belonging to the region’s governor Lele Afrique.

A video sent to our chief correspondent in Bamenda detailing the attack and attached to this report did not provide any information on the death toll. But a security source in the governor’s office revealed that the bomb destroyed a vehicle in the governor’s convoy killing three soldiers and two civilians.

Our source also hinted that the governor and other senior members of his delegation escaped uninjured, but it was the second time he had been attacked by Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups ever since the crisis started four years ago.

Four years ago, the country’s president, Paul Biya, erroneously declared war on the country’s English-speaking minority which was simply demonstrating to bring its sorry plight to the attention of the government and the international community and what Mr. Biya and his collaborators thought would be wrapped up in a week has now lasted four years with more than 7,000 young Cameroonians already sent to an early grave in a war that has no raison d’etre.

As the government and militia have transformed the country into an open air killing field, the country’s economy has taken a nosedive, with millions of Cameroonians seeking employment and thousands losing their jobs in the country’s two English-speaking regions where the killings are going on unabated.

The number of internally displaced person has continued to swell, while millions have fled to neighboring Nigeria where they are living rough and waiting for the fighting to end for them to return to their country, though their homes have been razed by government soldiers who are wont to inflicting collective punishment on the population each time an army soldier is killed.

By Fon Lawrence and Asu Vera Eyere

Lebanese police arrested a housemaid accused of stealing $50,000 in cash from her employer in a case that highlights the country’s desperate dollar shortage.

The theft is believed to be one of the largest cash robberies since the deepening economic crisis destroyed the value of the Lebanese pound and led to banks blocking dollar withdrawals.

The Cameroonian housemaid, who worked for a Lebanese employer in Beirut’s Achrafieh district, admitted stealing the money and running away on March 17, the Internal Security Forces [ISF] said.

“The amount of dollars in cash is one of the biggest, if not the biggest that has ever been stolen since the economic and dollar shortage crisis hit Lebanon in 2019,” a senior ISF officer told Arab News.

The case has also shone a light on the plight of domestic workers in Lebanon amid the economic collapse.

Most maids go to work in Lebanon so they can send dollars to their families.

In October 2019, the Lebanese Central Bank banned the withdrawal or transfer of previously deposited dollars in a bid to avoid a run on the banks. As a result, dollars became increasingly scarce.

The crisis led to many Lebanese withdrawing money from their bank accounts and hiding cash savings in their homes.

Some experts have estimated that as much as $3 billion of cash has been stashed away inside properties.

The ISF officer said there had been plenty of dollar cash thefts since 2019 but that the latest was one of the biggest.

Identifying the Cameroonian suspect as 33-year-old E.Y., the ISF said police confiscated more than $4,000 of cash and 6 million Lebanese pounds, three telegraphic transfer receipts to her home country worth $6,000 and a new smart phone.

“She was the primary suspect since she went missing instantly after her employer reported to the police,” the statement said.

She was traced to Tripoli in northern Lebanon, where she was arrested.

During questioning, she admitted that she kept part of the money hidden in a flat that she rented in Al-Bwar area outside Beirut.

She confessed that she gave $12,700 to her two friends who were also arrested. They told officers they had transferred part of the money to their families in Cameroon.

“The suspects were referred to the General Prosecution to be forwarded for trial,” the statement said.

Source: Arabnews.com

Detectives based in Ruiru Monday recovered more Sh350 million in fake US dollars and Pounds after arresting three Cameroon nationals in an operation.

The officials said they also recovered a Glock pistol and 28 rounds of 9mm calibre from the foreigners.

The suspects, Paulin Francis Proper and Njikam Omar were found to be in the country illegally while the third suspect Job Kentong, holds a refugee identity card.

In an operation conducted within BTL area in Ruiru, Kiambu County, the detectives also recovered over 250 kilograms of fake gold nuggets and gold bars.

Upon further interrogation of Paulin Francis who is the main suspect, detectives raided his house in Muthaiga North, Nairobi where the firearm was recovered.

Detailed investigations revealed that the firearm belonged to a fourth suspect Loise Kaguongo, who was holding it illegally since her firearms license had expired.

Kaguongo operates over 10 mobile money outlets and detectives believe that she is the link between the suspects and the wider criminal syndicate that is defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.

Ruiru head of DCI Justus Ombati said the fake money was in denominations of 100 dollars, 50 pounds and one thousand Kenya shilling notes.

DCI detectives have recovered over Sh350 Million in fake US dollars and Pounds, a Glock pistol and 28 rounds of ammunition in Ruiru.

Police suspect that the illegal production of fake currencies could be happening elsewhere before the fake money is transported for storage in Ruiru before it’s distributed to unsuspecting persons.

This came a day after police in Nyali, Mombasa said they also recovered fake currencies from two foreign nationals.

Police said the two Jamil Salman Abdul, 43 and Tesfawork Ermias Dogso, 30, were also found to be operating within the country illegally.

The two had 198 forged Euro notes in 100 denominations, hidden between the driver’s and co-drivers seats.

This comes just two days after police officers arrested two men found in possession of fake currencies worth Sh750 million.

The men identified as Samuel Maina and Boniface Mungai were arrested from an apartment in the Kilimani area where they had kept the fake papers in Kenyan, US and Euro bills.

The money was kept in metal boxes.

Police say they recovered chemicals and fake badges bearing names of UN, Della Rue and National Treasury and several safes.

According to police, they also recovered bags, machines, two bottles and jerrycans containing an unknown liquid, assorted documents, customs reflector jackets, stickers and stamps for various offices with their seals.

Cases

Cases of handling of fake money have in the past months been on a decrease due to police operations.

Dozens of suspects have in the past months been arrested in connection with the incidents and charged in court.

In September 2019, Sh300 million fake money was found abandoned on the roadside along Ngong Road, Nairobi.

In May 2019, nine suspects were arrested in the Kilimani area and fake Sh190 million ($1.9M) recovered from them.

This came two days after another group of seven was nabbed with fake Sh300million in a house in the same area.

Police investigations show counterfeit banknotes remain the top form of fraud for the increasingly growing mobile money and bank agents in Kenya.

In June 2017 Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) acknowledged the possibility of a transnational fake currency ring in Nairobi and the region.

CBK and other East African Community (EAC) central banks held a joint meeting with the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) in September 2016 to develop strategies for enhancing the fight against counterfeit crime, one of the emerging transnational crimes.

The bank regulator had conducted a survey in 2017 that showed 97 per cent of fraud faced by the agents involved fake notes.

The February 27, 2019 discovery of a cache of fake foreign cash amounting to Sh32 billion in a residential house in Ruiru town was the biggest incident that followed a series of similar cases in the past few years.

In June 2018, the High Court in Nairobi condemned a Niger and Cameroonian nationals to 10 years in jail for possession of an estimated Sh110 billion in counterfeit currency.

The two were also in possession of tools for making fake banknotes. The trial took two-and-a-half years, following the foreigners’ arrest in Nairobi’s Diamond Park II in 2016.

On March 19, 2019, police seized fake Sh2 billion in a safety box at Barclays Bank, Queensway branch.

On October 1, 2018, police in Nairobi recovered fake money valued at Sh1 billion. Three suspects were nabbed. The money was found in a house along Brookside drive at Brookside gardens in Westlands.

Two days later police arrested a Nigerian national in South B and seized fake US dollar bills of USD251, 400 (about Sh25.3 million).

Two suspects were arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in October 2016 with fake Sh267 million euro notes of 500 bills on their way to Dubai.

Culled from The Star.Co.Ke

A double bombing in the Southern Cameroons towns of Muyuka and Batibo has reportedly killed scores of Cameroon government army soldiers.

Ambazonia Restoration Force is suspected to have carried out the blast in the two locations of the North West and the South West regions.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from witnesses that the Muyuka attack took place early today Tuesday 4 of May 2021 while that of Batibo followed suit after the Central Command directing troops deployed to Bamenda had turned its attention to the happenings in Fako Division.

Although the Cameroon military is maintaining a kind of deliberate silence on the death toll, witnesses at the scenes in Muyuka and Batibo say they counted at least 37 bodies.

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government with its well organized Ambazonia Restoration Force whose mission is to establish an independent state of Southern Cameroon, have stepped up guerrilla attacks recently amid a heightened offensive by the Francophone dominated Cameroon government army under the 88-year-old President Biya.

Five Cameroon government soldiers were killed and several injured and dozens missing recently when Ambazonia Restoration Forces also known as the Marines of Bambalang in the North West Region attacked a military base inside French Cameroun territory.

The Amba fighters successfully dislodged Cameroon government troops from their barracks in Menfung in the Ngalim district after a gunfight.

By Fon Lawrence

Members of the ruling party also known as the crime syndicate are gradually dropping dead like flies as the virus spreads across the country.

Today, the former Prime Minister, Achidi Achu, bowed to the inevitable in the US. Sources close to the former PM say he was already tired, but they suspect the virus just came as a clinical finisher.

But before him, Paul Enyih Atogho, one-time Secretary of State at the ministry of education, also said goodbye to his family.

It seems they are in a race to quit the scene. Last week, it was MP Emilia Lifaka if the Southwest region who had organized a Coronavirus super-spreader to celebrate her 62 birthday but the party also turned out to be her farewell parry.

It should be recalled that the political opposition had outsourced the destruction of the CPDM to the virus and the virus is really living to its billing.

More will be yours as it becomes available

By Isong Asu in London

Former prime minister, Simon Achidi Achu a man initially dismissed by Southern Cameroons political commentators including the Social Democratic Front party of Ni John Fru Ndi as not suited for the job has died.

Hon. Achidi Achu, a CPDM party-machine politician who proved to be a surprisingly grassroots leader, died of complications from a stroke and Covid-19 that struck him recently. He was 86.

Achidi Achu made important and lasting contributions to the relations between Southern Cameroons and French Cameroun during his term in office and earlier when he was minister for justice.

He was a strong and vibrant Anglophone political elite and a dedicated and principled public servant.

Simon Achidi Achu as a tenacious leader saluted the memory of a man who managed to undertake with tenacity a daring programme of reforms, putting Cameroon as a nation in prime position to face great challenges of the 21^st Century.

Achidi will be best known for getting Cameroon out of a dangerous political divide after the 1992 presidential elections and his hard work brought brighter prospects that were mismanaged again by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime barons.

Born on November 5, 1934 in Bamenda, Simon Achidi Achu was first an accountant at the then Bamenda-Widikum council and a trainee at the CDC.  After his studies at the University of Yaoundé and Enam, he worked as a translator-interpreter at the Presidency of the Republic.

He became the Secretary General at the Ministry of Public Service in 1971 and in 1972 Minister Delegate for State Inspection. He had a meteoric rise in the United Republic of Cameroon system and from 1972 – 1975, he was Minister of Justice. From 1992 to 1996, he was Prime Minister and Head of Government and moonlighted as a member of the ruling CPDM Political Bureau.  He was also a senator when the so-called Upper House was introduced in 2013.

Close aides to Biya had reportedly urged the president to appoint Achidi Achu as the main Cameroon government negotiator for the Anglophone problem. Achidi won the hearts of many following his 15 February 2017 declaration that called on Yaoundé to release all Southern Cameroonians detained in Francophone jails and accelerate the decentralization process that was agreed and documented in the 1996 Constitution.

His retirement home was burnt and one of his adopted sons was shot in Bemenda on January 24, 2020, when the Yaoundé government attempted to roll back separatist attacks.

Some of his critics maintain the view that Mr. Achidi Achu as a staunch member of the ruling CPDM was also one of the architects of the strategy use by Biya to oppress the people of Southern Cameroons.

Under his watchful eyes, the Yaoundé government has been on a home-burning spree over the last four years in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Many Southern Cameroonians have been killed by trigger-happy government forces and Mr. Achidi Achu, considered as a major voice in the country never condemned the violent method the Francophone dominated government has been employing to combat restoration forces, most of whom live in the jungle.

Mr. Achidi Achu went about his business as if nothing was actually happening in English speaking Cameroon and he militated in a party whose method of dealing with descent was condemned by the international community until he breathed his last.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

A 31-year-old Cameroonian lady has been reportedly murdered in Italy. Italian media revealed that her 43-year-old partner, the main suspect, was found hanged in his home.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the terrible drama is causing a stir on Cameroonian social media networks in Italy.

Emma Pezemo, the young and radiant 31 year old who arrived from Cameroon to study in Italy with a desire to become a social worker in the health sector was killed and her body was found cut up and in pieces in a rubbish bin in Boulogne.

Italian police investigating the murder are yet to provide any detail information to the Cameroon embassy in Rome as her lover Jacques Honoré Ngouenet, 43, the main suspect, was also found hanged in his home.

Jacques Honoré was a civil servant in Cameroon.  He had deserted the army to take refuge in Italy.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon is concurrently fighting an internal war commonly known as the Anglophone Crisis.

After World War I the country was divided into 80 percent French and 20 percent British territories. The latter was further separated into Northern and Southern British Cameroons.

In the 1960s, part of the British territory joined Nigeria, and the rest was annexed to French Cameroon. Both territories retained a certain level of autonomy as a federation. In 1972, the federation was dismantled, giving French Cameroon executive power over both English and French regions.

When the current president, Paul Biya entered into power in 1982, he changed the country’s name to La Republique du Cameroun. A progressive erosion of the Anglophone culture began to take place, with English speaking teachers being replaced by Francophones; and French magistrates taking over the English common-law judicial system.

Protests by teachers and lawyers in 2016 turned violent when French military officials were sent in response to the uprisings. A new wave of separatists was formed, declaring independence over the Anglophone side. They refer to this self-declared country as Ambazonia, in reference to the Ambas Bay, a body of water separating the Southern Cameroons region from the republic of Cameroon.

The violence has escalated to the point where civilians often get caught in the cross-fire between military and armed separatists in the country. Villages have been burned, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Many are forced to live in the jungle and seek asylum in neighbouring countries. Others have made it further afield, entering countries like South Africa through the Kruger National park, facing natural predators like lions, leopards and rhinoceros along their journey.

“Humans of the Forgotten War” is an umbrella project created by Reframe House for the Victoria Relief Foundation, that will be released in staggered stages to raise awareness on the current situation on the ground. It makes use of conceptual photography and film to interpret the stories of asylum-seekers, refugees, Internally Displaced People (IDPs), and prisoners of war through artistic means.

Collected here are some of the photographs that feature in the project. These images are part of the “Humans of the Forgotten War: Stories” series, with some of the real names changed for safety purposes.

Many have been living hiding in the jungle for months. Those who manage to escape to neighboring countries often live in exile. “For the past ten years I haven’t had a home. I’m still under refugee status, which makes it very difficult to do certain things. It’s like you’re in an open prison. You feel that you’re free but you’re not free because you’re limited in so many things,” said Ben, one of those who spoke to Reframe House for the project.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has identified 4.4 million people in need in Cameroon, with 53 percent of those being children. “There is a complete lack of visibility of the crisis,” said Carla Martinez, Head of Office, OCHA Cameroon.

“The underfunded response means that many of our humanitarian partners are having to close down because they don’t have funds to continue,” added Martinez. The loss of resources will translate into a population that continues to live without adequate medical support, education, shelter or food.

Journalists on the ground are often targeted and turned into victims of torture and violence. They operate in fear, often risking their life to get the stories out. Most people in the anglophone region feel caught up between two evils—the separatists who say they’re fighting for independence, and the soldiers who say they’re trying to protect them.

The already complex conflict of the Anglophone Crisis is further compounded with a rather vast number of belief systems at play in the area. There are those who wish for independence and the creation of an Ambazonian nation, others advocate for effective decentralisation, there are federalists who wish for two, four to six, and ten state federation, as well as con-federalist view points.

As a result of the conflict, there are many who have become prisoners of war — such as journalists, separatists and civilians. Conditions in prison are deplorable, with food being used as a means to control inmates.

The following conceptual images were created with South Cameroonian displaced people representing the sentiments and emotions that prisoners in Cameroon have expressed.

They wear animal masks predominantly from Cameroon, alluding to the feeling of despair and abandonment that many of them experience behind bars. Those being photographed need to protect their identity out of fear of being targeted. They wear Ndop cloth, traditional Cameroonian attire which was once exclusively used for nobility, but later popularised in other regions of the country.

For this project, contact with the French military was established, but they refused to comment. The government did not respond.

Culled from Newsweek.com

About 200 refugees living in Cross River have been trained on various vocational skills by the Community Refugee Relief Initiative, CRRI in Calabar, Ogoja, and Ikom.

Vanguard learned that they were trained by different professionals on various skills including ICT, aluminum work, tailoring and fashion design, pastries, and cake making amongst others.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony at the weekend at the ICT career empowerment centre in Agagom, Ogoja, the Chairman, Board of Directors, CRRI, Dr. Celestine Atangcho stated that the crisis will surely come to an end and people will go back home, but the essence of empowering them through various skills acquisition programs was to ensure they can take care of themselves independently.

He said the various training was to equip them with the skills that can help them feed their families before and after the crisis.

According to Atangcho, there were a lot of bright and industrious young people who were just languishing at various locations because they left their comfort zones and businesses abruptly and cannot continue their former trade here in Nigeria.

There are many of the Cameroonians who were gainfully employed or working for themselves before the crisis started about 5 years ago, many of such persons may not have the opportunity to go back to the same business again while some would.

” But in the interim, we feel it is pertinent for them to gain knowledge in other files which will become useful to them both here in Nigeria and also when they get home after the crisis.

“A lot of these refugees have been involved in livelihood programmes. Today, some students, trainees who have completed their livelihood programmes have graduated and we will support them in the little way we can.

” So on a brighter side, we’re hopeful that with the skills that they’ve acquired, they’ll be able to fend for themselves, feed themselves, feed their families and we’re hoping that we will continue with that kind of empowerment programmes.

” So that is one area that we’re very happy that it’s happening today with these trainees graduating from Calabar, Ikom, Ogoja and hopefully in a few months to come, we’re going to go to Taraba to do the same exercise there.

“One year ago, I was talking to you, we were launching the center, and today, we’re happy to know that a few refugees have gone through that training and their lives, hopefully, will never be the same.

“We are trying to open up some workshop so that they will go in and get busy and hopefully attract some revenue to sustain themselves and hopefully that workshop will serve as a future training ground for more refugees so that is the plan going forward. We’re just praying that we have the resources to follow through.

Speaking earlier in Calabar, Administrative Assistant of CRRI in Nigeria, Mr. Allan Agbor said the training was a continuous process as various trainees come in batches and different phases too with ICT, barbing, Aluminum works, catering, pastry, and cake baking amongst others.

 “We are here today at the Calabar office at Caritas to graduate the students that we’ve trained in various vocational areas here in Calabar precisely tailoring, hairdressing, barbing and some persons are still continuing their training.

Agbor said:” Over 180 persons took part in various training from different fields, we have 38 persons from the fields of tailoring, hairdressing,

“Over 156 persons in ICT, Furniture, and glassworks here in Calabar, as well as motor mechanics and they, would be put into workshops fully equipped workshops sponsored by CRRI where they will practice as business persons operating the place and they will also be like coaches to train subsequent batches of trainees.

“Also, we have a monitoring team to take make sure they become resourceful, besides the coordinator for CRRI here in Calabar, we have selected persons who go round to ensure they are useful and effective at their job.

For his part, Mr. Ojong Samuel who spoke on behalf of the refugees, lauded CRRI for their magnanimity describing the training as a life transforming experience.

” We are very excited and elated about this huge gesture by CRRI, it’s not an everyday thing, and we don’t take it for granted, we really want to commend the entire CRRI team , especially Dr. Celestine Atangcho for his big heart .

” As for me, I used to be a driver while in Cameroon, but I can no longer do that here with ease unless I have my own vehicle, but with my training in glass and Aluminum works, I can train my six children and pay my bills,” he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria