News

5, May 2025

Archbishop Nkea re-elected to lead Cameroon Bishops ⁰

The bishops of Cameroon, convening last weekend in Yaoundé, have reappointed Archbishop Andrew Nkea to lead the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CENC). As he begins his new three-year term, the archbishop of the Diocese of Bamenda, located in the Northwest Region, has outlined his priorities, with restoring peace to the troubled Northwest and Southwest (NOSO) regions at the forefront.

This is not Archbishop Nkea’s first foray into this critical issue. The prelate has frequently voiced his hopes for peace to return to the NOSO during his homilies. In March 2024, just before Easter, he delivered a widely noted message analyzing the root causes of the persistent sociopolitical crisis, which began in 2014. “If this crisis persists, it is because people trust diabolical processes more than they trust God,” he stated.

The Archbishop of Bamenda then proposed a path to ending this human tragedy. “We must pray together. Whether we are Christians, Muslims, or followers of traditional religion, we must unite in prayer, for God is one, He hears our prayers and will give us the solution to this problem,” Archbishop Nkea declared.

One year later, it remains to be seen if this stance has evolved, particularly given Archbishop Nkea’s reputation as a “pilgrim of peace“, a cause to which he dedicates a significant portion of his prayer life. Earlier this year, during the 48th annual seminar of Cameroonian bishops, he urged his fellow prelates to always “promote peace, through which nothing is lost, and without which everything can be lost.”

This likely explains why, beyond the NOSO, where separatist groups clash with the military, Archbishop Nkea also intends to focus on restoring peace in the Far North region, which continues to be plagued by attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

As he embarks on his second term leading the CENC, the Archbishop of Bamenda is not limiting his efforts to conflict zones. His roadmap also includes a commitment to strengthening unity within the episcopal family. “Our vocation as a Church is to continue walking together in bonds of love and unity, so that the world may believe in the One who sent us,” he reminded the press during a recent gathering of bishops.

By expressing his concern for closer bonds among bishops, Archbishop Nkea indirectly suggests that divisions threaten the cohesion of the CENC. The local press corroborates this, with tensions having regularly made headlines, notably in 2017 during the funeral of Bishop Jean-Marie Benoît Bala, the former bishop of the Diocese of Bafia, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances. While the judicial investigation concluded suicide, some members of the Cameroonian episcopate continue to assert that the prelate was assassinated.

Source: Sbbc

5, May 2025

Rwanda confirms talks with US about taking in migrants ⁰

Rwanda is in the “early stage” of talks with the Trump administration to accept migrants deported by the US, the East African country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has said.

His comments come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that Washington was “actively searching” for countries that would take in “some of the most despicable human beings”.

Nduhungirehe said the talks were “not new to us” as Rwanda had previously agreed to accept migrants deported by the UK.

However, the UK abandoned the scheme, which faced numerous legal challenges, after Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government took office last July.

Speaking to Rwandan TV on Sunday, Nduhungirehe said the government was in the “spirit” of giving “another chance to migrants who have problems across the world”.

Nduhungirehe added that the talks with the US were continuing, and it was too early to predict their outcome.

Since coming to office in January, US President Donald Trump has focused on speeding up the removal of undocumented migrants, with the promise of “mass deportations”.

In February, El Salvador offered to take in criminals deported from the US, including those with US citizenship, and house them in its mega-jail.

Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele said his government would do so “in exchange for a fee”.

Panama and Costa Rica have also taken in migrants deported from the US.

Last week an unnamed Rwandan official told the Washington Post that the country was “open” to taking in more migrants expelled from the US, after having accepted an Iraqi in March.

The official added that talks with the US started shortly after Trump’s inauguration in January.

Rwanda has previously been criticised for its human rights record, including the risk that those sent to the East African nation could be deported again to countries where they may face danger.

However, Rwanda says it is a safe place for refugees.

Source: BBC

5, May 2025

Ekok: border customs intercept drugs, smuggled beer ⁰

Mobile customs agents in Ekok, a Cameroonian border town adjacent to Nigeria, recently seized 8,720 tablets and 900 milliliters of serum during an inspection of a public transport bus’s luggage compartment.

This latest operation suggests an increased vigilance by customs officials in the area. Just prior, on April 30, 2025, officers from the Southwest Customs Sector in Ekok, which borders Nigeria, conducted two significant seizures.

The first of these involved the Ekok mobile customs brigade. During a routine roadside inspection, officers stopped a public transport bus carrying various goods from neighboring Nigeria. A thorough inspection of the luggage hold revealed a consignment of 65,900 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical products. Authorities determined these products to be of questionable quality and lacking the necessary documentation, and they are slated for destruction in the coming days, sources said.

The second seizure was carried out by the Ekok commercial customs brigade. This operation intercepted 160 crates of “Guinness Nigeria” products, totaling 3,840 bottles, being smuggled into the country. According to the customs communication officer, “With this seizure, customs officers are thwarting attempts to fraudulently introduce sensitive products into the national territory, as well as combating the unfair competition posed by ‘Guinness Nigeria’ products against ‘Guinness Cameroon’ products in consumer markets.“

Notably, the border zone with Nigeria has become a significant target for traffickers and smugglers of all types since the onset of the Anglophone crisis. These individuals utilize the area to transit illicit goods, often to supply secessionist fighters. However, these consecutive seizures indicate that customs surveillance remains active at the borders and within Cameroon’s national territory, now more than ever.

Source: Business in Cameroon

5, May 2025

Francis’s popemobile converted into clinic for Gazan children ⁰

The iconic open-sided vehicle, designed to allow the pontiff to greet crowds of well-wishers, has been transferred to Caritas Jerusalem and will head to Gaza if and when Israel opens a humanitarian corridor.

The car, a converted Mitsubishi, was used by the pope during a 2014 visit to Bethlehem and had since been on display, gathering dust and rust. It has now been repaired and refurbished as a mobile clinic.

“With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to healthcare — children who are injured and malnourished,” said Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden.

Brune told AFP that Sweden’s Cardinal Anders Arborelius had asked the late pope, who died on April 21 aged 88, that the spare vehicle be put to use providing essential frontline healthcare to Palestinian children.

It will be fitted with medical equipment and a fridge for medicines and be assigned a driver and a team of doctors.

The popemobile will be fitted with medical equipment and a fridge for medicines

“This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis,” said Anton Asfar, secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem.

It was not clear, however, if or when the aid agency’s hoped-for humanitarian corridor would open.

Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid political deadlock over how to build on a two-month ceasefire in its war against Hamas, which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack.

On Monday, Israel’s security cabinet approved an expansion of military operations that would lead to what an official described as the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 2,436 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign on March 18, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535.

Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Source: AFP

2, May 2025

Russia, North Korea start building first road link amid growing alliance ⁰

Russia and North Korea have announced the construction of their first-ever road bridge on the Tumen River, which is expected to help boost bilateral relations between the two countries.

The bridge will be 1 kilometer long, and its construction is expected to take one and a half years, the Tass news agency reported Thursday.

“We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,” Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

“The significance goes far beyond just an engineering task… it symbolizes our common desire to strengthen friendly, good-neighborly relations and increase inter-regional cooperation,” he added.

In a video call with the chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Pak Thae-song, Mishustin also called it a “truly a milestone for Russian-Korean relations”.

The North Korean official hailed the project as “a historic monument” in bilateral ties between Russia and North Korea.

“It will become an eternal historical memorial structure symbolizing the unbreakable Korean-Russian friendly relations,” Pak said.

North Korea’s central news agency also confirmed the news on Thursday, adding that the country looks forward to expanding cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities through the awaited road link.

One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and Russia.

During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in June 2024, the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.

On Thursday, Russia and North Korea simultaneously held a ceremony in their respective border cities, celebrating the initiation of the project that will be poised for rollout by mid-2026.

North Korea and Russia have enhanced bilateral ties in recent years in a bid to circumvent sanctions, to which both countries are subjected.

The Asian side has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs.

In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia.

Earlier this week, North Korea publicly confirmed its military support for Russia, acknowledging the deployment of 15,000 troops to assist Russia in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, 4,700 soldiers have been killed or wounded.

The assessment also reveals that Russia has reportedly provided Pyongyang with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and technology for spy satellite launches.

Source: Press TV

2, May 2025

Biya regime joins Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition ⁰

Cameroon becomes 43rd member state of the Saudi-led coalition

The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition announced that Cameroon has officially joined, becoming the 43rd member state of the coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The step underscores a growing commitment to combating terrorism and fostering regional and international security and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made during an official ceremony at the coalition’s headquarters in Riyadh, where the flag of Cameroon was raised alongside the flags of the 42 member states; a powerful symbol of unity and solidarity in the fight against terrorism.

The event was attended by Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, acting secretary-general of the IMCTC, Iya Tidjani, Cameroon’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the Cameroonian representative to the coalition, a delegation from Cameroon’s embassy, and representatives of member states.

Al-Moghedi welcomed Cameroon’s admission to the coalition, describing it as a significant step that strengthens joint efforts to combat terrorism and enhances coordination and integration in the intellectual, media, financial, and military fields.

Source: Arab News

2, May 2025

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup” ⁰

Bishops in Cameroon have gathered in the capital Yaoundé for their 50th Ordinary Plenary, but the death of Pope Francis and the conclave to choose a new pope that begins on May 7 in Rome, loom large at the gathering.

At a Mass to kick off the deliberations, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon, Archbishop Julio Murat told journalists that Francis’s legacy in Cameroon and the world will outlive his life on earth.

“The very fact of the Presence of all the Archbishops and Bishops of Cameroon here this evening to celebrate this Mass is a testament that the Pope’s Pontificate touched the very hearts of Cameroon,” Murat said.

“In his last testament, Pope Francis offered his life, his prayer, his work for peace and fraternity in the world. He himself preached many times about mercy, and the Holy Door of the Jubilee for Mercy was opened in the geographical heart of Africa, Bangui right next door to us,” the representative of the Holy See in Cameroon said.

That door was opened on November 29, 2015, by Pope Francis when he visited the Central African Republic.

“He [Francis] also promulgated the decree to make Baba Simon a venerable and presented him to the world –a Cameroonian. So his heritage will long last his life, and now we know he prays to us from heaven,” the archbishop said.

The President of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, added that the bishops were “united with the Universal Church in prayer for peace in his soul.”

“Pope Francis was a father to me,” Nkea told Crux.

“It is Pope Francis who appointed me Archbishop,” he said.

Nkea narrated little instances during which he had to be up and personal with the pope, like buttoning the pope’s cassock, and the pope asking him to take out his phone and record a greeting for the people of Bamenda.

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup,” Nkea recalls the pontiff joking with him during one of his visits to the Vatican.

“His simplicity was phenomenal,” the archbishop said.

Lay Christians were also full of praise for the late pope. Pascaline Ndifor, a member of the Catholic Women’s Association, told Crux that she remembers Pope Francis for his humility.

“The memory I keep of him is that of humility, and his prayerful nature. This year, we are celebrating the Jubilee Year of Hope. It teaches us the humility and the simplicity the late Pope taught us-it is the way to Christ. That what touches me so much-the simple, spiritual life he teaches us,” she said.

Bessy Bah Awah also remembers Francis for his simplify and humility, recalling a time last year when she was among a delegation of Catholic women who visited the Holy See during which the Holy Father granted them an audience.

“He was very particular about the role of women in the Church. That touched me, and in addition to his humility, I think that he has left a great legacy-a legacy of humility, simplicity and love,” she said.

Maurine Dengo, a social worker, calls Francis “my social worker pope” because of the pontiff’s efforts to bring respite to “the less privileged, the vulnerable, the poor, the marginalized, the suffering…everything that has to do with my profession, Pope Francis was doing it.”

As the world waits for the Conclave to begin, Nkea says the Catholic Church in Cameroon is in unison with the Universal Church “to pray for the Cardinals who are already in Rome, in the conclave, to choose another Holy Father.”

“And as you can see, it is the Holy Spirit that guides the Cardinals in this exercise of choosing another Holy Father for us. And we pray, as the Holy Spirit has done all the time, he will give us a Pope who will manage the Church according to the heart of Jesus Christ,” the archbishop said.

Nkea said that that the 50th plenary of the bishops focuses on the daily running of the Church in Cameroon and to look at the future, especially in this year of hope.

He noted that the major issues preoccupying the bishops are “the socio-economic situation of the country” and the presidential election scheduled to take place in November.

The bishops had already issued pastoral letters about the two issues, and the archbishop of Bamenda called on Cameroonians to take a closer look at those letters in order to “ensure that everything is going to pass during the election month in peace and tranquility. This is what we ask of our people.”

Source: Crux

30, April 2025

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of SNI ⁰

Johnny Razack has been appointed chairman of Cameroon’s National Investment Company (SNI), following a presidential decree signed on April 25. The 52-year-old senior civil servant takes over from Geoffroy Désiré Mbock, who held the position for five years.

The SNI acts as the government’s main investment vehicle, holding stakes in companies and helping create new businesses. Razack’s nomination comes at a turning point for the institution, which was restructured last year to take on a stronger role in shaping the country’s economic and industrial strategy.

Before his appointment, Razack served as Secretary General at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, a position he had held since December 22, 2015. Over his career, he also managed government correspondence at the Prime Minister’s Office and spent several years overseeing union matters. He began his career at the Ministry of Economy in 2005 as acting head of personnel services.

Razack brings with him a solid academic background. He is a graduate of ENA Paris, part of the 2002–2004 “Léopold Senghor” cohort, which also included French President Emmanuel Macron. He also graduated from Cameroon’s ENAM in Yaoundé, class of 1998–2000, the same year as Health Minister Malachie Manaouda. A committed member of the ruling RDPC party, he also serves as a mission officer at the party’s central committee. He hails from Bénoué in the North region.

A fellow RDPC member commented that Razack’s appointment “shows the President’s trust in loyal, capable profiles to manage key pillars of the national economy.”

His nomination follows the recent reshuffle of the SNI’s board of directors. Eleven members were appointed, including Gwendoline Abunaw, Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon, and Célestin Tawamba, head of the country’s main business federation GECAM. They represent the banking and private sector, respectively.

This move is part of a broader overhaul of the SNI, initiated by President Paul Biya on July 10, 2024. The reform transformed the SNI into a public capital company with a sharper focus on investment planning. Under the new structure, SNI now plays a dual role: as a government investor and as a consulting and research body. It is fully owned by the state.

The company’s capital was raised to CFA200 billion, to be released gradually over four years. The goal is to turn the SNI into a true investment holding. Plans are already underway to open its subsidiaries to new public and private shareholders. The strategy aims to better manage the state’s holdings and help build strong national companies.

The SNI’s new responsibilities are extensive. It will now screen industrial projects from the private sector by issuing financial and economic viability clearances before the state can step in. It will also assess public companies by conducting audits, performance reviews, and diagnostics. In addition, it will help prepare and monitor performance contracts between the state and these firms.

On top of that, the SNI will now handle venture capital and private equity activities, as well as act as a stock market intermediary and asset manager.

Razack’s appointment comes with big expectations. While he is seen as a trusted and well-connected civil servant with political weight and administrative experience, some in the business community question whether he has the hands-on experience needed to run an institution now tasked with high-stakes investment operations. Others are confident that his background and network could serve him well in navigating this new chapter.

Source: Business in Cameroon

28, April 2025

Vatican: Conclave to elect new pope will start on May 7 ⁰

The death of Pope Francis has set in motion a centuries-old ritual to select a new pope. Cardinals will meet in a secret conclave to elect the new global Church leader starting May 7, the Vatican said Monday. Cardinals have been gathering in Vatican City since the pontiff died on April 21, but few clues have emerged as to who they might elect.

The date of May 7 was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday, a source from the Holy See told Reuters.

Dozens of “Princes of the Church” from across the world have been gathering at the Vatican since the 88-year-old Argentine pontiff died on April 21.

But so far there are few clues as to who they might choose next.

Source: France 24

28, April 2025

Namibian minister sacked after being accused of rape ⁰

Namibia’s agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago.

Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, local media quote the police as saying.

Hengari, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.

This is the first major scandal for Namibia’s first female President, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, since she took office last month.

The statement from the president’s office did not indicate the reasons for the dismissal but said Hengari had also been dismissed from the National Assembly.

Hengari was nominated to parliament by the president to represent the ruling party, Swapo.

He is under investigations for multiple charges related to the case including kidnapping, rape and assault, local media report.

The opposition Independent Patriots for Change said Hengari’s arrest “on allegations of rape, kidnapping and forced abortion” was a “profound failure of leadership and exposes the hollowness of government rhetoric on gender-based violence”.

It said the case came against a backdrop of “widespread gender violence”, with 4,814 gender-violence cases reported last year. The country has a population of three million.

The party also criticised the vetting process, saying the president had appointed Hengari “despite a criminal investigation having allegedly been opened in November 2024”.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah last month unveiled a cabinet described as ground-breaking for female representation – with nine out 14 members being women, including the vice-president.

The 72-year-old won November’s election with a 58% share of the vote.

She is a long-term member of Swapo – which has been in power since the country gained independence in 1990 after a long struggle against apartheid South Africa.

Source: BBC