Burkina prosecutors seek 30 years for ex-leader Compaore over Sankara murder

8, February 2022

Burkina prosecutors seek 30 years for ex-leader Compaore over Sankara murder 0

Military prosecutors on Tuesday called for a 30-year jail term against Burkina Faso’s former president Blaise Compaore for the 1987 murder of his predecessor, revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.

The closely-followed trial is heading to a climax as the West African nation reels from its latest coup, following popular anger over jihadist attacks.

Prosecutors asked a military court in the capital Ouagadougou to find Compaore, who fled to Ivory Coast in 2014, guilty on several counts.

Accused of masterminding the assassination, Compaore is being tried in absentia on charges of attacking state security, concealing a corpse and complicity in a murder.

At the request of the defence, the trial was then adjourned until March 1.

Revered among African radicals, Sankara was an army captain aged just 33 when he came to power in a coup in 1983.

The fiery Marxist-Leninist railed against imperialism and colonialism, often angering Western leaders but gaining followers across the continent and beyond.

He and 12 colleagues were gunned down by a hit squad on October 15, 1987, at a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council.

Their assassination coincided with a coup that brought Sankara’s former comrade-in-arms, Compaore, to power.

Compaore ruled for 27 years before being deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fleeing to neighbouring Ivory Coast.

Fourteen people stand accused in the trial, 12 of them appearing in court. Most pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution also requested 30 years in jail for the commander of Compaore’s presidential guard, Hyacinthe Kafando, who is suspected of having led the hit squad. He is also being tried in absentia.

It sought a 20-year sentence for Gilbert Diendere, one of the commanders of the army during the 1987 coup and the main defendant present at the trial.

Compaore’s former right-hand man, General Gilbert Diendere, is already serving a 20-year for engineering an attempted putsch in 2015

Compaore’s former right-hand man, General Gilbert Diendere, is already serving a 20-year for engineering an attempted putsch in 2015 OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT AFP

He is already serving a 20-year sentence over an attempted military coup in 2015.

Mariam Sankara, the slain ex-president’s wife, welcomed the prosecution’s plea.

“We’ve been waiting for years,” she said. Now “we’re waiting for the final verdict.”

‘Asking for justice’

The prosecution recounted the day Sankara was killed in its closing statement

It said that when Sankara headed to the National Revolutionary Council meeting, “his executioners were already there”.

According to its version of events, after Sankara entered the meeting room, the hit squad burst in, killing his guards.

“The squad then ordered president Sankara and his colleagues to leave the room. They would then be killed one by one,” the prosecution said.

The prosecution also urged prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years for five other defendants, as well as an 11-year suspended sentence for another.

It sought acquittal over lack of evidence for three of the accused, and cited the expiration of a statute of limitations for the final two.

The trial was already briefly suspended after a coup on January 24 that deposed the elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

After new military strongman Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba restored the constitution, the trial resumed last week.

Prosper Farama, the lawyer representing the Sankara family, said that, as the trial nears its end, the families were finally feeling some relief — even though “during this trial, no-one confessed or repented. No-one!”

“We ask the court to give the families justice,” he said. “We don’t want revenge, we’re simply asking for justice.”

Source: AFP

Biya is now among citizens with disabilities and embodies all that is wrong with Cameroon

8, February 2022

Biya is now among citizens with disabilities and embodies all that is wrong with Cameroon 0

The image that has dominated social media of today’s Africa is ailing President Paul Biya not being able to handover the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to the Senegalese captain. Derision of the 88-year-old Biya on social media is widespread showing a changing media landscape where young Cameroonians are increasingly free to express their discontent publicly.

When Biya arrived the Olembe stadium for the closing ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations, he was simply a bag of bones and could barely walk. He has been in office since 1982 and will be turning 89 this year.

The Cameroonian dictator has won every election ever since he took office even though he rarely appears in public and without personally campaigning. Many political commentators are now saying that Mr. Biya is unfit to run the country because of his health problems.

A frail pensioner falling off his seat during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations in Yaoundé was billed as a triumph for the nation by militants of the ruling CPDM party from his Beti Ewondo tribal extractions. Those of us who watched Biya during the final of the Africa Cup of Nations came to the conclusion that Francophone African nations were badly in need of the gift of shame.

However, the 88-year-old head of state is part and parcel of Cameroon’s history and – with the support of his beautiful wife, Chantal Biya – he was cheered by enthusiastic well-wishers at the Olembe football temple.

The problem as far as the divided Cameroon is concerned is that the so-called father of the nation is set to remain president forever.

Paul Biya’s record of national service is questionable because he has always placed his tribal interest above democratic and economic progress. He is a French acolyte who threw his brother Idriss Deby of Chad under the bus in preference of French backing and to guarantee his continued stay in power. Together with his feared Francophone dominated military and intelligence officers; he has continued to battle Southern Cameroons Restoration fighters committed to creating an independent state in English speaking Cameroon.

Against such a background of violence in Southern Cameroons, Boko Haram incursions in the Far North region and the poor security situation in the East caused by the crisis in the Central African Republic, the appetite for coups or massive street demonstrations is limited in Cameroon. As a pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroonian told this reporter “Moving around Obili and Melen shouting Biya must go is not a wise thing to do in Yaoundé.”

The majority of those living in the cities of Douala, Yaoundé, Garoua, Maroua, Buea, Bamenda and Kumba including Bafoussam certainly want to see Cameroon’s enormous economic potential exploited to solve endemic social problems, including spiralling unemployment and infrastructure crisis. But Biya and his gang are not interested. The nation has everything including foreign reserves from oil and gas but wealth is not distributed evenly.

Cameroon is also of huge strategic importance to Europe and the US, with the Anglo-American empire viewing the country as a key ally in the war against Islamic terror. Correspondingly, with the Russians now in Bangui, Biya is at least a predictable player with whom Europe and the US can work.

From the numerous political discourses on both state and private television houses, it is evidently clear that it is time for proper democratic rule in Cameroon. However, CPDM sources in Yaoundé suggested to this reporter that the Beti Ewondo ruling clan is not ready for change and that key lieutenants still want Biya to remain in power.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the behaviour of the 40-year-old Biya regime during the Africa Cup of Nations was the abiding image of Paul Biya at the Olembe Football Stadium and that summed up the state of Cameroon’s leadership crisis.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Battle for Independence: Mali 2     France 0

8, February 2022

Battle for Independence: Mali 2     France 0 0

Mali’s prime minister on Monday accused France of having sought the partition of the west African country during its military mission there, the latest flare-up in relations between Paris and Bamako.

In a 45-minute speech to diplomats gathered at his request, Choguel Kokalla Maiga denounced France, the former colonial power and a vocal critic of the military regime that appointed him.

But Maiga stopped short of calling for the departure of the anti-jihadist force that France leads in Mali.

He acknowledged that France’s military intervention in 2013 had halted a jihadist insurgency that had already captured the north of the country and threatened the south.

But, the French operation later turned into a de facto partition of the country, he argued.

The jihadists were allowed to take refuge in part of Mali’s territory, regroup and return in force from 2014, said Maiga.

And drawing a parallel with the Allied liberation of France at the end of World War II, he added: “When the French judged that (the US presence) was no longer necessary, they told the Americans to go.

“Did the Americans start insulting the French?”

Tensions have been mounting after French President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at Mali’s failure to stick to a timetable for a return to civilian rule.

Mali stepped up its denunciations of France after the European nation reportedly got the EU and the so-called West African bloc ECOWAS to sanction the people of Mali and their government.

Bamako has accused Paris of having manipulated ECOWAS into its hard line against Bamako, a theme Maiga returned to in Monday’s speech.

The aim had been to present Mali as a pariah, he said.

“We cannot be turned into vassals,” he added. “You cannot enslave the country. That is over,” he said, a reference to the country’s past as a colony of France.

Reported by AFP with additional editing by Camcordnews

AFCON and French Cameroun: there was no mention of Marc-Vivien Foé at the tournament

8, February 2022

AFCON and French Cameroun: there was no mention of Marc-Vivien Foé at the tournament 0

The tragedy of Marc-Vivien Foé’s death hits much harder at his gravesite.

It overlooks a soccer field, but not the kind the late Cameroon and Manchester City player wanted. The goalposts are part of a shoddy metal frame, unpainted and leaning to one side. The field is bare earth and lined with trash.

There’s a crumbling building nearby with windows and parts of walls missing. The whole site once became a haven for criminals and drug users.

This was meant to be Foé’s dream.

When Foé collapsed on a field while playing for his country at FIFA’s Confederations Cup in 2003 and died in an awful moment for world soccer, he was in the process of building a sports complex and school in the eastern outskirts of his hometown of Yaounde. It was to be his legacy, his gift to his people and a precious resource for budding young soccer players in a part of the world where they get little help.

Foé never got to finish it and instead it became his final resting place.

But at Foé’s funeral, when he was buried with military honors and hailed as a “fallen national hero,” promises were made by representatives of the Cameroon government that the project would be completed in his memory. Nearly 20 years later, it’s in ruins. The only part of the complex that isn’t broken down is the marble block that marks Foé’s grave.

Foé’s nephew, Nama Mvogo, says he visits every week to clean the grave. Every time, he’s struck by how forsaken it appears.

“I feel that my uncle has been abandoned,” Mvogo said. “Even to come and see his tomb, (there’s) nothing. It’s deplorable.”

The last month has been a painful one for Mvogo as he watched his central African country host the African Cup of Nations, the continent’s biggest soccer tournament, for the first time in 50 years. It’s a tournament Foé won twice with Cameroon and Mvogo thought it would be the perfect opportunity to revive Foé’s project, or at least recognize him.

But there was no mention of Foé at the tournament, Mvogo said, and watching Cameroon’s current team play at this African Cup invoked nothing but sadness for him.

Foé played for Cameroon for a decade and also became a popular player in England with West Ham and Manchester City. He died at the age of 28 from an undiagnosed heart condition, which was discovered in the days after he slumped to the ground in the center circle at the Gerland stadium in Lyon, France during the Confederations Cup semifinal against Colombia. It united world soccer in grief.

Tens of thousands lined the streets of Yaounde for his funeral procession. Then-FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Cameroon President Paul Biya attended the service but Foé’s true value as a person was only revealed when an unknown 14-year-old boy stood up and explained how the soccer star had been paying for him to attend a special center for the disabled.

Since then the academy project fell into disrepair. Mvogo said its future is complicated and Foé’s father and widow, who live in France, and the government haven’t been able to work together to revive it.

But it’s not completely abandoned.

Two small soccer schools make use of the land, somehow managing to train and play games in the dirt near Foé’s grave. The original field Foé marked out was overgrown with palm trees long ago, Mvogo said.

Goalkeeper David Neabo, who plays for an under-9 team, stands under those crooked goalposts clutching a ball. His coach, Ewodo Yves Laurent, said he still invokes Foé’s memory to inspire the kids, who weren’t even born when Foé died and can’t really grasp his success from the dilapidated state of the academy.

“I tell them about Marc-Vivien Foé, who also motivated me to come here,” the coach said. “When I look at what he did, what he became in life, I ask myself why not sustain his dream?”

The only image of Foé at the complex is a statue of him in Cameroon’s team uniform, his right arm raised in celebration. But its proportions are not quite right and the figure appears stunted and doesn’t resemble the powerful 6-foot-2 midfielder Foé was. Years of neglect have chipped away at it and Foé’s green Cameroon shirt is faded and discolored.

Mvogo doesn’t know if his uncle’s dream will ever be realized but a recent incident did give him hope for the future. He came across Eric Djemba-Djemba, the former Manchester United midfielder and Foé’s Cameroon teammate, visiting the grave.

“He said he couldn’t afford to be in Cameroon and not stop here,” Mvogo recalled.

Foé’s memory, at least, remains alive for some.

Culled from AP

Tennis: Yannick Noah back home in Cameroon as a local chief

7, February 2022

Tennis: Yannick Noah back home in Cameroon as a local chief 0

Yannick Noah has been a tennis star and a rock star. Now he has a new role in life; chief of his village in Cameroon. It was the dream of his father, Zacharie, who raised his son to become the French Open champion and who saw his grandson, Joakim, become a star in the NBA.

When Zacharie Noah died in 2017, Yannick Noah made a decision to return to the home of his birth, the country he left when he was 12, in order to fulfil his father’s dreams. Now, the 61-year-old Noah is chief of a former village called Etoudi, now a part of Yaoundé.

YANNICK NOAH, SON OF ZACHARIE

In a touching video published by Brut, the 1983 Roland-Garros champion takes cameras around his village, where he is greeted by children at his old school. Pointing out the school that his mother founded, his home and the bedroom that is now a classroom, Noah’s role is to watch over both the children and the elders. The people call him “Papi Yannick” or “Tonton Yannick

Yannick Noah

“I am the patriarch of what used to be a village and now it is one of the neighbourhoods of Yaoundé,” Noah says. “This is my town.”

It was only when his father passed away in 2017 that Noah felt ready to take on the job. In that year, France won the Davis Cup under Noah’s captaincy

“It was like a calling. And his crazy dream was for me to come. And not just that I would take care of it but that I would be there. I don’t think I could have come three years ago, it was not the time. And then, all of a sudden, it was time. It’s my destiny to be here.”

Noah says his biggest job now is to get to grips again with the local dialect but said he’d find a way. “It’s a real responsibility, but I’m a fighter,” he says, with a smile.

Source: Tennismajors

West Region: Biya regime reports outbreak of H5N1 bird flu

7, February 2022

West Region: Biya regime reports outbreak of H5N1 bird flu 0

Cameroon has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu in its West region, the government said.

The H5N1 diagnosis followed a significant number of bird deaths at a poultry farm in Kongso, in the area of Bamoungoum, said a statement by the regional governor dated on Sunday.

Culling is under way and a sanitary barrier will be erected around the farm. Epidemiological investigations will be done in all poultry farms and markets in the region, the statement said.

Source: Reuters

Football: Overmars quits Ajax over ‘inappropriate’ messages to female colleagues

7, February 2022

Football: Overmars quits Ajax over ‘inappropriate’ messages to female colleagues 0

Former Dutch international Marc Overmars resigned as sporting director of Ajax after admitting sending a “series of inappropriate messages” to female colleagues, while Dutch football authorities Monday called on victims to come forward.

The bombshell announcement on Sunday was greeted with shock in the Netherlands, with football commentators saying it would leave a large gap at the country’s top football club.

It also came as the country was reeling from a similar scandal involving sexual abuse in one of its most popular TV talent shows, The Voice of Holland.

“We are shocked by the reports at Ajax and sympathise with all the victims,” the Royal Dutch Football Federation (KNVB) said.

“As the largest sports association in the Netherlands, we are aware that, unfortunately, power relations can also play a role in the workplace in the sports world,” it said in a statement.

“We would like to say to all victims of transgressive behaviour: please report, no matter how difficult it is,” the KNVB said.

The 48-year-old Overmars, who won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995 before going on to play for Arsenal and Barcelona, late Sunday said he was “ashamed” of his behaviour.

“I am ashamed. Last week I was confronted with reports about my behaviour and how this has come across to others,” the 86-time international said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t realise that I was crossing the line with this, but that was made clear to me in recent days. I suddenly felt enormous pressure. I apologise.”

He added: “This behaviour is unacceptable. I now see that too. But it’s too late. I see no other option but to leave Ajax. This also has a major impact on my private situation. That is why I ask everyone to leave me and my family alone.”

Overmars had been in his post at Ajax since the summer of 2012 and recently penned a contract extension until 2026.

In his time as part of the backroom staff, Ajax made the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and final of the Europa League in 2017.

In his playing career, he represented the Netherlands at four major tournaments — the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and 2000 and 2004 European championships.

‘Devastating’

Ajax supervisory board chairman Leen Meijaard described Overmars as “the best football director that Ajax has had”.

But he added: “It is devastating for the women who have had to deal with the behaviour. When we heard news of this, we immediately acted, carefully deliberating and weighing what was the best thing to do.”

“Unfortunately, he has really gone over the line, so continuing as director was not an option, as he recognised himself. It is extremely painful for everyone.”

“Who would have thought a MeToo moment would also happen in football?” NOS commentator Arno Vermeulen told the national public broadcaster.

“It is a painful moment, but the only correct decision is for Ajax and Overmars to part ways,” he said.

Valentijn Driessen, football chief at De Telegraaf daily tabloid warned that sexually inappropriate behaviour was widespread in the professional football world.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Driessen said.

He said Overmars’ departure also placed question marks over whether coach Erik ten Hag — who had a close working relationship with Overmars — would remain at Ajax.

‘Complicated’

The former international’s departure leaves a large hole at the Amsterdam powerhouse, with much of its recent successes attributed to Overmars and Ajax chief executive and former Dutch and Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

“The successes at Ajax are linked to Overmars and Van der Sar. They were like Siamese twins,” Vermeulen said.

“That link is now been broken due to Overmars, which is making it utterly complicated for Van der Sar,” he said.

Said Van der Sar: “Marc and I have been playing together since the early 1990s, first at Ajax and then with the national team and we have been colleagues in the management of Ajax for almost ten years now.

“That now stops very abruptly.”

“We were working on something very beautiful here, so this news will also be a blow to everyone who cares about Ajax,” Van der Sar added.

Source: AFP

Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Yerima warns Biya to withdraw Francophone troops before it’s too late

7, February 2022

Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Yerima warns Biya to withdraw Francophone troops before it’s too late 0

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government (IG) has denounced the recent French Cameroun military deployment to Southern Cameroons, calling on the Yaoundé regime to withdraw its forces from the Federal Republic of Ambazonia before it gets too late.

Vice President Dabney Yerima, in a statement released on Monday, demanded that the French Cameroun regime stop repeated violations of Southern Cameroons sovereignty and deadly raids on ordinary Ambazonian citizens and fully withdraw Francophone army soldiers from Southern Cameroons soil.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stated that Ambazonian patience has reached its limit and the continued massacre of innocent Southern Cameroons lives and violations of Southern Cameroons sovereignty were the last straw.

“Ambazonia fighters, which dispelled the myth about La Republique du Cameroun’s military and is subjecting them to humiliation has recommended that Yaoundé should pull out its troops before it is too late,” Yerima warned.

Late on Sunday, the Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambazonia fighters will give an adequate response to the latest French Cameroun military aggression in Mezam County.

Cameroon Concord News understands the situation in Southern Cameroons has exacerbated and ordinary Anglophone citizens are now being targeted under flimsy claims and pretexts by the Francophone dominated Cameroon government army.

By Isong Asu

Africa Cup of Nations: Those who took care of the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo were rewarded in Yaoundé

7, February 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: Those who took care of the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo were rewarded in Yaoundé 0

‘But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee’ (Luke 10.33-35).

When the Prince of Peace spoke, he spoke volumes. The words of Jesus Christ were pearls and rubies and diamonds, and often they meant not only the finite meaning which we can put into practice, but infinite meanings which only He can fulfill. The political leadership of the Republic of Senegal was wise when they carefully weighed the sentences of the Saviour and by extrapolation Issa.

In 1992, Senegal hosted the Africa Cup of Nations. It was the 18th edition and the field expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three; the top two teams in each group advanced to the quarterfinals. Ivory Coast won its first championship, beating Ghana on penalty kicks 11−10 after a goalless draw.

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon knocked out a great Senegalese side captained by the renowned Jules Boucande now of blessed memory. Nobody ever imagined that after the 1992 fiasco, the Teranga Lions of Senegal will create history by winning the country’s first — and, to date, only – Africa Cup of Nations.  

The scenes at the Olembe stadium in Yaoundé remains the most memorable and intense moments the Senegalese nation and its people have ever experienced and for sure it is going to transcend football.

But for the host nation, Cameroon, the Senegalese triumph has far reaching social repercussions and has instilled a sense of disunity among French and English speaking Cameroonians and arguably reminded the Cameroonian people that God is a rewarder of nations who diligently seek him.

Despite that trauma was huge for Senegal and necessitated a rebuild ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the big men in Dakar were all behind their manager Aliou Cissé.

The Teranga Lions had a pressure-relieving victory Group B stage amid a 0-0 draw with Guinea at the Kouekong Stadium. However, there were bigger tests to come and breaks of good fortune, as well as Cameroon support.

You can have all the talent in the world, the best football players, good chemistry, support from fans or any other advantages you can think of, but you will always need a bit of luck to win big trophies.  That is what the spirit of the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo provided for the Teranga Lions.

The Lions of Senegal worked so hard but the father of the Cameroonian nation, the late President Ahidjo gave the Senegalese an incredible mental strength.  They were ready for anything that could be thrown at them by the Egyptians. And they had an answer for everything. The cohesion in the group headed by Sadio Mane was marvelous. The spirit of Ahmadou Ahidjo-a leader who had so much passion for the beautiful game was really behind Senegal.

Big games belong to big players. There is no bigger game in Africa than the Africa Cup of Nations final. That’s where Senegal wanted to shine and they did just that.

The impact of the Senegalese victory on Cameroonian soil is so special because the remains of late President Ahmadou Ahidjo and his wife are still in Dakar.  For the first time, Senegalese people of all origins have something in common, their football team. They will celebrate all together; enjoy life as a society all together.

Through sport and football, those who took care of the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo have been rewarded.  

By Besong Esther Agbor

US general in UAE

6, February 2022

US general in UAE 0

The US general in charge of American forces in the West Asia region has arrived in the United Arab Emirates after a string of Yemeni counterstrikes that caught Abu Dhabi off-guard.

Marine General Frank McKenzie, the head of the United States Central Command, traveled to the Emirates on Sunday ahead of the schedule, after Yemen’s defense forces carried out at least three rounds of retaliatory attacks against the UAE’s sensitive spots in the space of a single month.

“I think it’s a very worrisome time for UAE. They’re looking for support. We’re here to help them to provide that support,” McKenzie said shortly before landing in Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported.

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