Cameroon’s military has taken delivery of 172 newly acquired vehicles, including 104 Land Cruiser BJ light tactical vehicles, three Toyota Land Cruiser 300 VX and 29 Toyota Fortuner 4x4s, to boost the operational efficiency of different services of the country’s military.

The delivery, which took place at Air Base 101 in Yaounde on 4 September, according to defence ministry officials, also included 21 six-metre and 10-metre boats meant for maritime rescue operations, as well as 36 of a total of 227 Renault- and Peugeot-brand firefighting trucks and related equipment destined for the national firefighting brigade.

The boats are made from aluminium alloy and powered by Yamaha outboard motors of 50 and 150 horsepower, said Colonel Japhet Sylvain Ondanga, Director in charge of joint military equipment at the defence ministry.

All the vehicles and equipment are supplied by France’s specialised vehicle manufacturer Desautel Group, and discussions for the supply of a second consignment are said to be underway.

The service vehicles were acquired with funds from the Cameroon government estimated at about FCFA 32 billion ($53.5 million), while the firefighting equipment was financed through a loan from the French Treasury of a similar amount.

The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo, who presided at the handover ceremony, underscored the importance of the vehicles, noting that they will substantially contribute to the operational efficiency of the beneficiary personnel and the army as a whole.

Assomo said the acquisition of the new military gear is in line with the desire of the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Paul Biya, to modernise the defence and security forces and keep their operational and logistical capabilities in line with contemporary standards.

“It is part of an overall drive to modernise equipment and reinforce our national defence system. These acquisitions are intended to improve the operational capacity of our soldiers and units in response to ever-increasing security demands,” he stated during the ceremony.

“This significant consignment of equipment was acquired in part thanks to funding granted by BPI France on behalf of the French Treasury, for a total of more than FCFA 32 billion. To date, 172 vehicles have already been delivered,” Assomo said.

“This ceremony also offers us the opportunity to showcase 136 other brand-new vehicles, including 29 official and service vehicles and 104 Land Cruiser BJ light tactical vehicles, selected samples of which are also displayed here today,” he added.

Assomo stated that after the presentation of the vehicles, the distribution process will proceed gradually.

“Priority will be given to replacing outdated vehicles with new ones. Additional acquisitions are already planned, so it is unnecessary to overwhelm the offices of the Chief of Staff or the Minister with repeated requests,” he appealed.

Cameroon has faced serious security challenges in recent years, and the military has been trying to meet the exigencies by strengthening its logistical capacity through the acquisition of vehicles and other vital equipment to boost its operational readiness.

In 2021, the National Gendarmerie received equipment, including DJI Phantom drones, rifles and accessories, 100 bullet-resistant jackets, 50 heavy armour helmets, and six pairs of binoculars, among others, to be used in the fight against terrorism.

Source: Defenseweb

Calls are multiplying from officials of Cameroon’s elections management agency (ELECAM) across the country for registered voters to take possession of their biometric voter cards in a move that has been considered a race against time.

The election agency is now racing to distribute both backlogged old cards and newly printed ones as the country’s presidential election is just a month away. Some of the uncollected cards date back to 2018 and even older, officials say.

Cameroonians are due to elect a new president on October 12 in an election that has incumbent President Paul Biya and 11 other candidates in the race.

According to ELECAM, hundreds of thousands of biometric voter cards remain uncollected at its decentralized offices across the nation, and officials are said to be using door-to-door campaigns, mobile teams, and council area commissions to get these cards to their owners.

Registered voters without voter cards will not be able to cast their ballot on polling day, ELECAM warns.

In the Littoral Region, for example, officials say there are more than 350,000 cards still uncollected, as officials intensify strategies to make sure they meet registered citizens through proximity methods.

In the South Region, the Regional Delegate of ELECAM told state broadcaster, CRTV, recently that they received more than 115,000 voter cards from the Directorate General of ELECAM covering the period 2021-2024, but that just around 50,000 cards have been collected.

Of the total number of cards collected for distribution in the South West Region, just around 48 percent of them have been handed over to their owners, the ELECAM Regional Delegate for that region, Zofoa Njoya Sake, told Biometric Update in a chat.

He said of the 66,515 cards received, about 31,861 of them have been distributed, while more than 34,000 others remain to withdrawn by their owners. Nonetheless, he said they have received logistical support to enable them clear the backlog of uncollected cards.

In the past weeks, ELECAM’s teams say they have been working in collaboration with members of commissions charged with the issuance and distribution of voter cards in all council areas to ramp up collection.

Their efforts are intended to make sure that all registered voters receive their cards before election day on October 12.

Cameroon’s electoral law states that biometric voter cards issued to registered voters shall be permanent, and can only be replaced in the case of loss or damage.

Apart from voter card distribution, ELECAM says it is also currently in the process of deduplicating the biometric voter registry which has around 8.2 million registered voters.

In May, ELECAM announced that it took delivery of new biometric gear to support voter registration for the presidential election. It also trained some of its staff on the effective use of the devices.

Cameroon introduced a biometric voter registration system in 2012 with a first set of 1,200 kits supplied then by German firm Giesecke and Devrient. Other kits were later purchased from GenKey and Veridos, according to ELECAM sources.

Source: Biometricupdate.com

At least nine soldiers were killed in weekend clashes in Cameroon as armed separatists sought to impose a month-long lockdown in the country’s war-torn English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, according to security sources.

Separatist leaders said on social media that the lockdown, which began on Monday, was intended to disrupt the reopening of schools in the regions and the country’s presidential election scheduled for October.

Residents of Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest Region, said the situation in the city is tense.

“There is nobody on the streets. The streets are all deserted. Places are closed and almost all activities are not operational. People are just afraid because of the lockdown,” a resident of the city, who asked not to be named, said.

Additional troops have been deployed to the region where they conduct night and day patrols, a security source said. On Sunday, officials in the regions assured residents of “tight security” and urged them to go about their activities normally.

Separatists have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent nation they call “The Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

Source: Xinhuanet

Two Americans originally from Cameroon have been arrested and charged with organizing and bankrolling a violent separatist campaign in their central African homeland’s troubled English-speaking regions, the US Justice Department said.

Benedict Nwana Kuah, 51, and Pascal Kikishy Wongbi, 52, were taken into custody on Friday in the northern US state of Minnesota.

Both were charged with conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad; conspiracy to provide material support or resources; and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

Kuah was additionally charged with conspiracy to take hostages and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction outside the United States.

The two men, who are naturalized US citizens, face a maximum of life in prison if convicted. They remain in custody pending detention hearings next week.

Federal prosecutors say Kuah and Wongbi hold leadership positions in the so-called Ambazonia Defense Forces (ADF), which is seeking independence for an unrecognized state they call “Ambazonia.”

A deadly conflict between armed separatists and government forces has blighted Cameroon’s mainly anglophone North West and South West regions since 2016.

The separatists claim that English speakers, who make up about 20 percent of Cameroon’s population, have been marginalized in the predominantly French-speaking nation.

“The defendants are charged with using the United States as a base of operations to finance and direct kidnappings, bombings, and killings in Cameroon,” acting assistant attorney general Matthew Galeotti said in a statement.

“Minnesota is not a launchpad for overseas violence,” said acting federal prosecutor Joseph Thompson.

“Operating from the comfort of their living rooms in Minnesota, these defendants caused violence and suffering half a world away.”

Prosecutors allege that since 2017, Kuah and Wongbi have sent thousands of dollars to accomplices to buy weapons and explosives, and directed deadly attacks, hostage-takings and kidnappings.

Cameroon’s longtime leader Paul Biya has resisted calls for more autonomy in the regions and responded with a crackdown on the separatists.

The violence has claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced around one million people, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Source: AFP

A separatist group has claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb attack that detonated in southwestern Cameroon, killing seven soldiers.

The attack happened Friday morning near the town of Malende, according to local media. The Fako Unity Warriors, an English-speaking separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack late on Friday.

The Cameroon News Agency reported that seven soldiers were killed. Government forces had been on patrol in the area in recent weeks, searching for improvised explosive devices, the agency said.

The Cameroonian military has not officially commented on the attack and did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Cameroon’s western regions have been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority. They aim to establish an independent English-speaking state in the west of the country.

The tensions, which began with peaceful protests organized by lawyers and teachers, turned deadly nearly a decade ago following a government crackdown.

The government has accused separatists of committing atrocities against English-speaking civilians. The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000 others, according to the International Crisis Group.

Though the number of deadly attacks by separatists has decreased in recent years, the conflict shows no signs of resolution. Peace talks with international mediators have stalled, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad faith.

Friday’s attack came on the same day that federal law enforcement officials in Minnesota indicted two separatist leaders, both naturalized U.S. citizens.

According to the indictment, the two commanders of the Ambazonia Defense Forces had financed and ordered fighters in Cameroon to carry out bombings, executions and kidnappings while living in the United States.

Source: AP

A recent U.S. State Department report on human rights, released August 25, 2024, indicates that approximately 14,300 individuals in Cameroon are currently held in pre-trial detention for minor offenses. The report, citing the Cameroonian Bar Association, estimates that nearly 75% of those awaiting trial are incarcerated for offenses considered minor under local law. The document also highlights the disproportionate impact on minors, raising significant concerns regarding child protection and adherence to international juvenile justice standards.

Cameroonian law stipulates a maximum pre-trial detention period of 18 months. However, the report notes frequent violations of this legal limit, with many detainees awaiting trial for years. This discrepancy between legal provisions and practical application represents a serious breach of fundamental rule of law principles. The case of independent journalist Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka exemplifies this issue; arrested in 2020 for articles related to the Anglophone crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions, he was held for over four years before being sentenced in September 2024 to ten years in prison. Charges against him included secession and complicity with armed groups, despite his initial arrest being linked to his writings.

Structural factors contribute to these prolonged detentions, according to the report. Key issues include pervasive corruption within the judicial system and a severe shortage of court personnel. Additional challenges encompass mismanagement of case files, leading to delayed or lost procedures, and detainees’ frequent inability to cover legal costs. The report also points to systematic denials of bail, even when legal conditions for release are met. Furthermore, some legal proceedings are reportedly influenced by political considerations, requiring directives from higher authorities before judgment.

Despite these practices, the Cameroonian Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrests and detentions. It also guarantees citizens the right to challenge the legality of their arrest or detention before an independent court and to seek compensation for damages resulting from unlawful detention. These constitutional safeguards, though clearly articulated, are largely disregarded in the daily operations of the judiciary.

Criticism regarding the state of justice in Cameroon is not new. For several years, lawyers, local and international non-governmental organizations, and multilateral institutions have raised alarms about the widespread abuse of pre-trial detention. Organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, alongside national legal stakeholders, denounce a system characterized by slowness, high costs, opacity, and, in some instances, political manipulation.

In response to this judicial crisis, several long-awaited reforms are necessary. These include modernizing criminal procedures, increasing judicial staff, depoliticizing judicial actions, and implementing alternative measures to incarceration for minor offenses. Options such as community service, penal mediation, or fines could alleviate prison overcrowding while ensuring appropriate legal responses. Beyond legal aspects, the credibility of the entire Cameroonian judicial system is at stake.

 The misuse of pre-trial detention, particularly in politically sensitive cases, erodes public trust in institutions and threatens social stability. An efficient, swift, and equitable justice system remains a cornerstone of any democracy. Cameroon now faces a critical choice: undertake profound reforms or continue to tolerate a system that deprives thousands of citizens of their fundamental rights.

Source: Sbbc