Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, was released from prison in Cameroon on June 21 after serving a three-month sentence for insulting a local governor. Moments after he stepped out of the prison he was rearrested on charges of disturbing public order, demonstration, and hate speech. Babadjo’s lawyer told Human Rights Watch that these charges are based on claims by the Cameroonian intelligence service that Babadjo’s supporters were planning to demonstrate to celebrate his release. 

Babadjo, a member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès), was first arrested on March 8 at his home in the city of N’Gaoundéré, in the region of Adamawa, after he criticized the region’s governor on a WhatsApp group. His friends and local human rights defenders told Human Rights Watch that the governor ordered his arrest.

That wasn’t Babadjo’s first run-in with authorities. In 2020, he was arrested for a song he released that criticized local officials. He is currently detained at the gendarmerie headquarters in N’Gaoundéré. On June 24, his lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition before the high court, which is expected to rule on the case on July 4. Babadjo, his relatives and friends said, has diabetes and requires specialized medical care.

“This latest arrest of Babadjo exemplifies the government’s repression towards opposition and dissenting voices,” said Aboubakary Siddiki, president of another opposition party in northern Cameroon, Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais. “The crackdown is increasing ahead of the 2025 vote as we see political meetings and political coalitions banned.”

Cameroonian authorities have cracked down on opposition and dissent for many years. In March, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, banned two opposition coalitions, the Political Alliance for Change (Alliance politique pour le changement), led by Jean-Michel Nintcheu, and the Political Alliance for Transition in Cameroon (Alliance politique pour la transition), led by Olivier Bile.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, 91, in power since 1982, is serving his seventh term. He was last re-elected in 2018 after a contested vote-counting process which sparked a wave of political repression and a lethal crackdown on peaceful protests.

That Babadjo was rearrested as he left prison underscores how the Cameroonian authorities are silencing freedom of expression in the country. Authorities should release Babadjo, drop the charges against him, and ensure he has access to adequate health care while in detention.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

The Francophone 92-year-old head of state is now receiving some form of hospice care at his palace in Mvomeka’a.

The aim of hospice care is to improve the lives of people who have an incurable illness.

To be accurate, Hospices provide care for people from the point at which their illness is diagnosed as terminal to the end of their life, however long that may be.

Biya’s daughter Brenda reportedly flew to Cameroon recently on a private jet to see him.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources hinted this reporter that it is strictly forbidden to share any update on the president’s health and government officials in Yaoundé have simply been told to always say that President Biya is doing ok.

However, a well-placed CPDM official contacted by our Yaoundé City reporter on Sunday said President Biya’s days on earth are now numbered.  “Biya is coming to the end that, as I told you some weeks before, he is presently on that journey that you only can live at the very end.”

Biya finally entered hospice care after the fifty second edition of the so called national day of Cameroon was celebrated on 20th May 2024.  He made a rare public appearance to attend the reception at Etoudi supported by two of his aides and appeared frail.

We understand the ruling CPDM party is preparing to announce his candidature for the 2025 presidential election.

“Biya is not going to miss an election!” a source at the Prime Minister’s Office told this reporter. “2025 is very important to Biya. I mean, that’s the person he is” our source concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Three people were killed after an improvised explosive device went off along the Bali-Batibo road in the Northwest, witnesses and local police said on Thursday.

Police told the local media that the blast occurred late Wednesday when a vehicle carrying passengers stepped on the device, which was planted along the road to target soldiers who regularly patrol the region.

The victims, according to witnesses, were three local civilians who were returning from a market.

Police said they believe the incident was set up by armed Ambazonia fighters, who have been operating in the region since 2017.

Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces want to secede from the largely French-speaking Cameroon and create an independent nation in the English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest.

By Fon Lawrence with files

Illicit drug usage in Cameroon has been on the rise for many years, but the use of hard drugs in Kumba is alarming and many youths find it pleasurable to get involved in the use of these drugs which are ruining many lives in Kumba.

Not long ago, some residents, especially women and mothers in Hausa quarter, a neighbourhood in Kumba lll Sub-division, took to the streets to protest against hard drugs which have turned their children into addicts.

To show their seriousness, the angry protesters carried placards denouncing the sale and use of these hard substances in the area, going to the hideouts of those who supply them to the youths.

In their determination to call them to order, the angry women destroyed two locally constructed thatched houses which were considered as the trading floor between the drug suppliers and the addicts.

“Our children are in very bad shape because of these drugs. They steal our money at home just to buy these drugs which make them recalcitrant. They do not assist us with house chores,” one of the women said.

“My son does nothing at home. Sometimes, he doesn’t sleep at home. He only comes when he needs food or a change of clothes. These men selling to them are destroying our children. We had issued a warning before but they did not listen,” another protester highlighted.

Since the neighbourhood is sparsely populated, it was easier for the perpetrators to be fished out from their hideouts.

According to reliable sources, the men who sell to those addicts are making a fortune out of our children, while destroying them, reasons why the angry population took upon themselves to address the issue.

By Cecilia M. Manjang

At least five people were killed and 25 others injured in a road accident in the West region, according to police and medical authorities.

The tragedy occurred Tuesday evening after the brake of a passenger bus failed as it was descending a steep hill at La Falaise locality in Dschang town of the region, local police said.

The victims included children, teenagers and women, according to Regional Hospital Annex of Dschang, where the injured were treated.

The children were mostly students who had finished the semester and were travelling to spend holidays in other parts of the country, police said.

Some 1,500 people die in road accidents each year in the central African nation, according to estimates by the Ministry of Transport.

In early June, Cameroon launched a campaign initiating tough road safety measures, including the deployment of additional traffic officers, in a bid to curb rising road accidents in the country.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon’s Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Joseph Lé, has recently authorized a series of recruitment competitions for the public sector. A total of 1,210 positions are available for 2024, marking a nearly 50% decline from the 2,235 positions opened in 2023. This reduction comes after the number of openings surpassed 2,000 for the first time since 2021.

“This adjustment reflects specific personnel needs expressed by administrations in line with their organizational frameworks, aligned with the objectives of the National Development Strategy (SND30),” explained Minister Joseph Lé during a press conference held on June 21, 2023, in Yaoundé.

Since 2021, the government has been tightening public sector recruitment to control the state’s unsustainable wage bill. From 2012 to 2021, the payroll ballooned from CFA706.1 billion to CFA1,080.1 billion, according to Ministry of Finance data. In the 2024 budget, under review by parliamentarians, it is expected to reach around CFA1,500 billion.

To curb the growth of this wage bill, the number of recruits into the Cameroonian public sector dropped sharply from 5,411 and 5,179 positions in 2019 and 2018 respectively, to just 1,536 in 2021.

Source: Business in Cameroon

At least one Cameroonian soldier was killed and four others were injured after terrorist group Boko Haram attacked a military outpost in the country’s Far North region, local and security sources said on Friday.

The attack occurred overnight into Friday in Tourou locality. The militants ambushed gendarmerie officers at the outpost, leading to a confrontation with government forces. However, the terrorists managed to burn four motorcycles and an ambulance, as well as steal weapons and ammunition, a military official in the region said on condition of anonymity.

The injured soldiers are currently receiving treatment at a local hospital, and additional troops have been deployed to the area for a manhunt.

Boko Haram has been active in the Far North region of Cameroon since 2014, and they continue to pose a threat by launching ambushes against both soldiers and civilians.

Source: Xinhuanet

President Paul Biya has authorized a legal procedure to involve the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the Glencore corruption case, local media outlet Eco Matin reported on June 14, 2024. A source at the Ministry of Finance confirmed the report but provided no further details.

The specifics of the request authorized by Biya remain unclear. However, the case, which was previously settled with the SFO in May 2022, saw the Swiss commodities trader Glencore plead guilty and agree to a nearly $400 million fine. Overall, Glencore committed to paying $1.5 billion to the governments of the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

Moreover, Glencore agreed to various penalties in Switzerland and the Democratic Republic of Congo, totaling over $210 million. In Cameroon, the case drew significant media attention, with the National Anti-Corruption Commission closely monitoring developments.

The National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH), managing oil on behalf of Cameroon, stated in May 2022 that it did not recognize the allegations and had contacted US and UK authorities to understand the basis of these claims.

Glencore admitted that between 2006 and 2014, one of its subsidiaries used $21 million, at least in part, to bribe Cameroonian government officials in oil transactions involving public or semi-public entities, namely SNH and SONARA. The company acknowledged making a $67 million profit from these illicit transactions. Details on how the case has progressed within Cameroon’s justice system are scant. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC) claimed to be handling the matter, and the Special Criminal Court, responsible for corruption and embezzlement cases involving public officials, was involved, but no public updates have been provided.

Between March 2017 and June 2019, Glencore purchased 8.1 million barrels of oil from Cameroon, according to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. In 2021, the company bought 137,808 barrels.

It remains uncertain whether President Biya’s decision aims to identify internal culprits or further investigate the extent of corruption beyond the periods acknowledged by Glencore. Future developments will shed more light on the case.

Source: ecofinagency

At least five children have died in Cameroon’s Far North region following heavy rains and flood that struck Diamare division of the region, according to local authorities.

“The return of the rains has just caused in the space of 48 hours five deaths by drowning of children ranging in age from seven to 12 years old,” Jean-Marc Ekoa Mbarga, prefect of Diamare division, said in a statement late Thursday.

“This particularly lamentable and embarrassing situation requires of parents and the entire social strata an imperative awareness,” Mbarga said in the statement, urging parents to check and control the movement of their children as the rains persist.

Cameroon’s meteorological center has warned of “continuing turbulent weather,” saying that heavy rains with high winds may continue to hit the region where torrential rains have caused devastating consequences in the past.

Source: Xinhuanet