CAR President Faustin meets Biya, says Yaoundé will not be a target of Wagner forces

13, September 2023

CAR President Faustin meets Biya, says Yaoundé will not be a target of Wagner forces 0

President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic has met Cameroon’s collapsing president, Paul Biya at the so-called Unity Palace in Yaoundé.

The Russia-Wagner backed leader was in Cameroon to give assurances from President Putin that Moscow would not overthrow the corrupt and moribund Yaoundé government which has been in power for over four decades and has nothing to show for its existence.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that the 12 September 2023 meeting lasted over one hour thirty minutes.

Faustin-Archange Touadera, the designated mediator of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and current Chair of the CEMAC Heads of State Conference also briefed the 90-year-old Cameroonian dictator on his mission to Libreville, where he met, last week, with the new Gabonese strongman.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Buea prison conditions “Horrific”! Barrister Agbor Balla won’t talk

12, September 2023

Buea prison conditions “Horrific”! Barrister Agbor Balla won’t talk 0

Southern Cameroons detainees have described the prison in Buea, as a horrific slaughterhouse.

The prison in Buea has over 1000 Anglophone prisoners and the worse conditions of detention and imprisonment.

“It is sad that Barrister Agbor Bala the so-called human rights champion speaks of everything in Anglophone Cameroon except the Buea prison where inmates have barely some few hours of clean air” a Southern Cameroons detainee told our Buea correspondent.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the Buea prison opens at 11am and shuts at 4pm while every other detention facility in Francophone Cameroun opens 7am and closes at 6.45pm.

“The only viable solution is to promptly shutter the Buea prison and relocate the inmates to a more appropriate detention facility in the South West region,” a Roman Catholic cleric contacted by CIR said.

The priest who sued for anonymity furthered that the Buea prison facility is overcrowded, unsanitary, dangerous and lacking basic amenities. The toilets and bathrooms are combined in the same small space.

The prison is home to a variety of Southern Cameroons inmates, including dangerous criminals from Yaoundé and Douala a mix that creates a volatile environment that is prone to violence.

Throughout their incarceration, Southern Cameroons detainees have endured a host of medical issues, including malaria and typhoid fever.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Yaoundé: Detained spy chief comes under attack in Kondengui Prison

12, September 2023

Yaoundé: Detained spy chief comes under attack in Kondengui Prison 0

Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, who has been in pre-trial detention since 4 March 2023 following the assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo was verbally abused by a staff member of the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison, witnesses told Cameroon Concord News.

The incident occurred on September 9 as Eko Eko was having a walk around the prison facility.

A prison officer whose name we are withholding insulted Mr. Eko Eko in front of several other officials.

Following the verbal attack, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko made a u-turn and headed back to his private cell. The disgraced spy chief has been harassed many times by prison officials.

Léopold Maxime Eko Eko was recently interrogated by a judge at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal.

By Isong Asu

Cameroonian nurse is Italy’s boxing champion

11, September 2023

Cameroonian nurse is Italy’s boxing champion 0

A 31-year-old Cameroonian nurse from Bologna became Italian lightweight boxing champion Friday night just a year after getting Italian citizenship.

Pamela Noutcho’s dream has come true after she beat her challenger in Casoria (Naples) in the match for the belt.

Pamela Malvina Nooutcho Sawa has lived in Italy since she was 8 years old, after reuniting with her father who had left Cameroon for study and work.

Source: ANSA.It

Fr Lado says African Synod delegates likely to resist pro-LGBTQ+ ideas

11, September 2023

Fr Lado says African Synod delegates likely to resist pro-LGBTQ+ ideas 0

A Cameroonian priest has suggested that African delegates to the Synod on Synodality assembly next month at the Vatican may be quite resistant to any efforts at being more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.

Writing in The Tablet last month, Fr. Ludovic Lado, S.J. reflected critically about how negatively the church in Africa has been receiving the synodal process, and specifically when it comes to questions of gender and sexuality. He writes:

“I don’t hear any of the African delegates to the Synod in Rome saying that making room for ‘everybody’ in Church means including LGBT+ people. Many may be open to the idea of making more room for women in positions of authority in the Church, but that is the farthest they can go on gender equity issues. At least for now!”

Lado, who oversees a church-run education center in Chad and is originally from Cameroon, begins with these words:

“[F]rom what I have observed, it would be difficult to say that Catholics at the grassroots in Africa are particularly excited about the upcoming Synod on synodality in Rome in October. It is business as usual in church and society – each continues unperturbed, ruled by the dogma of patriarchy, as they have been for centuries.”

Lado, author of The Politics of Gender Reforms in West Africa, acknowledges that, on women’s rights and roles in the church, “gender equality remains marginal and highly controversial” in many African nations. Religions, particularly Christianity and Islam, which dominate many countries, are central to ongoing oppression, according to Lado. In his examination of LGBTQ+ rights, he states:

“Such resistance to change enjoys powerful popular support, especially so when it is linked to the inclusion of gay people in the life of the Church and the rights of LGBT+ people. The Church has room for all – Todos, todos, todos! (‘Everyone, everyone, everyone!’) – Pope Francis told the huge crowds of young people in Portugal last week. But his message that the Church should make use of the gifts of all its members and that it should be open to all – including LGBT+ people – is not getting through in Africa. The social matrix – especially in religious communities – remains largely homophobic.”

Lado notes that Pope Francis’ statement earlier this year that “homosexuality is not a crime” was not well received by most African ecclesial and political leaders. Rather, these leaders rely on anti-gay sentiments to retain control and coalesce power. Lado concludes that such attitudes will impair African participants at the Synod assembly from being open to inclusive gestures:

“Some political leaders have mastered the art of riding on homophobic sentiments, alleging that Western lobbies are on a new mission of ideological colonisation in Africa. And I don’t recall ever having read a pastoral letter from an African bishop defending gay people from prejudice and discrimination. On the contrary, most of them cite biblical and magisterial texts to support their condemnation of homosexuality. Pope Francis urged young people in Lisbon to chant, ‘Everybody, everybody, everybody’.

“I don’t hear any of the African delegates to the Synod in Rome saying that making room for ‘everybody’ in Church means including LGBT+ people. Many may be open to the idea of making more room for women in positions of authority in the Church, but that is the farthest they can go on gender equity issues. At least for now!”

Fr. Lado’s analysis about the current Synod assembly is consistent with events at previous Synods, like those on the family in 2014-15 and on youth in 2018. The delegates from Eastern Europe and parts of African at those meetings strongly resisted any effort to improve pastoral care for LGBTQ+ people. Those delegates were all bishops, though. Perhaps, now that lay people, including women, religious, and clergy, will be delegates, there will be more African voices like Fr. Lado’s charting a different path that uplifts a church for “everybody.”

Source: New Ways Ministry

FECAFOOT Crisis: Eto’o juggles with a CAS ruling

11, September 2023

FECAFOOT Crisis: Eto’o juggles with a CAS ruling 0

At the Fédération Camerounaise de Football (Fécafoot), the implementation of the verdict of the Court of Arbitration for Sport declaring the resolutions of the General Assembly of August 27, 2022 “null and void” is meeting with resistance.

Fécafoot and its president continue to resist CAS resolutions

In Cameroon, the ball isn’t always rolling. The stadiums have given way to a veritable legal battlefield. The situation has not improved since the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued its verdict on August 15, 2023 in the case between Guibaï Gatama et al. and the Cameroon Football Federation (Fécafoot).

CAS declared “null and void” the resolutions taken by Fécafoot at its General Assembly on August 27, 2022. The ruling was intended to restore order to Cameroonian soccer, but has met with fierce resistance from the body headed by former footballer Samuel Eto’o.

The François Kouedem case

One of the most contentious points in this affair revolves around François Kouedem, who has been suspended from his position as president of the Ligue de l’Ouest for almost two years. Fécafoot maintains its position, even though article 15 paragraph 2 of its statutes stipulates that: “Any suspension must be confirmed at the next General Meeting by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the valid votes cast, failing which it is immediately lifted.”

In the opinion of a legal expert who requested anonymity, the resolutions of the Fécafoot General Assembly of August 27, 2022 were declared null and void by CAS. “Consequently, Mr. Kouedem’s suspension is automatically lifted. That’s what the Statutes say”, explains the expert.

The case of jurisdictional bodies

At its August 27, 2022 session, the Fécafoot General Assembly elected the members of its various jurisdictional bodies. This point was included in resolution N°15 of the final communiqué of the meeting. As the CAS has declared resolution N°15 null and void,” explains the lawyer, “the members elected to the jurisdictional bodies at the Assembly of August 27, 2022 automatically lose their status, and the decisions taken by them since the date of their election are simply null and void.

The problem is that Fécafoot doesn’t have the same approach. It maintains the bodies dissolved by CAS. Thus, on September 4 2023, the president of the Ethics Chamber notified Donald Ngameni, president of the Unisport club in Haut Nkam, of his definitive exclusion from all football-related activities. A decision deemed “illegal and illegitimate (which) attests to Fécafoot’s determination not to comply with the rules governing the practice of soccer at national and international level”, argue Ngameni’s counsel. They promise to take the case to CAS.

The Panthère and Ligue de Football Professionnel cases

Following his logic, the General Secretary of Fécafoot also announced that Panthère du Ndé would remain in the second division, and that the Professional Football League of Cameroon (LFPC), which should be rehabilitated, would be dissolved. “This is a denial of reality on the part of the Federation, which is showing extreme bad faith in its assessment of the CAS ruling”, reacted a former Fécafoot employee.

For him, there is no doubt that the orders came from the boss of Cameroonian soccer. A Samuel Eto’o who “remains in a posture of arm-wrestling and settling scores with all those soccer players who have dared to criticize his mode of governance”, he says.

What Fécafoot risks

It is important to note that article 14 paragraph 1.a of the FIFA Statutes stipulates that member associations are obliged to observe at all times the Statutes, regulations, directives and decisions of FIFA’s governing bodies, as well as those of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Paragraph 3 of the same article implies that the violation of paragraph 1.a entails sanctions. These range from “temporary suspension with immediate effect” to “exclusion” of the member association concerned by the FIFA Council.

Fécafoot may well be in for a nasty surprise, as certain stakeholders, notably the Panthère du Ndé club, have already referred the matter to FIFA, pointing out Fécafoot’s failure to comply with the CAS decision of August 15, 2023. This affair is far from over.

Source: Sports News Africa

Cameroonian Troops Dislodge Pro-Biafra Militants From Bakassi

11, September 2023

Cameroonian Troops Dislodge Pro-Biafra Militants From Bakassi 0

According to eyewitnesses, Cameroon’s Rapid d’intervention Battalions (BIR) also recaptured Abana from the pro Biafra militants.

Members of a pro Biafra separatist group, Black Marine, from Abana town, former capital of Bakassi Peninsula, have been dislodged by Cameroonian troops.

This incident was said to have occurred on Sunday morning.

According to eyewitnesses, Cameroon’s Rapid d’intervention Battalions (BIR) also recaptured Abana from the pro Biafra militants.

It was gathered that authorities in Cameroon had deployed more troops to Isangele subdivision. The troops have reportedly surrounded the town, including the residential quarters of oil companies.

The rebel group was reported to have engaged the troops in a gunfire in Abana sometime ago.

One Henry Edet, identified as an operational coordinator of Biafra National League, BNL, was quoted to have urged the Black Marine to retreat in Abana. Black Marine is said to be an arm of BNL.

Few days ago, the BIR troops launched airstrikes at Ine Mba forest in Idabato subdivision of Bakassi Peninsula, targeting Black Marine militants.

It was learnt that the militant group clashed with troops of the Joint Border Forces of Nigeria and Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that about two helicopters dropped explosives in the area, destroying the militant camps. However, no life was lost in the clash, according to the eyewitnesses.

By Engelis Okesack Besong

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Explosion kills 1 in Limbe

11, September 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Explosion kills 1 in Limbe 0

At least one person has died after an improvised explosive device exploded in Cameroon’s war-torn English-speaking region of Southwest, local and security sources said on Saturday.

The incident occurred late Friday in the seaside tourist town of Limbe in the region.

“The explosion was dropped at a junction not far from a popular bar where many people were drinking. It killed one person, and several others were injured. The injured are in the hospital,” a military official in the region who arrived at the scene after the incident told Xinhua by phone but asked not to be named.

Local officials blamed separatist fighters known to be operating in the region for the blast.

There has been renewed violence in the country’s two Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since Monday after separatists declared a two-week lockdown to disrupt school resumption.

Separatist fighters have been clashing with government forces since 2017 in a bid to create an independent nation in the regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Catholic Peace Entity Allays Fears of “a possible coup” in Cameroon

9, September 2023

Catholic Peace Entity Allays Fears of “a possible coup” in Cameroon 0

The Cameroonian government has put in place the system of “divide and rule”, which makes attempts by the country’s military to overthrow President Paul Biya impossible, a Catholic peace entity has said, allaying fears of “a possible coup” in the Central African nation.

Following recent military coups in Africa, particularly the July 26 one in the West African nation of Niger that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power, and the one in the Central African nation of Gabon on August 30, which resulted in the ouster of President Ali Bongo from power, the 90-year-old Cameroonian President reportedly made significant changes in his military, reshuffling the country’s defense delegate to the presidency, the staff of the air force, the navy, and the police.

According to Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), which has presence in Cameroon, the Central African country’s citizens are calling for the forceful removal of President Biya who ascended to the presidency through a coup d’état in 1982.

According to the peace entity of the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Cameroonians are congratulating Gabon and have “unanimously called on the military leaders of Cameroon to follow suit.”

A coup in Cameroon, DHPI says, may be an uphill task for the military who have been divided into various groups, and an animosity created among them.

“It must be noted that Paul Biya, who has been the ruler of Cameroon since 1982 had diversified the Armed Forces in the country as a preventive measure for a possible coup,” the peace entity says.

Having suffered a failed military coup in 1984, Biya is said to have wasted no time in creating many arms of the military. In this light, the country has the Gendarmerie, the Regular Army, the National Presidential Guard and the Rapid Intervention Brigade widely known by its French acronym as BIR.

“With this diversification of the Armed Forces, Biya has used the tactic of divide and rule as some arms of the military are given preferential treatment to the detriment of others, for example the BIR is supposedly the envy of the Armed Forces in Cameroon,” DHPI says.

The SACBC entity says the diversification of Cameroon’s Armed Forces, coupled with the recent adjustment in command of the top brass of Defense Sector “has canceled out any possibility of a military coup taking place in Cameroon any time soon.”

“Paul Biya will continue wielding power until a different strategy is devised to unseat him”, the Catholic peace entity reports, adding that President Biya’s early years in office had been “tarnished by tyranny and breaches of human rights.”

Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Niger and now Gabon have all faced the upheaval of military takeovers over the past three years, removing democratically elected presidents.

Culled from aciafrica

Football: Brazil’s Neymar overtakes Pele goals record in win over Bolivia

9, September 2023

Football: Brazil’s Neymar overtakes Pele goals record in win over Bolivia 0

Neymar has surpassed Pele as Brazil’s male all-time top scorer with two goals in a 5-1 win over Bolivia.

The forward, 31, who went into the World Cup qualifying match tied with legend Pele on 77 goals, missed a penalty before scoring twice in the second half on his 125th appearance.

“I never imagined reaching this record. I’m no better than Pele or any other player for the national team,” he said.

Marta has scored a record 122 goals in 189 matches for Brazil’s women’s team.

Pele, who died in December aged 82, scored 77 goals in 92 appearances between 1957 and 1971. He was widely regarded to be one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game.

His official account on social media platform X paid tribute to Neymar’s achievement.

“Congratulations Neymar for surpassing the King in goals for Brazil. Surely Pele is applauding you today!” it said.

Brazil coach Fernando Diniz said: “He came to do what he did: have fun, score two goals and break the record.”

Neymar became the world’s most expensive player when he joined Paris St-Germain from Barcelona for £200m in 2017.

He left the French side in the summer to join Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal.

“He is a very big idol, people must recognise him and accept him,” Diniz added.

Source: BBC

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