News

4, June 2020

CPJ asks Cameroonian govt to account for arrested journalist ⁰

Cameroonian authorities must immediately disclose the whereabouts and the health and legal status of imprisoned journalist Samuel Wazizi, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

“Samuel Wazizi’s friends, family, colleagues, and lawyers have unsuccessfully sought answers about his arrest from the Cameroonian government for far too long,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. “We are extremely disturbed by recent reports of the journalist’s death in government custody, and demand that authorities immediately and publicly account for his status.”

News reports and a tweet by Denis Nkwebo, the president of the Cameroon Trade Union of Journalists, published yesterday and today, allege that Wazizi died at a military hospital at an unspecified date after being tortured by security forces.

The Cameroonian government has not commented on those reports. CPJ called and texted representatives of Cameroon’s Justice Ministry, Communications Ministry, and prime minister’s office for comment, but did not receive any replies.

Wazizi, whose legal name is Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, was arrested on August 2, 2019, was transferred to military custody on August 7, and has not been seen since, according to CPJ research. Until his arrest, he worked as an anchor for privately owned broadcaster Chillen Muzik and TV.

Source: Premium Times Ng

4, June 2020

Cameroonians, Nigerians clash ‘over beer price’ in Dubai ⁰

Two persons were feared dead when groups of Cameroonian and Nigerian traders clashed in Deira, Dubai this week, a witness told The Guardian on Tuesday.

The two persons killed were Cameroonians, two witnesses said in separate voice notes the witness sent to our correspondent.

A video the witness sent showed a man suspected to be Nigerian bleeding profusely from his head.

The fight broke after Cameroonian traders accused Nigerians of selling beers at cheaper rates, thereby drawing more customers to their stores.

“Nigerians are selling beer at a cheaper price than they do,” one person familiar with the crisis said in one of the voice notes. “That was the cause of the serious crisis, although they said the situation is under control. People are still fighting in other places.”

The chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission Abike Dabiri-Erew did not respond to the SMS sent to her phone on Tuesday evening.

Cameroon News Agency, however, reported that the fight broke after Nigerians attacked a Cameroonian trader identified as Tasso. It said both communities have been having a cold war in a place where they both sell beverages.

“Last night after beating Tasso to near death, about 10 Cameroonians stormed the streets looking for their aggressors. One person was seriously beaten as others escaped,” the Douala-based news website said in a post on its Facebook page.

“Police in Dubai have been notified but the situation remains tense.”

A Nigerian said indiscriminate arrest by the police has not helped to douse the tension.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with the head of the police. We are complaining about the situation of things, they’re doing a different thing,” he said.

An email sent to the Dubai Police on Tuesday night was not immediately replied.

Source: The Guardian

4, June 2020

Yaounde silent on reports that detained journalist died in military custody ⁰

Journalists and activists in Cameroon are calling on the government to respond to media reports this week that the military has killed in detention journalist Samuel Wazizi. The military detained Wazizi about a year ago for allegedly supporting anglophone separatists and he has not been seen in public since.

Lawyer and rights defender Christopher Ndong says he has reliable information that Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi died in a military hospital in Yaoundé of wounds inflicted on him by the military.

“The brutal torture that was exerted on Wazizi by military officers is a condemnable act,” said Ndong. “He was arrested and badly tortured and when he fell ill, they took him to a military hospital in Yaoundé, where he finally died. And so, we are asking for an independent investigation to detect all the culprits so that they should be brought to book and punished.”

Ndong says does not know when Wazizi died but most local media have this week been reporting his death as confirmed and that military officials are refusing to release his body.

Cameroonian activists and journalists are calling on the government to respond to the reports and explain the circumstances, if Wazizi is in fact dead.

Ambe Macmillan Awah is president of Cameroon’s Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ).

He says Wazizi’s death in prison would prove how officials continue to abuse the media.

“Cameroon is a state of law and our laws provide for journalists to be tried. So, we keep asking, why was the law not applied? We are calling on the competent authorities to investigate and bring all the perpetrators to book,” said Awah. “Nobody is above the law.”

Samuel Wazizi, whose legal name is Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, worked for Chillen Music Television.

Police arrested Wazizi last August for allegedly supporting anglophone separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions and turned him over to the military. He hasn’t been seen since. The military claims Wazizi was hosting rebels on his farm.

After Wazizi’s disappearance, authorities threatened to go after any journalists reporting on alleged military abuses or giving a voice to the rebels.

Yaoundé-based freelance journalist Ndi Eugene Ndi says it is becoming impossible to report in Cameroon’s English-speaking west regions under such pressure.

“If you do a report which seems like giving some little credit to the separatists, you should be sure of meeting a military court,” said Ndi. “It is not easy. We are not safe.”

Cameroon’s Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) says Wazizi was being held in a prison in the capital, Yaounde.

Both a military spokesman and a government spokesman refused to comment on Wazizi and the reports of his death.

Source: VOA

3, June 2020

Ambazonia Interim Government weighs in on Samuel Wazizi affair ⁰

Interim Government of Ambazonia Statement on Samuel Wazizi

On the 2^nd of August 2019, Samuel Wazizi, a Southern Cameroons journalist with CMTV, was abducted by police in Buea, Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia). He was handed over to the French Cameroun military five days later. Since then, his family and lawyers have not been granted access to him nor has any information about his whereabouts been made public. Several attempts by his lawyers and international organisations to make contact were declined. He was not charged for any crime or brought before any competent law court.

Yesterday, the Interim Government of Ambazonia was informed that he has been murdered in custody. This, we find unacceptable and a flagrant disregard of international law, norms and conventions. The deliberate attack on journalists and the press as a mechanism to prevent the dissemination of information by the regime in Yaoundé is unacceptable and unlawful. The French Cameroun authorities must be cognizant of their international obligations to protect the rights of journalists and civilians without prejudice.

French Cameroun has rapidly earned an unenviable reputation as one of the worst countries in the world on press freedom. The international community must act now.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia is hereby calling on the government La Republique du Cameroun to make public vital information on the whereabouts of Mr Samuel Wazizi without any further delay.

Sincerely,

DabneyYerima

Vice President, The Federal Republic of Ambazonia

The United Nations

USA State Department

The African Union

The EU Commission

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland

3, June 2020

COVID-19 aggravates Southern Cameroons Crisis ⁰

Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s northwest region, has been at the heart of a three-year conflict between Cameroon government troops and armed groups that are fighting to create a state they call Ambazonia.

Frequent gun battles, lockdowns, road blocks and now the COVID-19 pandemic have made life difficult for the majority English-speaking population. The Anglophone crisis and the coronavirus pandemic have two things in common: lockdowns, hospitalizations and an ever-increasing number of deaths.

The Anglophone crisis has been raging for four years with no end in sight

Scot, a resident in Bamenda said at least with the Anglophone crisis, one knows how to respect some rules like getting home early and avoiding no go areas.

“But for coronavirus, the risk is just so high. You might get into a public space and contract the disease,” Scot, who did not wish to give his second name for fear of reprisal, told DW.

“For the crisis, you know that there are some places that you are not supposed to go and certain things to do and not to do to avoid getting into trouble.”

One treatment center

The region is experiencing a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. Health officials are warning that if people do not observe preventive measures — such as washing of hands, wearing masks and maintaining physical distance — the number of infections could rise further. Cameroon now has more than 6,300 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Nearly 200 have lost their lives.

The northwest region’s only COVID-19 treatment center is housed in a government-run hospital. It has a pre-isolation ward, quarantine center, diagnostic laboratory and other facilities for people infected with the coronavirus. Bamenda, Cameroon’s third-largest city, has more than 500,000 inhabitants.

“Since we have more intense cases which are moderate or severe, the doctors see patients as often as need be,” Mercy Fundoh, head of the solidarity ward, told DW. “We try to do a clinical evaluation of these intense cases at least on a daily basis and sometimes twice a day.”

Patient care

As the health of the patients improves, they are transferred to the isolation center where they complete treatment and their number of days of isolation before they are retested.

According to Denis Same, the hospital director, a suspected case of COVID-19 is directed to the pre-isolation ward for investigation and sample collection. “If it is positive then you are taken to the solidarity ward or Azam Hotel meant for those who are asymptomatic, meaning that they do not have or have mild symptoms,” Same told DW.

Coronavirus, an extra burden

Before the coronavirus, Cameroon’s three-year Anglophone crisis had already made life difficult for people. Roadblocks, set up by separatist fighters, often block transport five days a week. They restrict movement between divisions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“We are faced with two monsters, the Anglophone crisis and coronavirus as we try to avoid those who call the shots, military or separatists,” Thomas Mokum, another resident said.

“For coronavirus, somebody like myself without a job, I put food on the table with the menial things I do around. If you are to respect the social distancing, if you quarantine yourself, if you stay at home, if you do not go out to make money. This is how the two monsters affect my family.”

Battling the coronavirus while trying to stay alive in a conflict zone may result in the people of northwest Cameroon becoming simply too desperate to care about health and safety measures. That could make the grim situation even worse.

Culled from DW

3, June 2020

US embassy says Cameroon COVID-19 Cases Still on the Rise ⁰

The U.S. Embassy informs U.S. citizens that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Cameroon continues to rise. According to Johns Hopkins University, there are 5,904 confirmed cases and 191 deaths as of June 1, 2020.

Although some restrictions have been lifted to alleviate economic hardship, the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health reminded all residents on May 31 to redouble efforts to practice good hygiene, maintain physical distancing, only leave home when necessary, and always wear a mask in public.

Culled from the US Embassy Yaounde

3, June 2020

Southern Cameroons War: 5 Cameroon gov’t soldiers killed in Manyu County ⁰

Five Cameroon government army soldiers were killed on Monday in an attack reportedly staged by Ambazonia Restoration Forces, Cameroon Intelligence Report has gathered from defense sources in Yaounde.

The ambush occurred in Otu village in Eyumojock Sub constituency bordering the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A senior Cameroon army Commander was quoted as saying that the remains of the soldiers have been recovered.

The soldiers were deployed to Otu to provide security during a football match organized by pro French Cameroun ruling CPDM barons of the area to ascertain the return to normalcy in the locality that has been controlled by the Ambazonia Self Defense Forces since 2018.

Several other soldiers were wounded in the attack. The victims are currently receiving treatment at a military facility in Mamfe.

As usual, the corrupt separatist leader Ayaba Cho immediately claimed responsibility for the attack he knew nothing about on social media.

Government forces and armed Ambazonia Self Defense Gropus have been clashing since 2017 in Southern Cameroons where Ambazonians have established an independent nation known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

By Fon Lawrence in Mamfe

2, June 2020

UN chief urges investigation into police violence against US protesters ⁰

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged restraint by US authorities toward protesters and called for probe into allegations of police violence, his spokesperson said Monday.

Protests should remain peaceful, while “authorities must show restraint in responding to demonstrators in US as in any other country in the world,” Guterres believes, according to spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

“We have seen over the last few days cases of police violence,” Dujarric told reporters at the United Nations in New York, where protests have been held every night since Wednesday over the death of an African American, George Floyd, in police hands last week in Minneapolis.

“All cases obviously need to be investigated. Police forces around the world need to have adequate human rights training,” he told reporters.

Floyd’s death on May 25 in Minneapolis has reignited protests across the US that have flared repeatedly in recent years over police killings of black Americans.

Dujarric said that Gutteres is also concerned about police attacks on journalists during the protests which have hit dozens of US cities, in many cases turning violent and resulting in arson and looting.

“When journalists are attacked, societies are attacked. No democracy can function without press freedom,” he said.

In recent days, many journalists have had tense encounters with the police during the nationwide demonstrations against racism and police brutality.

Linda Tirado, a freelance photographer, activist and author, was shot in the left eye Friday while covering the street protests in Minneapolis.

Minnesota State Patrol officers arrested a CNN reporting team live on the air on Friday. That same day, a TV reporter in Louisville, Ky., was hit by a pepper ball by an officer who appeared to be aiming at her while she covered the protest on live television.

The arrest of the CNN team drew criticism from First Amendment advocates and an apology from Minnesota’s governor, but there have been dozens of other instances of journalists receiving rough treatment at the hands of police officers while covering the protests. In interviews, reporters said they had identified themselves as members of the press before police fired projectiles, drew their weapons or pepper-sprayed them.

Many reporters, photographers and press advocates said the treatment of journalists by police officers in recent days reflected an erosion of trust in the news media that has seeped into law enforcement under President Trump, who has deemed critical coverage of his administration “fake news” and has frequently labeled some news organizations and journalists with variants of the phrase “enemies of the people.”

Source: Presstv

2, June 2020

Wuhan doctor at whistleblower’s hospital dies from coronavirus ⁰

A Wuhan doctor who worked with coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang died of the virus last week, state media reported Tuesday, becoming China’s first COVID-19 fatality in weeks.

Hu Weifeng, a urologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, died on Friday after being treated for COVID-19 and allied issues for more than four months, state broadcaster CCTV said.

He is the sixth doctor from Wuhan Central Hospital to have died from the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city late last year.

Cases have dwindled dramatically from the peak in mid-February as the country appears to have brought the outbreak largely under control.

The official death toll in the country of 1.4 billion people stands at 4,634 — well below the number of fatalities in less populous nations.

Wuhan Central Hospital has yet to give a formal statement on Hu’s death. In early February it said some 68 staff members had contracted coronavirus.

Hu’s condition became a national concern after Chinese media showed images of him with his skin turned black due to liver damage.

Fellow doctor Yi Fan showed similar symptoms, but recovered and has since been discharged from hospital.

The death of their colleague Li Wenliang in February triggered a national outpouring of grief and rage against the government as he documented his final days on social media.

The 34-year-old ophthalmologist was reprimanded by authorities after he warned colleagues about the virus in late December.

Beijing has since named him a national martyr, but suppressed much of the dissent and criticism sparked by his death.

Other medical whistleblowers at Wuhan Central Hospital — including emergency unit director Ai Fen — have told Chinese media they were punished by authorities for speaking out.

China has not released a complete figure of the number of medical worker deaths from Covid-19, but at least 34 medics have been awarded posthumous honours by health authorities.

In February the National Health Commission said some 3,387 health workers had been infected.

Source: AFP

2, June 2020

COVID-19 Outbreak: Interim Gov’t says Yaoundé backed CPDM gangs exploiting vulnerable Ambazonians ⁰

A Southern Cameroons CPDM gang sponsored by the French Cameroun regime is exploiting helpless Ambazonia Self Defense Forces during this difficult coronavirus pandemic period, Vice President Dabney Yerima has told Cameroon Concord News Group.

Dabney Yerima also said that the Ambazonia Interim Government is doing its best so far in managing to prevent a criminal infiltration of the Restoration Forces by the French Cameroun consortium of CPDM crime syndicates and organised crime networks.

However, Vice President Yerima’s warning comes amid growing reports Ambazonia Self Defense Forces were dropping their weapons and getting financial support from French Cameroun CPDM surrogates in Southern Cameroons. These fighters are reportedly struggling financially in the lockdown.

Exploiting the vulnerable Ambazonia fighters is a primitive and cheap tactics designed by Minister Paul Atanga Nji to help the Biya Francophone government recruit support and increase their power in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Yerima said: “Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora should invest in the Amba bonds and be ready to counter French Cameroun violence with violence. By donating to self defense efforts and the Bank of Ambazonia Bonds Project, you are providing the Interim Government the resources to defend your homeland. We must stop these Southern Cameroons enablers from providing toxic food and blood money to those in need in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.”

The exiled Ambazonian leader pointed out that “the French Cameroun government is a mafia group that has money, have no bureaucracy and operates far beyond its French Cameroun borders. The poor Southern Cameroons fighters are growing more vulnerable in this lockdown.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai