A 31 years old Cameroonian has been given a 6 months suspended sentence by the Court of First Instance in Bobigny in France and ordered to pay a token of one euro to the Bataclan Memorial Fund for posing as a victim of the Bataclan terror attacks.  She was sentenced on Wednesday. She reportedly demanded the sum of 10,000 Euros from the fund for victims of the Bataclan attacks using falsified medical certificates and false testimony.

The young lady, whose name the French judiciary refused to make public, arrived France in 2007 and seek political asylum. She fabricated documents painting herself as a victim of the Bataclan attacks on November 13, 2015.  In her account, the young Cameroonian said she managed to escape through a window and seriously damaged her finger.

A delay in the payment of the money into her account pushed her to write seven letters to the French Ministry of Interior accusing the French government of “discrimination.”  During her period in police custody, she admitted having invented everything.

She told the French Court that “I had problems; I could not pay my medical bills in a Paris hospital! I owed 144 Euros. And then I had problems of unpaid rents, I lost my job at Franprix “. The head of the Bataclan Memorial Fund, Barrister Jean-Francoise Laigneau noted after the trial that Cameroon is morally bankrupt.

Chi Prudence Asong (Cameroon Concord News Group)

After failing to deliver best practice in economic and social development in the country, the government of Cameroon has identified the teaching and learning of local languages as a tool for development.

The idea was made concrete through a convention signed between the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation (MINRESI) and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) International, on the 13^th of July 2016.

The MINRESI boss, Madeleine Tchuinte signed on behalf of the CPDM regime while the Director General of SIL represented his organization.

The agreement comes to buttress other actions by Cameroon government to promote the teaching of many native languages in schools especially at the level of basic education.

CRTV

A suspected leader of a gang of fraudsters is presently in police custody in Yaounde. Reports say Tchienou Gideon, 43, is alleged to be specialised in the production and distribution of fake documents notably birth certificates, administrative and municipal documents. According to the reports, Gideon was caught on June 17, 2016 by the elements of the Central Police Station No 1 for the city of Yaounde at the Yaounde administrative area. The officers were acting on the instructions of the Delegate General for National Security.

The police officers found in his possession huge quantities of stamped and signed birth certificates awaiting information to be filled and several others. Two other accomplices, Bedima Basile and Ekoule Mbenda, suspected to have links with this crime world have also been arrested. Even though they have spent days in police cells they still claim to be innocent. However, investigations are on going to see whether they are guilty of the same offence.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Handy Likound said administrative authorities have been complaining that their signatures are being misused.  He said Gideon was arrested while carrying out his act through thorough investigations by the police. He said those who produce fake documents are punishable by the law and even those who keep the documents. He called on the public to be vigilant while certifying documents.

Cameroon Tribune

Cameroon’s Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has met with a high powered delegation from Amnesty International. The meeting was at the request of the Cameroon government and both sides had a positive exchange on Tuesday in Yaoundé on the situation of human rights in the Far North region.

As a prelude to the launch tomorrow Thursday of a report on the situation of human rights in the Far North region, in relation to the fight against Boko Haram, Amnesty International officials opined that the meeting with the controversial cabinet minister was vital. After the meeting, Issa Tchiroma Bakary and his guests took stock of their trade to the press.

The Amnesty International delegation expressed concerns over the arbitrary detention of innocent people in the Far North region and stressed the need to investigate human rights violations in the country.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Concord News Group)

Municipal officials in the South West region who were the main target of the National Community Driven Development Program, PNDP, a local state development outlet created by government have boycotted an event in Buea to inaugurate the third phase of the program.

Almost half of the over 200 capacity BUEA council hall was empty today considering the heavyweight nature of the event chaired by South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai in the Presence of the PNDP National coordinator, Mme Magdalene Nga who merely managed to address the scantily attended forum in English.

The spirit of today’s event was that of sleeping during speeches and it required an injunction from Governor Bernard Okalia for participants to wake up sleeping mates. The launching of the World Bank supported project was a disgrace and total fiasco.

More than 15 councils in the South West have been earmarked to benefit from the third phase of the project. Local development is expected to speed up in the South West region. David Nkem, Regional coordinator for PNDP South West says all have been set for the 3rd phase to kick off in the region.

Cham Victor Bama (Cameroon Concord News Group)