Despite their poker face when on national television, officials of the ruling CPDM (Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement) and their cronies have been caught in a huge storm that might soon tear the government apart. The long knife that has, for many years, eliminated perceived opponents might very soon turn inwards and the consequences will be disastrous.

For so long, there have been speculations about the weakening cohesion among members of the ruling party and the military, but the Southern Cameroons crisis that has been playing out for more than fifteen months is gradually revealing that what holds the party together is just a small financial and political interest, and even with that, the ruling party members are at daggers drawn and the infighting will soon become a national sport for the entire nation to watch on national television.

While many CPDM party supporters have been struggling to hide their frustration with the system, others are gradually coming out to spill the beans. Years of manipulation and pretense have gradually turned into enormous frustration with some members of the ruling party who erroneously hold that power belongs to them. Some of this frustration is even directed at Mr. Biya himself who has been presiding over the country’s destiny for 35 years, with no results to show for his long stay in power.

The country is bereft of state-of-the-art infrastructure, its hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics and the quality of education has taken a nosedive. The economy is on life support, as corruption and nepotism become the rule in a country that was once touted around the world as an oasis of peace in a desert of political chaos.

One would have thought that only the young, ambitious and hungry members of the party would start throwing stones at the ailing president. But things are slowly turning out differently. Even the oldest member of the ruling party, Chief Victor Mukete of Kumba, seems to be taking some parting shots at Mr. Biya whom he accuses of being inaccessible and ineffective. The 99-year-old Mukete knows he is on his way out of politics, as his senatorial appointment will no longer be renewed due to age and he thinks this is the right time to tell it all, at least in the interest of future generations.

Speaking to Jeune Afrique, the continent’s most popular French language political magazine, Nfon Mukete did not spare any punches. He pulled some of his deadliest punches against Mr. Biya who himself has been out of the public eye for months now.

Chief Mukete has castigated the Biya government for appointing less than 10 Anglophones to senior positions in the country. He decried the marginalization of Anglophones, adding that none of the Anglophones who had been prime minister under Biya had been courageous or honest enough to sound the alarm.

He regretted the chaos playing out in Southern Cameroons, stressing that the issue could have been addressed long before it got out of hand. He clearly said that he would like Cameroon to be a ten-state federation, pointing out that the current extreme centralization was an error. He pointed out that federalism would enable the people to be in charge of their destiny.

He underscored that the president would be open to such an idea, adding that he had heard people within the corridors of power saying that the president was considering it as a way out of the current political crisis.

Asked why he had not written to the president about the situation, Chief Mukete said that he was not sure the letter would ever reach him, adding that Ahidjo was more accessible than Biya and that the people around Mr. Biya had created a ring of fire around him.

But it is not only the politicians that are exposing the weakness in the current system. In an anonymous letter to the president, some soldiers have been highlighting the issues facing current efforts to roll back separatists 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’s 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 a clear demonstration that the Southern Cameroons crisis is causing the government to implode. Southern Cameroonians have succeeded to split the ruling party and the military too is gradually falling apart. Their corrupt practices are being exposed by one of theirs who has elected anonymity. The huge pain and death left by separatist 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.

The deaths are painful. The minister of defense who said arrogantly that the military would implement the president’s decision without batting an eyelid has suddenly disappeared from the picture. Even the noisy communication minister feels ashamed of the number of soldiers killed by a small group of armed Southern Cameroonians.

Today, the country is in tears. The bodies of 32 soldiers killed by Ambazonian tigers were given their last honor at the Mvan military base. While the government considers Ambazonian Tigers as terrorists, many Southern Cameroonians consider the Tigers as their brilliant and brave soldiers who have been working hard to protect Southern Cameroonian women and children who have been victims of the military’s brutality.

With rudimentary weapons, Ambazonian Tigers have been able to inflict such damage on the military. Today they have sophisticated weapons and many more are on their way, though a ship full of weapons shipped by the Southern Cameroons Diaspora was yesterday, February 20, 2018, intercepted by Tunisian authorities in their waters. The ship was using a Panamanian flag as a flag of convenience. The Southern Cameroonians soldiers are now fully armed with AK47, M16, Ruger 10/22, Remington 700, AR-15, and some classified tactical weapons to defend their women, children and territory. The struggle seems to be entering a more critical phase and the next days will surely be tough as Southern Cameroonians have vowed that if their leaders are not released, they would transform the entire country into a fireball.

The number of soldiers killed can no longer be hidden by the government of Cameroon. On Monday, February 19, 2018, Colonel Badjeck Didier confirmed on Vision 4 TV that: “Ambazonians have killed more of our soldiers than Boko Haram ever did.” The half-cast doubles as the Director of Communications at the Ministry of Terrorism and his acknowledgement is a clear indictment of the military whose hallmark throughout this conflict has been brutality.

It should be recalled that the Southern Cameroons military only picked up weapons against the Biya regime in November 2017 after government forces killed many Southern Cameroonians for more than a year, despite repeated calls for dialogue by the international community.

With all what is happening at this time, Mr. Biya and his inner circle are at their wit’s end. Violence has not been able to intimidate Southern Cameroonians into submission. With huge cracks emerging on his wall, it is clear that Mr. Biya, who is suspected of being bedridden, will have to meet Southern Cameroonians halfway. Military action alone will not solve the problem. Though government officials have been saying they will not negotiate with terrorists, it is clear that they will have to eat their words as Southern Cameroonians are determined to win back their independence and the Southern Cameroons Diaspora is making good on its promise of providing arms to the pool of willing fighters back home that is inflicting pain on the country’s military. Mr. Biya and his government have to sue for peace. They have to reconcile with the Southern Cameroons Diaspora. The Southern Cameroons Diaspora is rich and huge. With more than three million Southern Cameroonians out of the country, it is very easy to raise money for any military action. It is time to talk peace and any discussions must include the Southern Cameroons Diaspora. The ball is in Mr. Biya’s court.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Kingsley Betek

A former lawyer at a powerful New York-based law firm pleads guilty to lying to Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is probing the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia.

Alex van der Zwaan was charged on February 16 with “willfully and knowingly making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements” to both the special counsel’s office and FBI investigators.

On Tuesday, Zwaan admitted in federal court in Washington that he had lied to prosecutors about a September 2016 conversation with Rick Gates, a former Trump aide.

The conversation the 33-year-old Dutch citizen had with Gates was about work they had done together for a Ukrainian political party aligned with Russia.

Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russia-based billionaire, also confessed that he had deleted records of email exchanges that prosecutors had sought.

Zwaan’s decision to plead guilty could also intensify pressure on Paul Manafort, Gates’s longtime business partner and the president’s former campaign chairman.

Mueller’s team had previously accused Manafort and Gates of secretly funneling $4 million through offshore accounts to pay for a report regarding Ukraine.

In fall, both were charged with laundering money and other crimes pertaining to consultations they had with the Ukrainian political party headed by former President Viktor F. Yanukovych, but they have pleaded not guilty.

Experts say the new charge will put more pressure on Manafort and Gates to cooperate with Mueller in his probe into Russia’s alleged meddling in the US 2016 presidential election.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians and has condemned the investigations. Russia has also denied the allegations. Trump has labeled Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt,” and has suggested that Russians might have meddled in favor of Clinton.

On Friday, Mueller indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities accused of interfering in elections in the United States.

The indictment alleges the goal of the Russians was to support then-candidate Trump and hurt his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Source: Presstv

The killings in the English-speaking part of Cameroon have continued unabated despite the arrest and extradition of Southern Cameroons leaders to Cameroon. It was reported yesterday that a young gendarme officer, Jean Claude Degoume,had been killed in Talangaye in Manyu Division, a small town located some 50 km from Mamfe town, the Manyu Divisional headquarters.

Members of the Amba Tigers who carried out the killing informed our Dublin office that their main target in Mamfe was Joseph Oum II, the Manyu Senior Divisional Officer, who had asked the people of Manyu to pack out of their towns to unknown destinations in a press release he issued late last year. The young fighters, who elected anonymity, said taking down Mr. Oum II “would be a great pleasure,asthe deletion of such a personality from the face of the earth would bring more credibility to our organization.”

They added that “even the South West Governor, Okala Bilal, is a fair target. He has insulted out people and he should not be allowed to get away with that. We have a price on his head and anybody who takes him down will take that price. Our sponsors in the Diaspora are doing a great job raising money for us and that is what is helping us to send strong messages to the government.”

“We know we will get him. He will surely let down his guard and we will chop him down like a piece of meat. You don’t call our people dogs and you think you will get away with that. He is in our cross hairs and we will surely get him,” they said.

Meanwhile, contrary to initial reports that the body of the kidnapped Divisional Officer (D.O) of Batibo, Mr. Namata Marcel Delong, had been found in Sabes, our source in Sabes in the Upper Bayang sub-division confirmed that a group of Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) troops currently wreaking havoc in Sabes had been brought there to arrest a group of robbers who were threatening the locals and a defected soldier who had joined Amba Tigers. There is no information yet as to whether the robbers and the defected soldier have been arrested or not.

Similarly, the family of the former D.O of Batibo who had been kidnapped by some unknown gunmen is devastated following reports that his body had been discovered.  Mr. Delong’s wife had called for the release of her husband on national TV, arguing that her husband was a good man who was simply serving his country, but opponents of the regime argue that he is part of the collateral damage insofar as he is on the side of the Yaounde government.

The discovery of her husband’s remains clearly indicate that her calls had fallen on deaf ears. This also underscores that Anglophone separatists are determined to achieve their goal, regardless of the method and he who is serving the Yaounde government is immediately considered as an enemy.

Meanwhile, the 85 year-old President, Paul Biya,last week appointed Ernest Nkwandze, as the interim Divisional Officer for Batibo in Momo Division following the abduction of Mr. Namata Marcel Diteng on February 11, 2018, by unknown gunmen.  Mr. Nkwandze was installed on February 14, 2018, by the North-West Governor, Adolphe Lélé Lafrique.

The governor reportedly held a working session with traditional authorities and security officials of the Batibo district and pleaded with the chiefs as well as the population to work in collaboration with the security forces by providing them reliable information in their effort to locate the kidnapped divisional officer.

In the meantime, there are still doubts about the whereabouts of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya. Despite having delivered a speech on February 10, 2018, and the posting of pictures of his birthday party at the Unity Palace online, many Cameroonians are still skeptical about the whereabouts of the country’s president.

Critics of the dictator point out that the picture used to support the assertion that Mr. Biya had celebrated his birthday was photo-shopped, arguing that Mr. Biya and his government are used to manipulating Cameroonians.

The doubts about Mr. Biya’s health went up by a few notches a few days ago when it was announced that Mr. Biya had received a senior German embassy official. But many analysts said the pictures were those of 2014, a point which only goes to underscore that there is something really wrong with the 85-year-old president.

Similarly, the Southern Cameroons crisis is still playing out in the country’s English-speaking regions with armed men attacking soldiers in the rural regions.

Since October 2016 when the crisis started, more than 500 civilians have been killed, several villages torched by retaliating soldiers, and some 300 uniformed officers have been sent to an early grave.

Despite numerous calls by the international community for inclusive dialogue, Mr. Biya and his government have insisted on using military violence as their tool of choice to end the rebellion.

But their methods have only radicalized most Southern Cameroonians and has spurred the various armed groups into intensifying their attacks on soldiers and Gendarmes as a means of self-defense.

The conflict has intensified since the arrest of Southern Cameroonian leaders in Nigeria and their illegal extradition to Yaounde. The conflict has taken a huge toll on the country’s economy, as many businesses in the English-speaking regions have closed and some relocated to other regions of the country.

As the government continues to pursue its policy of violent repression in the two English regions of Cameroon, so too are Southern Cameroonian fighters seeking news way to have an impact on the government and this impact has come by way of attacks on many army soldiers.

There is every indication that there are many more scenes in this conflict and they will surely be playing out in a manner that will be far from being peaceful.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai in Dublin, with contributions from Kingsley Betek in Yaounde.