Cameroon

President Biya is back in Europe

23, September 2026

President Biya is back in Europe 0

Cameroon’s 94-year-old president, Paul Biya is back in Switzerland following a serious malaise.

The man whose supporters hold that is in good shape collapsed last week and could not sit on a medicalised ambulance which waited at the Nsimalen Airport for two days.

Biya recently returned from Europe after more than two months abroad due to a serious health condition.

According to a source close to the president, “Biya is in a very bad shape. His ancestors are calling and sooner rather later, he will answer the call,” the source said.

“Nobody, no matter how powerful, can resist the passage of time. Mr. Biya is no exception and the sooner his entourage acknowledges that it is time for him to be out of the spotlight the better for him and his family,” the source added.

“By stealing the head of state out of the country, the government is tacitly telling Cameroonians that the situation is serious and that anything can happen. No man is stronger than nature,” the source stressed.

This is a developing story and more will be yours as the information flows in.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Yaoundé: UN official calls for collective efforts to promote peace

22, September 2026

Yaoundé: UN official calls for collective efforts to promote peace 0

United Nations (UN) Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Cameroon Issa Sanogo on Monday called for joint efforts to protect peace and stability and promote peaceful development in the Central African country.

Sanogo made the call at a ceremony held at Cameroon’s National Assembly to mark the International Day of Peace celebrated annually on Sept. 21.

He said this year’s commemoration was particularly significant as both Houses of Parliament came together for the first time in this format to promote the peace agenda.

“Peace takes lasting root only when it becomes everyone’s business — championed by institutions, lived out by citizens, and built collectively at the heart of the republic,” Sanogo said.

Sanogo noted that for more than a decade, Cameroon’s Far North region has faced insecurity linked to Boko Haram, while an armed separatist conflict has continued in the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions.

He also commended Cameroon for maintaining its tradition of solidarity by hosting refugees fleeing conflicts in the sub-region.

“Today, we honor the memory of the victims and salute the resilience of affected communities, as well as the commitment of all those who work daily for peace, dialogue, social cohesion, and harmonious coexistence,” he said.

The International Day of Peace was established by the UN General Assembly in 1981 and designated in 2001 as a period of non-violence and ceasefire.

Source: Xinhuanet

A new phase for the Southern Cameroons struggle?

22, September 2026

A new phase for the Southern Cameroons struggle? 0

Reports that the Ambazonia Interim Government is preparing to reorganize itself as the Ambazonia People’s Liberation Authority (APLA) would represent a significant structural change for the Southern Cameroons separatist movement, if formally confirmed.

The reported transition appears intended to move the organization away from an interim-government framework toward a broader liberation-authority model as the conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions enters another phase. Such a restructuring could have implications not only for the movement’s internal organization but also for how it presents its political objectives to governments, international institutions and other Southern Cameroons stakeholders.

Another reported development is the expected departure of Vice President Dabney Yerima and the prospect of stakeholders selecting an envoy. A diplomatic representative could become particularly important if the movement seeks greater engagement with foreign governments, international organizations and civil-society actors.

The wider crisis in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions has already generated substantial humanitarian and political consequences. Any new organizational arrangement therefore faces the challenge of translating political claims into credible diplomatic engagement while addressing concerns about civilian protection, humanitarian access and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

International diplomacy remains an important avenue for bringing greater attention to the crisis. Governments and international institutions can contribute through sustained engagement, humanitarian assistance, support for dialogue, documentation of alleged abuses and efforts aimed at reducing violence. For the Southern Cameroons movement, greater diplomatic engagement would also require clearly articulated political objectives, credible representatives and sustained attention to international diplomatic norms.

The reported transition to APLA, if confirmed, should consequently be understood not simply as a change of name or institutional structure, but as a potentially consequential moment for the movement’s political and diplomatic strategy. Its significance will ultimately depend on how the new structure is constituted, whom it represents, how it engages other stakeholders and what practical contribution it makes toward resolving the long-running conflict.

For the international community, the central issue remains the same: the crisis in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions requires sustained diplomatic attention and a political process capable of addressing the grievances of affected communities while protecting civilians and working toward a durable resolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Martinez Zogo Trial: questions over missing phone linked to Amougou Belinga

16, September 2026

Martinez Zogo Trial: questions over missing phone linked to Amougou Belinga 0

The disappearance of a phone attributed to businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga returned to the center of the Martinez Zogo case on September 15, 2026. A senior gendarmerie official told the Yaoundé Military Court that investigators tried to recover the device because it could provide direct access to communications between Amougou Belinga and Justin Danwe, the former operations director of Cameroon’s external intelligence service.

Lieutenant Colonel Dieudonné Bialo, head of the National Gendarmerie’s Central Judicial Investigations Service (SCRJ), appeared as the prosecution’s 35th witness and detailed the efforts made to locate the phone. His testimony again brought the name of Melissa Amougou Belinga, the businessman’s wife, into the proceedings.

Phone and SIM Card Had Stopped Transmitting

According to Bialo, investigators established that both the phone and its SIM card had stopped transmitting signals on mobile networks.

“Our service reported that this phone had stopped transmitting, both through the SIM card and the phone’s IMEI,” he told the court. Under questioning from Félicité Zeifman, a lawyer representing Martinez Zogo’s beneficiaries, Bialo described the investigation into the device.

The search reportedly led investigators to a man described as close to a domestic employee of the Amougou Belinga household after his SIM card was found in the phone they were looking for. Investigators subsequently examined the employee’s role and Melissa Amougou Belinga’s alleged involvement in the device’s movements.

Investigators Sought Communications With Justin Danwe

Bialo said recovering the phone was particularly important because Danwe allegedly communicated with Amougou Belinga through the number associated with the device.

According to his testimony, investigators tracked the number to locations that corresponded with some of Danwe’s movements.

Bialo also recalled that Danwe had said he sent Amougou Belinga videos through the phone that showed violence inflicted on Zogo.

“Without being a fortune teller, and based on those statements, it was necessary for that phone to be handed over to investigators,” Bialo told the court.

The device could therefore have provided investigators with direct access to some of the communications attributed to Amougou Belinga. Its continued absence has prevented experts from examining that material directly.

Bialo Says Melissa Amougou Belinga Should Have Been Detained for Questioning

Asked what investigators should have done after efforts to recover the phone failed, Bialo said they should have requested Melissa Amougou Belinga’s detention for questioning. The missing device has surfaced repeatedly during the trial. In June 2026, cybercrime expert Georges Bell Bitjoka confirmed before the court that investigators had not recovered the phone attributed to Amougou Belinga and allegedly used for some exchanges with Danwe.

Investigators instead recovered some of the messages from Danwe’s devices. In July, Colonel Jean-Pierre Otoulou also testified about investigators’ unsuccessful search for an iPhone and the alleged involvement of people within Amougou Belinga’s family and household.

No Judicial Finding Against Melissa Amougou Belinga

Melissa Amougou Belinga, born Melissa Etoundi Nsoe, is the businessman’s third wife. She is the daughter of Colonel Raymond Etoundi Nsoe, a former commander of Cameroon’s Presidential Guard who was himself detained in February 2023 during the initial investigation into people close to Amougou Belinga.

The testimony presented in court does not establish that Melissa Amougou Belinga bears responsibility for the phone’s disappearance. That question has not been judicially determined.

The testimony instead provides further details about investigators’ efforts to locate a device they considered important to the case. Its absence continues to prevent experts from directly examining some of the communications attributed to Amougou Belinga.

Source: Sbbc

Revealed: Colonel Danwe admits ordering Martinez Zogo operation

16, September 2026

Revealed: Colonel Danwe admits ordering Martinez Zogo operation 0

Lieutenant Colonel Justin Danwe has acknowledged that he led the operation against journalist Martinez Zogo and gave orders to the men involved, but he denies ordering his death. His defense also maintains that Danwe himself received instructions from higher levels within Cameroon’s external intelligence service, the DGRE.

That position was again presented before the Yaoundé Military Court on September 14, 2026, during the continued examination of Colonel Jean-Pierre Otoulou.

According to Jacques Mbuny, Danwe’s lawyer, the former director of operations at the Directorate General for External Research (DGRE) “fully accepted responsibility, in light of the mission assigned to his men.”

The defense therefore does not dispute that the men involved in the operation acted under Danwe’s authority. It draws a distinction, however, between the violence allegedly ordered against Zogo and the journalist’s death. At the same time, it seeks to establish whether responsibility for the operation extended further up the DGRE chain of command.

“As their superior, he said that his men acted under his orders,” Mbuny said. “Just as he gives orders as a superior and director of operations, he also receives orders.”

The case now centers partly on two separate questions: how far Danwe’s instructions to the commando went and from whom he says he received his own orders.

Danwe Denies Ordering Martinez Zogo’s Death

On the first question, Danwe’s defense has maintained its position that the operation was not intended to kill the journalist. “There was one part that he never accepted responsibility for,” Mbuny said. “Even his men have consistently stated that there was never any question […] of taking the life of the late Martinez Zogo.”

Under the defense’s account, the mission called for violence against Zogo, but some members of the group exceeded the instructions they had received. The court must weigh that argument against the circumstances of the journalist’s death and determine the individual responsibility of the commando members.

The defense has cited statements that some participants made during the investigation. Ebo’o Clément, identified in the case as one of the members of the group assigned to the “treatment” of Zogo, had described a mission to “rough him up” and inflict injuries.

Those statements do not resolve the central legal questions. The court must determine who ordered the violence, whether the acts that caused Zogo’s death fell within the original instructions and what criminal responsibility each defendant bears. No verdict has been issued.

Danwe Points to the DGRE Chain of Command

Danwe’s defense also argues that the operation was not his initiative alone and seeks to place it within the DGRE’s broader chain of command.

According to Mbuny, his client maintains that the operation was prepared within the intelligence service and that senior officials could not have been unaware of it. “He is also demanding […] that those above him accept their responsibilities,” the lawyer said.

During his exchange with Colonel Jean-Pierre Otoulou, Danwe said he had received an order for an operation against Zogo before his December 29, 2022 meeting with businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga.

That timeline forms an important part of his defense. It supports his argument that the decision to conduct an operation against Zogo preceded the meeting and did not originate from an initiative taken on that occasion.

Danwe also maintains that his superiors knew about the operation. Lawyers for Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, then director general of the DGRE and also a defendant in the case, dispute that account.

Mbuny has also cited testimony about where the operation was allegedly prepared. According to the lawyer, Otoulou indicated that the planning took place in the DGRE operations directorate’s “situation room.”

Danwe’s defense argues that the room was under video surveillance and that footage could be accessed from the director general’s office. His lawyers cite this point to challenge the idea that such an operation could have been planned inside the DGRE without senior officials’ knowledge.

That remains a defense argument, and the court must assess it alongside other testimony and evidence in the case.

Calvin Job, a lawyer for Zogo’s family, takes a different view of the testimony presented during the hearings. He argues that statements from commando members support the civil party’s position that the operation had been organized in advance rather than carried out as an improvised or isolated initiative.

According to Job, testimony before the court supports the view that the operation was “planned” and “organized.” The parties continue to disagree over what the evidence establishes about Eko Eko and other officials implicated in the case. The Yaoundé Military Court has yet to determine the criminal responsibility of each defendant.

Otoulou’s examination, which has extended across several hearings, has therefore brought the chain of command to the center of the proceedings. Beyond identifying those who physically participated in the operation against Zogo, the court must determine who authorized it, who knew about it and what instructions were given to those who carried it out.

Source: Sbbc

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 7 kidnapped by suspected Amba fighters in Bangourain

16, September 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 7 kidnapped by suspected Amba fighters in Bangourain 0

Seven people were kidnapped by suspected separatist fighters in Cameroon’s West region, residents and security sources said Monday.

The abduction took place Sunday night in Bangourain, a locality in the Noun division of the West region, when armed men stormed a family compound.

“Those who were kidnapped are members of the same family,” a security source in the region said. “The Ambazonia fighters invaded their compound while they were asleep and took them away at gunpoint. We have launched a manhunt to rescue the hostages and capture the fighters.”

Cameroon’s West region shares a border with the English-speaking Northwest region, where an armed separatist conflict is ongoing. Ambazonia Restoration Forces regularly target civilians and soldiers in the neighboring French-speaking regions.

A separatist war has been raging in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, where separatists seek to create an independent nation known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

By Fon Lawrence with files

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 3 killed, 2 injured in bar shooting in Bamenda

15, September 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 3 killed, 2 injured in bar shooting in Bamenda 0

At least three people were killed and two others injured when gunmen opened fire at a bar in Bamenda on Monday, witnesses and security sources said.

The attack in the chief city of the North West region was reportedly carried out by armed men who arrived on motorcycles and fired on the bar patrons.

“The gunmen arrived on motorcycles and started shooting at people who were drinking at the bar. They killed a woman and two men,” a resident, who requested anonymity after witnessing the incident, said.

Security sources said two people were killed on the spot, while a third victim later died from his injuries.

The shooting comes as clashes have escalated in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, where Ambazonia fighters are seeking to enforce a weeklong lockdown that began Monday, Sept. 7.

Police security reports indicate at least 10 people, including civilians, separatist fighters and soldiers, have been killed since the lockdown started.

Cameroon’s two Anglophone regions have been gripped by an armed separatist conflict since 2017, with armed groups seeking to establish an independent state.

By Fon Lawrence with files

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 3 civilians, one Amba fighter killed in Ekona

14, September 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 3 civilians, one Amba fighter killed in Ekona 0

Four people, including three civilians and an Ambazonia fighter, were killed as violence escalated in Southern Cameroons, security sources said Sunday.

 Ambazonia Restoration Forces opened fire on a vehicle on a highway in Ekona, a locality in the Southwest Region, on Saturday, killing the driver and two passengers, a security official in the region said.

“They were driving to Kumba when the Amba forces killed them. The Southern Cameroons liberation force said they disrespected a lockdown order,” a pro Yaoundé government official reportedly said and sued for anonymity.

Government forces pursued the fighters after the shooting, leading to a clash that left one separatist fighter dead and several others injured, the official said.

Fighting has intensified in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions since Monday, after separatists declared a week-long lockdown to disrupt the reopening of schools.

Separatist groups have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent state in the two regions.

By Rita Akana with files

White Elephant: Kribi Port sinks to 395th globally after one of the sharpest drops in performance

14, September 2026

White Elephant: Kribi Port sinks to 395th globally after one of the sharpest drops in performance 0

Cameroon’s Kribi deep-sea port has recorded one of the world’s steepest declines in container-port performance since 2020, with longer vessel turnaround times placing it near the bottom of the World Bank’s latest global ranking.

Kribi ranked 395th out of 400 ports in the 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), published in June 2026 by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence. Its score fell to -216.5 points from -5 in 2020, a deterioration of 211.5 points over five years.

Calculations based on the report’s statistical appendix show that Kribi posted the fifth-largest decline among the 317 ports with scores available for both 2020 and 2025. Within the CPPI’s West Africa maritime region, only Conakry performed worse over the period, with a 278.9-point decline.

Kribi’s deterioration was not continuous. Its score fell to -118 in 2021 before recovering to -84 in 2022 and -62 in 2023. It then deteriorated sharply to -199 in 2024 and reached its lowest level in 2025. Kribi also performed well below the 2025 averages for West Africa, at -66.2 points, Sub-Saharan Africa, at -72, and lower-middle-income countries, at -9.

An Index of Port Time, Not a Percentage Change

The CPPI measures the time container ships spend in port while accounting for vessel size and the number of container moves during each call. Its data come primarily from Automatic Identification System signals, supplemented by port and operational information held by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Each port’s final score is the average of an administrative index and a statistical index. The report breaks port calls into arrival time, berth time and departure time, but specifies that the CPPI calculation relies on arrival and berth time. The methodology, definitions and aggregation rules have been maintained across the 2020-2025 series to allow comparisons over time.

A score of zero represents the 2024 global average, which serves as the benchmark. A negative score therefore indicates longer turnaround times relative to that benchmark, but index points cannot be converted directly into hours.

Describing Kribi’s change from -5 to -216.5 as a decline of more than 4,200% would be misleading because the calculation would start from a negative value very close to zero. The relevant measure is the 211.5-point deterioration.

Kribi’s 2025 score is based on 183 vessel calls. The appendix shows that ships spent 47.3% of their port hours at berth. That figure does not refer exclusively to productive time: the World Bank defines berth hours as the period from all-fast to all-lines-released, including any idle time.

For Kribi, the report does not provide separate figures for anchorage waiting times, maneuvering, container handling or interruptions while vessels are at berth.

PAK Attributes Decline to Yard Congestion

The report does not provide a Kribi-specific explanation for the decline. Two officials from the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK), contacted by Business in Cameroon, attributed longer vessel stays to congestion at the container terminal operated by Kribi Conteneurs Terminal (KCT).

The first official pointed to “idle time,” including waits before berthing, delayed starts to container handling and interruptions while vessels remain at berth. The official rejected equipment or skills shortages as the cause and said KCT’s cranes regularly reach or exceed 24 container moves per hour, a level described as an international benchmark.

The CPPI, however, publishes no data on crane productivity at Kribi that would independently verify that claim.

The second official cited the lack of an Inland Container Depot, or dry port. Such a facility would allow containers that remain beyond their free-storage period to be transferred away from the maritime terminal. According to the official, the project was already under consideration in 2021 based on traffic forecasts but did not materialize.

The official linked its absence to an eight-hectare expansion of the container yard launched in 2026 to provide additional storage capacity. The source also said the terminal reached “100% congestion” in 2025, without specifying whether that referred to yard occupancy, an annual average or a temporary peak. PAK publicly acknowledged operational difficulties, delays and bottlenecks reported by customs brokers on July 30, 2026, but provided no indicators on yard occupancy or vessel turnaround times.

Feeder Delays May Extend Container Storage

Port officials also point to increased transshipment traffic. Since Phase II officially entered service on May 9, 2025, Kribi has been able to accommodate vessels up to 400 meters long with capacity approaching 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

PAK valued the expansion at $793 million. It includes 715 meters of quay and a 51-hectare platform.

According to one official, at least one very large container ship now calls at Kribi each month and can unload several thousand containers for onward shipment to other ports in the subregion, including Douala. A CMA CGM service plan published in December 2025 confirms that Douala is served by feeder vessels on a route that calls at Kribi.

Shipping companies organize those feeder rotations. When a vessel scheduled to collect containers arrives several days or weeks late, cargo remains in the yard. Terminal teams must then move containers to free space before the next ship arrives. “No matter how productive your cranes are, it can be very difficult when you have a congested yard,” one source said.

That explanation is consistent with one of the mechanisms identified by the World Bank: saturated storage areas and poor coordination with hinterland networks can slow vessel handling. The CPPI score alone, however, does not establish that this is what happened at Kribi.

A fuller assessment would require monthly data on anchorage waiting times, berth inactivity, yard occupancy, container dwell times and feeder schedule reliability. Available information also does not specify the timeline for the planned dry port or when the additional eight hectares of container-yard capacity will enter service.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Dion Ngute reaffirms peace efforts amid fresh violence in Ambazonia

11, September 2026

Dion Ngute reaffirms peace efforts amid fresh violence in Ambazonia 0

Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restoring peace in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, where an armed separatist conflict has persisted since 2017.

“Every effort is being made to restore lasting peace to our regions,” Ngute said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday evening.

His remarks came a day after suspected separatist fighters ambushed and killed a police commissioner and kidnapped six teachers Tuesday in Wum, a town in the Northwest Region.

Ngute said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack and expressed solidarity with the affected communities.

Clashes have intensified in both regions since early September, after separatist fighters declared a weeklong lockdown aimed at disrupting the start of the new school year.

Religious and traditional leaders from the two regions submitted a peace roadmap document to the prime minister Tuesday outlining proposals to end the crisis.

Separatist groups have been fighting to create an independent state in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

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