Gunmen suspected to be separatists on Monday shot dead three officials, including a mayor, in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking region of Northwest, according to the army and officials.

Innocent Ngong — mayor of Belo council, one of his deputies, as well as Aaron Aghi Ngong — chief of basic education in Belo subdivision were ambushed and killed on their way to attend Cameroon’s National Day celebration in the subdivision, the region’s governor Adolphe Lele L’Afrique said.

“Measures have been taken to trace the authors of that killing and we will be informed on all the development concerning that situation,” L’Afrique told reporters in Bamenda, chief town of the region.

Cameroon celebrated the 52nd National Day on Monday but separatist fighters in the country’s Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest imposed lockdown to disrupt celebrations.

The regions have been ravaged by a prolonged armed separatist conflict after separatists declared the “independence” of the regions in 2017.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon marked on Monday the 52nd anniversary of its National Day with military and civilian parades nationwide.

In the capital Yaounde, Cameroonian President Paul Biya presided over the celebration that saw hundreds of soldiers and civilians march past in front of national and international dignitaries.

Marches took place in all the 10 regions of the country including war-torn Anglophone regions, where separatist fighters had imposed a lockdown to disrupt the celebrations.

May 20 is one of the most important days on the Cameroonian calendar. On this day in 1972, Cameroonians voted in a national referendum for a unitary state as opposed to a federal state which existed at the time. ■

Defense forces parade during the national day celebration in Yaounde, Cameroon, on May 20, 2024.

Defense forces parade during the national day celebration in Yaounde, Cameroon, on May 20, 2024.

Students parade during the national day celebration in Yaounde, Cameroon, on May 20, 2024.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya watches a civil parade during the national day celebration in Yaounde, Cameroon, on May 20, 2024. 

Culled from Xinhuanet

Suspected Ambazonia Restoration Forces have reportedly arrested two teachers on Tuesday in Ndu in the Northwest region, according to local and security sources.

The Amba fighters raided a school in Ndu town where primary school pupils were sitting for a public exam, a security source said.

“They started shooting indiscriminately in the air and dispelled the school children and kidnapped two teachers. One of the teachers was shot in the leg. The pupils had started the exams when the Restoration Forces arrived at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday,” the source said.  Soldiers deployed to Southern Cameroons by the regime in Yaounde were in pursuit of the Amba fighters.

Separatist fighters in Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest are known for regularly kidnapping teachers and students.

In 2019, they abducted 170 students and their teacher in Kumbo in the Northwest region. Since 2017, government forces and separatist fighters have clashed in the two regions, where separatists seek to create an independent nation.

By Fon Lawrence with additional reporting from Xinhunet

Augentic has agreed a deal with the government of Cameroon to produce a new generation biometric national ID card for the country under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement that will last a decade and a half.

A ceremony to put pen to paper on the deal took place in Yaounde May 13. Augentic CEO, Labinot Carreti, signed on behalf of the company, while the Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele, singed for the ID-issuing authority (DGSN).

In a chat with Biometric Update after the ceremony, Carreti said the official signing of the deal is the apotheosis and happy ending of a tender process which lasted over two years.

The German company was selected by an inter-ministerial committee set up for that purpose following a restricted international call to tender launched in December 2021.

The Augentic CEO said the project seeks to overhaul Cameroon’s ID card system, and ensure that ID cards are produced in 48 hours after the submission of an application. The first cards will be produced before the year runs out, he assures.

As part of the contract, a total of 68 new multi-functional structures will be built to facilitate the issuance of ID cards, including three ultra-modern ID production centers in the cities of Yaounde, Douala and Garoua, as well as enrollment centers in the regional and divisional headquarters.

About 219 existing ID card registration centers are also expected to be renovated by the firm, and new equipment and machines will be deployed in all the centers. The company says it is also discussing with the DGSN on a transition plan from the current generation of cards to the new ones.

The project will unfold in two phases for total funding of over €70 million (US$75 million), he says. The sum of €40 million (US$43 million) will be invested in the first phase to get the system running, while over €30 million (US$ 32 million) will be put in during the second phase which will basically be to renew the equipment and infrastructure and hand them over to the government of Cameroon once the ‘Operate’ component of the deal ends.

About security, the Augentic CEO said the ID card will have the highest security features in line with ICAO standards, and a special design that will be a first for Africa and the second in the world.

The deal, he adds, heralds an end to Cameroon’s national ID card woes. In the past years, obtaining an ID card in Cameroon has been a hellish experience with recurrent complaints of issuance delays and extortion.

Apart from national ID cards, Augentic is also required to produce biometric short stay permits, refugee cards, ID cards for DGSN personnel as well as disability cards.

This is the second identity document contract Augentic is securing from the Cameroon government. The company won a biometric passport contract in 2020 and has been producing the travel credential for the country since 2021 – a project that was successfully implemented in the heart of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now that security identification system contract has been signed, Carreti says various streams of work will go on simultaneously including the development and testing of the solution, producing the card specimen, construction of physical infrastructure, as well as putting in place other technical details to ensure the system goes live in the next few months.

Source: biometricupdate

Reprieve may be on the way for six Nigerian university lecturers and some other professionals seeking asylum, but arrested and currently serving life prison terms in Cameroon, as indications have emerged that the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions is set to begin full sitting on their petition before it.

The affected persons who after their alleged illegal deportation from Nigeria, and reportedly tried by a military tribunal in Cameroon and jailed.in the petition to Nigeria’s House of Representatives, called on the government of Nigeria to intervene to secure their immediate and unconditional release.

The committee, having invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other relevant respondents, has fixed Tuesday, May 14 to commence full sitting on the matter.

The petitioners had written to the House of Representatives, appealing for its intervention to assist in releasing them from Cameroon prison, where they have been detained since January 2018, describing their deportation as illegal and based on “frivolous allegations of plotting to destabilise the government of La Republique du Cameroon, LRC, President Mr. Paul Biya.”

According to them, two separate judgments in Nigeria had been in their favour in connection with the matter, but that despite the judgments by Nigerian courts, they were yet to be released and compensated financially in line with the courts judgments.

The petition was presented on their behalf by Prof. Carlson Anyangwe, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Fru Awah, Abdul Oroh and Mbinkar Singeh.

They prayed the House to among other things; “Cause the government of Nigeria to institute an urgent action to secure the implementation of Communication 59/2022 of October 14, 2022, of the UN-HRC-WGAD calling for the release of the petitioners; Cause the Government of Nigeria to take action and implement the rulings in the three judgments of the Federal High Court of Abuja in 2019, ordering the release and compensation of these petitioners.”

Source: Blueprint

Five Cameroonian soldiers were killed in an attack by Ambazonia fighters on Friday in Eyumock Sub Division in Manyu Southwest, according to security sources.

The Ambazonia fighters ambushed and attacked National Gendarmerie soldiers patrolling the locality of Eyumojock in the region, a senior security officer in the region to Cameroon Concord News.

Among those killed was the commander of the Francophone dominated gendarmerie brigade, and the Ambazonia fighters seized their weapons, the officer added.

Southern Cameroons leaders claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, saying that eight soldiers were killed during the raid.

Since 2017, government forces have been in conflict with separatist fighters in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest, where the separatists seek to establish a breakaway state.

By Kingsley Betek with files

Three separatist fighters, including a key commander, were killed when government forces struck their hideout on Sunday in Cameroon’s war-torn Anglophone region of Northwest, according to local and security sources.

The crackdown, as confirmed by a military official in the region who requested not to be named, was launched in the early hours of Sunday in the Ngoketunjia division of the region.

Among those killed was a key commander who referred to himself as “General Sagon.”

“General Sagon” was among the first to take up arms in 2017 to fight the government. In 2021, he was the second in command when separatist fighters ambushed and killed 15 soldiers in a single combat in Ngoketunjia division, according to security reports by local police.

An official in the region who asked not to be named said that his physical elimination is a “major” setback to the separatist insurgency in the region.

Fighting between government forces and separatist fighters has persisted in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017 when separatists attempted to establish an independent nation in these regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Cameroon has climbed eight spots to 130th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, according to the annual report released on Friday, May 3, by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Despite this improvement from its 138th position in the 2023 edition, RSF underscores that Cameroon remains one of Africa’s most perilous countries for journalists, despite the proliferation of media outlets, including over 600 newspapers, around 200 radio stations, and more than 60 television channels. The NGO points out that journalists operate in a hostile and uncertain environment.

RSF strongly criticizes the political pressures journalists face. The NGO states that journalists who adopt a critical and independent editorial stance are exposed to significant threats and pressures, particularly when the interests of those in power are involved. This situation is worsened by the head of state’s control over all institutions, promoting self-censorship and causing media alignment with the authorities or certain influential figures.

Journalists in Cameroon frequently encounter verbal and physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, detentions, gag orders, abductions, and risks of assassination. RSF specifically cites the tragic case of Martinez Zogo, the head of private radio station Amplitude FM, who was abducted, tortured, and found dead in January 2023. The NGO also expresses regret over the lack of decriminalization of press offenses on the agenda, as well as the absence of guarantees for access to information and source protection.

Moreover, RSF emphasizes the precarious conditions under which Cameroonian journalists, particularly those in private media, work, compromising their independence.

Each year, RSF publishes its World Press Freedom Index, evaluating the conditions under which journalism is practiced in 180 countries and territories. This year’s report reveals a significant drop in the political indicator, affecting even top-ranking countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. At the bottom of the ranking, countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea have seen their political index fall, replacing Asian nations such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea in their previous positions.

Source: sbbc

A scuffle ensued and blows were exchanged when thousands of university graduates in Cameroon swamped the University of Buea (UB) campus to apply for the French language proficiency test, Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF), a requirement to obtain a Canadian visa.

Canada has become a new destination for thousands of graduates from Cameroon, in particular, and Africa in general, following the 2022-24 Canadian government immigration plan that provides opportunities for skilled workers.

Apart from graduates seeking jobs, information from the Canadian immigration service also says international students are a top priority in the country’s new immigration targets, and the immigration streams that their applications feed into will contribute more than half of new permanent residents.

But, to benefit from these opportunities, applicants are supposed to show proof of mastery of the French language, according to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s 2024-25 Departmental Plan.

Information from the university language examination centres in Cameroon indicated that graduates and other applicants who are successful in the exams that will be written in May 2024, will be eligible to continue the processes to obtain visas.

Chaotic scenes

The UB authorities were ill-prepared to accommodate a crowd which, according to estimates, included up to 4,000 people.

“We were surprised by the huge crowd, because Buea University is just one of the [exam] centres. The other two include the French Institute in Douala, and Yaounde. You can just imagine the numbers at the other centres,” Professor Apuge Michael Etuge, the dean of the faculty of arts at UB, told University World News.

The registration process, the authorities say, requires applicants to register their names at the designated centres, thereby obtaining a code which they need to pay their registration fees of about XAF210,000 (about US$343) per person at the bank, before returning to the centres to deposit their receipts.

Following the unexpected crowd turnout, the process became rowdy, with applicants tussling for space to get served first.

“There was scrambling as a result of poor organisation by the school authorities. There was no security to control [the applicants] and restore some order,” Peter Ngole from the University of Bamenda, and one of the applicants, told University World News.

According to Etuge, the registration process was on a first-come, first-served basis, but some applicants wanted to outsmart their mates, which led to some disorder.

Cameroon higher education authorities condemned the chaotic scene, blaming it on poor organisation.

“The registration process in all state universities in Cameroon is done online. The organisers of this language exam should have followed the same procedure,” Higher Education Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo said over state radio in reaction to the incident.

However, the organisers of the language exam said the application process had no intermediaries to avoid the scamming of applicants that often characterised such examination procedures, a notice at the application centre noted.

Graduate unemployment

The scramble for this language test to obtain visas, academics say, shows the high rate of graduate unemployment in the country, which has increased during the past two years. As a result, many are seeking to leave Cameroon for greener pastures.

“When graduates can’t find jobs in their [home] country they are obliged to seek elsewhere. This is the same scenario all over Africa,” Professor Emmanuel Yenshu of UB’s department of sociology told University World News.

An estimated 23.6 million young Africans (aged 15-35), including graduates, are unemployed, with this figure projected to grow to 27 million by 2030. The need for jobs elsewhere is, therefore, critical, an article in The Conversation stated.

Canada as a study destination

Apart from graduates seeking jobs, information from the Canadian immigration service says international students are a top priority in the country’s new targets.

The report says Canada is seeing a surge of international student applications for higher education after a period of enrolment declines during the COVID pandemic, with a good number coming from Africa.

“Canada’s expanding immigration programme means more opportunities for international students in the country to remain after graduating from Canadian higher education institutions,” a December 2023 news release by the Canadian government stated.

“We recognise the significant social, cultural and economic benefits that international students bring to Canada, and for those benefits to continue, we must address challenges to the integrity of the International Student Program,” the release noted.

It recognises that international students “are talented, bright and deserving of a positive experience as they pursue their studies in Canada”.

Eight of Canada’s top-10 fastest-growing student populations are from African countries with Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Algeria among the top-10 on the list, according to a news report in Business Insider Africa.

This is despite the challenges – including racial prejudices – that students appear to face during their visa approval processes.

In the five years between 2018 and 30 April 2023, officials at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada reportedly rejected 59% of the visa applications from English-speaking Africans and 74% from French-speaking Africans seeking to study in Canada’s colleges and universities.

In 2022, the disapproval rates were ere 62% for applicants from English-speaking African countries and 66% for applicants from French-speaking African countries, University World News reported.

Apart from Canada, African students constituted nearly half of all foreign students in France in 2023, University World News reported on 25 April.

The report said, of that number, the Sub-Saharan African region led with 95,285 students, almost 24% of all the foreign students (412,087) in France. The 95,285 figure represented an increase of 34% over the past five years.

The reasons for the popularity of France among Africans seeking university education in Europe is attributable to a number of factors, including language and the search for quality education abroad, the report said.

Source: University World News