4, July 2024

Artist Rearrested in Cameroon: Worrying Sign for Freedom of Expression ahead of 2025 Elections ⁰

Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, was released from prison in Cameroon on June 21 after serving a three-month sentence for insulting a local governor. Moments after he stepped out of the prison he was rearrested on charges of disturbing public order, demonstration, and hate speech. Babadjo’s lawyer told Human Rights Watch that these charges are based on claims by the Cameroonian intelligence service that Babadjo’s supporters were planning to demonstrate to celebrate his release.

Babadjo, a member of the National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès), was first arrested on March 8 at his home in the city of N’Gaoundéré, in the region of Adamawa, after he criticized the region’s governor on a WhatsApp group. His friends and local human rights defenders told Human Rights Watch that the governor ordered his arrest.

That wasn’t Babadjo’s first run-in with authorities. In 2020, he was arrested for a song he released that criticized local officials. He is currently detained at the gendarmerie headquarters in N’Gaoundéré. On June 24, his lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition before the high court, which is expected to rule on the case on July 4. Babadjo, his relatives and friends said, has diabetes and requires specialized medical care.

“This latest arrest of Babadjo exemplifies the government’s repression towards opposition and dissenting voices,” said Aboubakary Siddiki, president of another opposition party in northern Cameroon, Mouvement patriotique du salut camerounais. “The crackdown is increasing ahead of the 2025 vote as we see political meetings and political coalitions banned.”

Cameroonian authorities have cracked down on opposition and dissent for many years. In March, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, banned two opposition coalitions, the Political Alliance for Change (Alliance politique pour le changement), led by Jean-Michel Nintcheu, and the Political Alliance for Transition in Cameroon (Alliance politique pour la transition), led by Olivier Bile.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, 91, in power since 1982, is serving his seventh term. He was last re-elected in 2018 after a contested vote-counting process which sparked a wave of political repression and a lethal crackdown on peaceful protests.

That Babadjo was rearrested as he left prison underscores how the Cameroonian authorities are silencing freedom of expression in the country. Authorities should release Babadjo, drop the charges against him, and ensure he has access to adequate health care while in detention.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

4, July 2024

Football: Erik ten Hag signs new deal at Manchester United ⁰

Erik ten Hag has signed a contract extension that keeps him at Old Trafford until 2026, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.

There had been intense speculation over the Dutchman’s future after a terrible 2023/24 Premier League campaign but United ended the season with shock 2-1 victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

British media last month said Ten Hag, who has won two trophies in his two seasons at Old Trafford, would remain in his post following a performance review by club chiefs.

“Erik ten Hag has extended his contract as Manchester United men’s first-team manager until June 2026,” United said in a statement.

The former Ajax manager, whose deal had been due to expire in 2025, admitted there was work to be done to close the gap on United’s Premier League rivals.

“Looking back at the past two years, we can reflect with pride on two trophies and many examples of progression from where we were when I joined,” he said.

“However, we must also be clear that there is still lots of hard work ahead to reach the levels expected of Manchester United, which means challenging for English and European titles.

“In my discussions with the club, we have found complete unity in our vision for reaching those goals, and we are all strongly committed to making that journey together.”

Dan Ashworth, Manchester United sporting director, said: “With two trophies in the past two seasons, Erik has reinforced his record as one of the most consistently successful coaches in European football.

“While the club’s review of last season highlighted areas for improvement, it also reached a clear conclusion that Erik was the best partner for us to work with in driving up standards and outcomes.

“This group of players and staff have already shown they are capable of competing and winning at the top level — now we need to do it more consistently.”

Trophy drought

Ten Hag, 54, ended a six-year trophy drought for United in his first season by lifting the League Cup and finished third in the league, encouraging fans that they might launch a Premier League title bid in 2023/24.

But those hopes vanished quickly as the team struggled for consistency, hit by injuries and poor form.

United finished an embarrassing eighth in the Premier League — their lowest final position since 1990 — and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.

There were reports that Ten Hag would be sacked regardless of the result in the FA Cup final at Wembley but they ultimately proved wide of the mark.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe took control of football operations at Old Trafford following his purchase of a minority stake in the club earlier this year.

United have made sweeping changes to their backroom staff since then, including the appointment of Ashworth, who was previously at Newcastle.

Ten Hag is United’s fifth permanent manager since the end of Alex Ferguson’s trophy-filled reign in 2013, following David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

United will launch the 2024/25 Premier League season with a home game against Fulham on August 16.

Source: AFP

2, July 2024

President Biya is coming to the end ⁰

The Francophone 92-year-old head of state is now receiving some form of hospice care at his palace in Mvomeka’a.

The aim of hospice care is to improve the lives of people who have an incurable illness.

To be accurate, Hospices provide care for people from the point at which their illness is diagnosed as terminal to the end of their life, however long that may be.

Biya’s daughter Brenda reportedly flew to Cameroon recently on a private jet to see him.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources hinted this reporter that it is strictly forbidden to share any update on the president’s health and government officials in Yaoundé have simply been told to always say that President Biya is doing ok.

However, a well-placed CPDM official contacted by our Yaoundé City reporter on Sunday said President Biya’s days on earth are now numbered. “Biya is coming to the end that, as I told you some weeks before, he is presently on that journey that you only can live at the very end.”

Biya finally entered hospice care after the fifty second edition of the so called national day of Cameroon was celebrated on 20th May 2024. He made a rare public appearance to attend the reception at Etoudi supported by two of his aides and appeared frail.

We understand the ruling CPDM party is preparing to announce his candidature for the 2025 presidential election.

“Biya is not going to miss an election!” a source at the Prime Minister’s Office told this reporter. “2025 is very important to Biya. I mean, that’s the person he is” our source concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

28, June 2024

Cameroon, Nigeria agree to end border dispute ⁰

Nigeria and Cameroon said Thursday they would no longer seek a court ruling to settle their disputed border.

Rather, the two nations said, joint delegations will validate a demarcation plan on site and put an end to long-standing territorial disputes.

The nations share about 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) of border, from Lake Chad in the north of the Gulf of Guinea to the Atlantic Ocean coast.

Leonardo Santos Simao, chairperson of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission set up by the United Nations to solve the countries’ territorial disputes, said he is delighted the two countries decided to resolve their disputes without long and expensive processes at the International Court of Justice.

The agreement to peacefully resolve border disputes before the end of 2025 was made at a meeting of the Mixed Commission on Wednesday and Thursday in Yaounde. Simao called it a milestone.

The two countries agreed to visit disputed territories in Rumsiki and Tourou in northern Cameroon and Koche in eastern Nigeria before the end of 2024.

Nigerian Justice Minister Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, who is the leader of the West African state’s delegation to the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, confirmed that the countries have agreed to complete the project within 12 months.

“It’s a consensus between Cameroon and Nigeria. By the end of 2025, this project should be concluded,” he said. “We have so admirably and maturely handled the situation in such a way that there is hardly any dissent. We are satisfied with the outcome of the two-day meeting, and we are hopeful that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Cameroon and Nigeria say the border demarcation was slowed by Boko Haram terrorism in both countries. They say that the Boko Haram group’s firepower is drastically reduced now and that the demarcation can continue.

The two states say they will move past existing differences over the precise location of the border in about 30 villages.

The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission was established in 2002 at the request of President Paul Biya of Cameroon and the then-Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo to facilitate the implementation of an October 10, 2002, International Court of Justice ruling that ceded Bakassi, an oil-rich border peninsula, to Cameroon.

Nigeria initially rejected the verdict, with its senate arguing that the ruling, based on a colonial era agreement, was unfair and should be appealed. But Nigerian officials said the verdict should be respected.

Source: VOA

28, June 2024

Yaoundé reintroduces measures to curb COVID-19 resurgence ⁰

The Cameroonian government announced on Wednesday the adoption of measures to caution the country from the resurgence of Covid-19 cases, observed in some European, Middle Eastern, and African countries.

According to a statement from the Cameroonian Minister of Health, all travelers arriving from foreign countries shall be required to systematically fill out identification forms at airports.

Testing is being reintroduced at airports, but it is currently prioritized for travelers returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Measures that were previously implemented at the peak of COVID-19 infections are being reinstated, including wearing masks in case of flu-like symptoms, hand hygiene, and regular disinfection of common areas.

Finally, the government states that it has the necessary capacity to detect cases and provide free care throughout the territory.

The first Covid-19 case was recorded in Cameroon in March 2020. According to the Ministry of Public Health, this pandemic has caused the death of 1,974 people out of a total of more than 120,000 infections in the country.

Source: Africa News

28, June 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 3 killed in road blast along the Bali-Batibo road ⁰

Three people were killed after an improvised explosive device went off along the Bali-Batibo road in the Northwest, witnesses and local police said on Thursday.

Police told the local media that the blast occurred late Wednesday when a vehicle carrying passengers stepped on the device, which was planted along the road to target soldiers who regularly patrol the region.

The victims, according to witnesses, were three local civilians who were returning from a market.

Police said they believe the incident was set up by armed Ambazonia fighters, who have been operating in the region since 2017.

Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces want to secede from the largely French-speaking Cameroon and create an independent nation in the English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest.

By Fon Lawrence with files

27, June 2024

Kumba: Denizens rise against drug abuse ⁰

Illicit drug usage in Cameroon has been on the rise for many years, but the use of hard drugs in Kumba is alarming and many youths find it pleasurable to get involved in the use of these drugs which are ruining many lives in Kumba.

Not long ago, some residents, especially women and mothers in Hausa quarter, a neighbourhood in Kumba lll Sub-division, took to the streets to protest against hard drugs which have turned their children into addicts.

To show their seriousness, the angry protesters carried placards denouncing the sale and use of these hard substances in the area, going to the hideouts of those who supply them to the youths.

In their determination to call them to order, the angry women destroyed two locally constructed thatched houses which were considered as the trading floor between the drug suppliers and the addicts.

“Our children are in very bad shape because of these drugs. They steal our money at home just to buy these drugs which make them recalcitrant. They do not assist us with house chores,” one of the women said.

“My son does nothing at home. Sometimes, he doesn’t sleep at home. He only comes when he needs food or a change of clothes. These men selling to them are destroying our children. We had issued a warning before but they did not listen,” another protester highlighted.

Since the neighbourhood is sparsely populated, it was easier for the perpetrators to be fished out from their hideouts.

According to reliable sources, the men who sell to those addicts are making a fortune out of our children, while destroying them, reasons why the angry population took upon themselves to address the issue.

By Cecilia M. Manjang

27, June 2024

Samuel Eto’o questioned by CAF over match-fixing ⁰

The interrogation of Samuel Eto’o comes ten months after he was accused of involvement in match-fixing by players.

The President of Cameroon’s Football Federation had a session with the disciplinary panel of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday.

There was no word on how he pleaded. The questioning took place behind closed doors.

The allegations contend that Eto’o irregularly helped one club to rise to the top of the Cameroonian League two years ago. His accusers say they have supplied evidence pinning the former Barcelona player to CAF.

The match-fixing charge is not the only one bothering Eto’o.

His accusers also lodged a complaint with FIFA citing unethical behavior over an ambassadorial deal he secured with a sports betting company.

If found guilty, Eto’o faces no less than a lifetime suspension from football.

Eto’o was elected head of Cameroon’s football federation in December 2021.

Source: Africa News

27, June 2024

Former Indomitable Lions midfielder Landry Nguemo passes away in car accident ⁰

Former Cameroon and Celtic midfielder Landry Nguemo has tragically passed away following a car accident.

The incident occurred in the locality of Ngomo, along the Yaoundé – Bafoussam axis in Cameroon.

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) confirmed the heartbreaking news.

“The Cameroonian Football Federation (FECAFOOT) has just learned the tragic news of the passing of former Indomitable Lion Landry Nguemo in a traffic accident,” it read.

“Nguemo, who was a key player for the Cameroonian national team from 2006 to 2014 and a former member of Girondins de Bordeaux, will be remembered for his contributions to football. FECAFOOT extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the entire football community.”

Landry Tsafack Nguémo, born on November 28, 1985, began his football career in Dschang, a town in western Cameroon.

He played for various local teams before moving to Yaoundé at the age of 13. Nguémo was soon spotted by scouts from Nancy, who invited him to France for trials.

He signed with the club at the age of 15 and made his debut four years later, in August 2005, as a substitute against Lyon in a league match.

In January 2009, he expressed interest in moving away from Nancy amidst rumors linking him to Arsenal, Sunderland, and Everton.

On January 31, 2009, he scored his first goal for Nancy, a dramatic 90th-minute winner against Le Havre.

His second goal came under similarly dramatic circumstances, scoring again in the 90th minute against Marseille on May 23, 2009.

In July 2009, Nguémo joined Celtic on a one-year loan with an option to make the move permanent.

Wearing the number 6 shirt, he quickly made an impression. His debut came in a 0-0 draw against Cardiff City, where he was awarded Celtic’s man of the match.

He made his competitive debut in a Champions League qualifying tie against Dynamo Moscow and played a crucial role in the team’s victory in the return leg, helping Celtic advance to play Arsenal.

Nguémo made 35 appearances for Celtic, but a permanent move did not materialize, and he returned to Nancy.

In July 2011, he transferred to Bordeaux, signing a three-year contract. During his first season, he played in 33 of Bordeaux’s 38 league fixtures, helping the team secure fifth place and qualification for the Europa League.

In October 2013, he suffered a scare during a Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, initially suspected to be a minor heart attack. However, tests found nothing serious, and Nguémo returned to action two weeks later.

After a brief stint with Saint-Étienne in 2015, Nguémo moved to Turkish football, signing with Akhisar Belediyespor and later with Kayserispor.

On the international stage, he made 42 appearances for Cameroon, scoring three goals, and participated in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Nguémo retired from professional football after a spell at Norwegian side Kongsvinger in 2019.

In May 2020, he began a coaching career, starting as U18 manager at French club COS Villers-les-Nancy and later as a youth coach at AS Nancy.

Beyond football, Nguémo had a passion for falconry, keeping a modest collection of birds of prey. His favorite was a white-tailed eagle named Mr. George, after George Weah.

Source: Pulsesports

27, June 2024

Bolivian general arrested after failed coup ⁰

Bolivian police have arrested a former general who staged a failed coup, with President Luis Arce asserting his authority over the country’s military and thanking the public for keeping up their support for the government.

The troops of Juan Jose Zuniga, who was fired earlier this week as commander of the Bolivian Army, raided the presidential palace in the capital La Paz on Wednesday afternoon and took up positions in the square outside, where key government buildings are located. Media reports said a tank slammed the palace doors.

However, Zuniga urged the soldiers within hours to withdraw, after leaders from around the world blasted the army’s actions as illegal.

The soldiers’ retreat was followed by the apprehension of Zuniga after the attorney general opened an investigation.

Bolivia’s Government Minister Eduardo del Castillo said that in addition to Zuniga, former navy Vice Adm. Juan Arnez Salvador was also taken into custody.

“What was this group’s goal? The goal was to overturn the democratically elected authority,” del Castillo told journalists while announcing the arrests.

The rebel military leader had claimed he wanted to “restructure democracy” and that while he respected the Bolivian president for now, there would be a change of government.

Arce condemned the coup attempt and called on the public to “organize and mobilize… in favor of democracy.”

“We cannot allow once again coup attempts to take Bolivian lives,” he said in a televised message to the country from inside the presidential palace.

“I am your captain, and I order you to withdraw your soldiers, and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.

The president hailed the withdrawal as a victory for Bolivia’s democracy and addressed the country’s citizens in the aftermath, some of whom had taken to the streets in protest at the coup attempt, waving Bolivian flags, singing the national anthem and cheering.

“Many thanks to the Bolivian people,” said Arce. “Long live democracy.”

Late Wednesday, Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo said that “everything is now under control.” Surrounded by the new military chiefs appointed by Arce, Novillo said that Bolivia lived a “failed coup.”

Justice Minister Ivan Lima denied Zuniga’s claims of establishing democracy, saying the rebel leader was lying and trying to justify his actions for which he said he would face justice.

Prosecutors will seek the maximum sentence of 15 to 20 years in prison for Zuniga, Lima said via the social media platform X, “for having attacked democracy and the Constitution.”

Former President Evo Morales also denounced the military’s actions, calling for criminal prosecution against Zuniga and his “accomplices.”

“We will not allow the armed forces to violate democracy and intimidate people,” he added.

Bolivia has had a long history of political unrest since it gained independence in 1825.

The incumbent president has led an embattled government since taking office in 2020, fending off pressure from both the left and the right.

Bolivia has seen intensifying protests in recent months over the economy’s precipitous decline from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of its most crisis-stricken.

Source: Press TV