28, February 2018
Yaounde: Issa Tchiroma arrest in the offing 1
Cameroon’s minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma, is very likely to be arrested one of these days. The government spokesperson who has been a mouthpiece for Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, is facing a long jail time as his name has appeared among those who are being accused of embezzling funds and misusing fuel coupons at the Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation (CRTV).
Mr. Tchiroma has been singing the president’s praises for years in the pious hope that he will not be brought to book in case he finds himself in tough situations in the country. But as the trial of former CRTV General Manager, Amadou Vamoulke, drags on, more suspects are being roped in. Mr. Vamoulke has decided that he will not go down alone. He has therefore provided a long list of people who willingly participated in the looting of state funds.
Early this week, some seven CRTV staff were dragged to the Yaounde maximum security prison where they are expected to answer for their role in the misappropriation of CRTV funds and misuse of fuel coupons in the coming months. Mr. Tchiroma’s name has popped up and this has left the government spokesman with lots of butterflies in his stomach.
It is alleged that most of the fuel coupons were issued to friends and girlfriends of CRTV staff. It is also alleged that Mr. Tchiroma handed a huge chunk of these coupons to his harem of women who have done a good job of misusing them.
It should be noted that as the country’s minister of communications, Mr. Tchiroma is the CRTV Board chairman and he surely has a few questions to answer about the missing money and millions of dollars in fuel coupons alleged to be misused.
The 70-year-old Tchiroma has once spent 8 years in jail for his role in the April 1984 coup d’état that almost toppled Mr. Biya. But the news that he will soon be back in the dock and possibly back to jail has triggered an illness that may result in Mr. Tchiroma’ s evacuation abroad for medical treatment.
While arrangements for his evacuation are under way, the government is making sure that Mr. Tchiroma does not flee while on medical evacuation like the former Minister of Agriculture who is currently living in the Washington DC area after pretending that he was dying of an unknown ailment. He used his medical evacuation to escape the grip of the “lion-man” who was determined to hand him a long jail term for embezzlement.
It should be noted that Mr. Tchiroma, Laurent Esso and Fame Ndongo, are the ministers who have caused the Southern Cameroons crisis to escalate and it has gotten to levels that are today almost impossible to address as Southern Cameroons separatists are fighting hard to restore their independence.
Over the last two months, the crisis has led to the killing of over 500 civilians and more than 300 soldiers. The government of Cameroon has however been seeking to hide the truth from the public. It holds that if the Francophone majority gets wind of the number of army soldiers killed, it might also rebel against a government that has turned down all appeals for a peaceful and negotiated settlement.
However, relatives of Francophone soldiers killed in the jungles of the North West and South West regions have begun calling for a release of a comprehensive list of soldiers who have lost their lives as a result of the crisis.
While the government is still dragging its feet on this, some private individuals are already working hard to get information from bereaved families in order to come up with a comprehensive list.
Sources close to the country’s ministry of defense have revealed that the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assoumo, is totally against the publication of such a list and he is working hard to block any efforts that might lead to the publication of such a list.
But the authors of the list, who have elected anonymity, have hinted the Cameroon Concord News Group that they will spring surprises just to prove to the government that it is hard to hide the truth in today’s world where social media and android technology are making it easy to lay hands on any information.
Meanwhile, as Cameroonians look forward to seeing Mr. Tchiroma in the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaounde where his former cabinet colleagues have taken up residence for some time now, the Southern Cameroons crisis that has put Cameroon in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons is gradually spiraling out of control. Over the last weeks, Southern Cameroonian fighters have changed their strategy from killing soldiers and gendarmes to kidnapping senior administrative officers, in the hope that they will create a huge impact on a government that is noted for its do-nothing attitude.
Over the last two weeks, the Batibo Divisional Officer and Social Affairs delegate have been kidnapped and taken to the jungle where they are living wild and rough. In Manyu Division, senior CPDM officers have had to face the wrath of Southern Cameroonian fighters. A senior official of the CPDM in the Upper Bayang Sub-division was visited and his car was burnt.
Similarly, many local chiefs in Manyu and Ndian Divisions are on the run as the people have resorted to attacking them. They are accused of being government pawns and have collaborated with the corrupt Yaounde government to rob the people of their freedom and wealth. This series of events is not only frustrating to many families, especially those of the kidnapped administrative officers, but also to the government which has been unable to put the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters out of business.
Today, many administrative officers in Southern Cameroons are living in fear. Ambazonian Tigers have struck fear into them and many are not living a normal life as they are permanently looking over their shoulders. Regardless of the heavy presence of troops in Southern Cameroons, most administrative officers hold that the government can never provide them with the type of security they need to operate normally. Besides, they understand that corruption, divisions and frustration are making it hard for the country’s defense forces to effectively play their role.
Within the military, there are different schools of thought regarding how the Southern Cameroons crisis should be addressed and this is making it hard for the government to beat a more determined Southern Cameroons army that has proven that it can punch well above its class.
These divisions and frustrations in the military can be seen in an anonymous letter written to the president by some disappointed soldiers about issues facing current efforts to roll back Southern Cameroons fighters who have been making huge gains in the North West and South West regions.
“We are advising you that there is disorder and non-compliance with the instructions given by the field operations hierarchy in the two regions in crisis. The decisions taken by the higher military hierarchy are not implemented by those expected to implement them in the field, especially in the Southwest region where the instructions of General Sali are not respected by the commander of operations, Colonel Ousmanou, who by flouting these instructions, is putting our forces at risk where they are killed by the separatists. This way of acting has already encouraged or facilitated the secessionists to kill some of our troops and seize our equipment (weapons and ammunition). During meetings of the General Staff chaired by the Manyu Divisional Officer, Colonel Ousmanou is always against everyone, sometimes urging the prosecutor of the republic to support ideas relating to the respect of human rights. He declares that the President of the Republic and his government in Yaoundé must find a political and non-military solution to this crisis and that he will never accept that a man under his command use his weapon against anyone,” the memo said.
The memo adds that “Other senior officers are engaged in maintaining and protecting the underground economy that sustains and supports the enemy camp. Colonels Ntsama and Ngongang are engaged in despicable acts that do not honor our military. They are involved in the breaking of shops in Ekok, and other localities of Manyu, carting with them freezers, money and other property. Any questions from a subordinate in this regard always result in the subordinate’s redeployment further into the zone or he is given a harsh punishment.”
This does not only reveal that there are cracks on Mr. Biya’s wall. It is also a clear demonstration that the Southern Cameroons crisis is causing the government to implode. Southern Cameroonians have succeeded to split the military and even the ruling party is gradually falling apart. Their corrupt practices are being exposed by some of theirs who have elected anonymity. The huge pain and death left by Ambazonian fighters’ attacks on the country’s military are gradually splitting the Francophone population that was for a long time indifferent to what was happening in Southern Cameroons.
Over the last three months, Southern Cameroonian fighters have been giving the country a good run for its money and this has given the government a black eye. The government, which has refused all appeals for dialogue, has seen its reputation eroded, and this is making many analysts to hold that the government will come back on its word. The government had already branded Southern Cameroonian restorationists as terrorists and based on the declarations of fascists elements within the regime, the government will never negotiate with those it considers as terrorists.
This new strategy of kidnapping senior administrative officials is designed to put an enormous amount of pressure on the aging and ailing government for it to release Southern Cameroonian leaders who had been abducted and extradited to Cameroon where they have been held incommunicado for almost two months. The extradition has angered many Southern Cameroonians, especially the fighters.
Currently, Southern Cameroonian fighters hold that the more administrative officials they hold, the greater their chances to get their leaders released. They have therefore sent word all over the place that any administrative officer operating in Southern Cameroons is a target. There are even prices on the heads of some administrative officers such the governor of the Southwest region, Okala Bilai, who has been judged in absentia by the Southern Cameroons people’s court and has been sentenced to death.
It is being secretly said that anyone who kills the southwest governor will be given about US$20,000. He is being charged with describing Southern Cameroonians as dogs and Ambazonians Tigers have clearly stated that such a crime must be punished, and death is a befitting punishment for the crime.
Another administrative officer who is in the cross-hairs of the Ambazonian Tigers is the Manyu Senior Divisional Officer who had issued a press release that caused many residents of Manyu to quit their homes to seek refuge in neighboring Nigeria which is playing host today to over 50,000 Cameroonian refugees.
Fear has gripped the entire Southern Cameroons and the country’s leaders in Yaounde are losing sleep. This new atmosphere has been captured in a press release issued by the Manager of the South West Regional Station of the CRTV which drew the government’s attention to a possible takeover of Buea, the Southern Cameroons capital, by Ambazonian fighters.
By Besong Esther Agbor
1, March 2018
Battle for Ambazonia: Arsonists Visit SDF Chairman Ni Fru Ndi 0
The home of the chairman of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in Bamenda was last night attacked by arsonists. Mr. Fru Ndi has, for a long time now, been a victim of threats from unknown persons who accuse him of playing ball with the Yaounde government.
The fire, which started around the kitchen area of Mr. Fru Ndi’s home in Bamenda, was swiftly put out by firefighters with the help of neighbors.
Over the last week, threats against the SDF Chairman have increased. He is also being accused of complicity with the ruling CPDM by accepting to hold his party’s congress at the Bamenda Congress Hall.
Opponents and adversaries of the chairman indicate that by accepting to hold the SDF congress in a hall offered by the ruling party (CPDM), Mr. Fru Ndi was leading his party into an unholy political marriage with the ruling party which is widely considered as a crime syndicate in Cameroon.
Similarly, Anglophone separatists operating in Southern Cameroons had also threatened to disrupt the SDF Congress following criticisms by the SDF Chairman of the Southern Cameroons struggle for independence.
It was alleged that Mr. Fru Ndi had called the President of the Republic of Ambazonia, Julius Ayuk Tabe, and his government that had been arrested in Nigeria on January 5, 2018, and illegally extradited to Cameroon in late January terrorists.
Mr. Fru Ndi’s comments had angered many Southern Cameroonians who think a complete restoration of independence to the former British trust territory will be the only way for English-speaking Cameroonians to escape the marginalization they have experienced for 56 years.
The Southern Cameroons armed groups which have been carrying out retaliatory attacks on soldiers and kidnapping senior administrative officers in the region, have always held that they must punish Mr. Fru Ndi whom they accuse of having political intercourse with the Yaoundé government.
To ensure that the congress actually took place as scheduled, the Yaounde government provided top security to Mr. Fru Ndi, a situation that further fueled rumor that he was collaborating with Mr. Biya. Even the location of the event was heavily guarded, as the armed groups were determined to wreak havoc.
Similarly, due to threats, the SDF congress location had been changed as the owners of the first location were scared that their property could be burnt down or destroyed.
It should be recalled that the SDF had on many occasions tried to bring the Southern Cameroons crisis to the floor of the National Assembly, but was repeatedly blocked by the ruling party whose Members of Parliament have never seen anything wrong with the way their government has handled the crisis which has become today a civil war wherein more than 300 army soldiers have been killed and over 500 civilians have been murdered by the Cameroonian army.
The army has also rendered many people in the southwest region homeless by burning their homes as a retaliation against the population each time it is alleged that a soldier has been killed.
In the South West region, towns like Kwakwa have simply been erased from the map following the burning of the entire town by army soldiers, and in Mbonge, the town has become a ghost town as many residents have simply fled following the killing of a gendarme officer in January.
In Kembong, in Manyu Division where many gendarme officers have been sent to an early grave, many young men have fled the town, with a majority now seeking refuge in Ossing, a small city some 15 km from the Manyu Divisional headquarters of Mamfe.
The violence in the English-speaking regions has escalated over the last two months and armed groups operating in the region have made their impact felt. They have been issuing threats and many analysts have been advising that their threat should be taken seriously.
It should be recalled that in mid-February, the Batibo Divisional Officer was kidnapped and taken into a thick forest and attempts by government officials to locate him have been futile. Not even his body has been located even when there was rumor that he had been killed.
For now, it is believed that he is being held by Anglophone separatists who are seeking to restore their independence from the Republic of Cameroon. A few days after the disappearance of the Divisional Officer, the Social Affairs delegate was also kidnapped and his is living rough and wild just like the divisional officer.
It is worth mentioning that the SDF is in favor of a federal system in Cameroon and the party chairman and its presidential candidate for the upcoming presidential election, Joshua Osih, have thrown their support behind a federal system that will empower the people and make them masters of their own destiny.
It should also be noted that the SDF has always chided the government for mismanaging the Anglophone problem that has unfortunately metamorphosed into a crisis that has resulted in hundreds of deaths.
It should be recalled that Mr. Tchiroma, Laurent Esso and Fame Ndongo, are the ministers who have caused the Southern Cameroons crisis to escalate. Today, it has gotten to levels that are almost impossible to address as Southern Cameroons separatists are determined to restore their independence.
Meanwhile, it is being reported that Cameroon’s minister of communication, Issa Tchiroma, will very likely be arrested soon following his role in the mismanagement and misappropriation of state funds.
The government spokesperson, who has been a mouthpiece for Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, is facing a long jail term as his name has appeared among those who are being accused of embezzling funds and misusing fuel coupons at the Cameroon Radio and Television Corporation (CRTV).
Mr. Tchiroma has been singing the president’s praises for years in the pious belief that he will not be brought to book in case he finds himself in dire legal straits. But as the trial of former CRTV General Manager, Amadou Vamoulke, drags on, more suspects are being roped in. Mr. Vamoulke has decided that he will not go down alone. He has therefore provided a long list of people who willingly participated in the looting of state funds at the CRTV.
Early this week, some seven CRTV staff were dragged to the Yaounde maximum security prison where they are expected to answer for their role in the misappropriation of CRTV funds and misuse of fuel coupons in the coming months. Mr. Tchiroma’s name has popped up and this has left the government spokesman with lots of butterflies in his stomach.
It is alleged that most of the fuel coupons were issued to friends and girlfriends of CRTV staff. It is also alleged that Mr. Tchiroma handed a huge chunk of these coupons to his harem of women who have done a good job of misusing them.
It should be noted that as the country’s minister of communications, Mr. Tchiroma is the CRTV Board chairman and he surely has a few questions to answer about the missing money and millions of dollars in fuel coupons alleged to be misused.
The 70-year-old Tchiroma has once spent 8 years in jail for his role in the April 1984 coup d’état that almost toppled Mr. Biya. But the news that he will soon be back in the dock and possibly back to jail has triggered an illness that may result in Mr. Tchiroma’ s evacuation abroad for medical treatment.
While arrangements for his evacuation are under way, the government is making sure that Mr. Tchiroma does not flee while on medical evacuation like the former Minister of Agriculture who is currently living in the Washington DC area after pretending that he was dying of an unknown ailment. He used his medical evacuation to escape the grip of the “lion-man” who was determined to hand him a long jail term for embezzlement.
By Kingsley Betek and Fosuh Tamajung in Bamenda