Monthly Archives: September 2017

19, September 2017

44 die of cholera in Nigeria’s militancy-hit northeast ⁰

The United Nations says at least 44 people have died in a cholera outbreak in the militancy-hit northeast of Nigeria, where the first case of the disease was identified nearly five weeks ago.

The world body said in a statement that nearly 2,300 confirmed or suspected cases of cholera had been registered by Monday.

“To date, the outbreak has claimed at least 44 lives, out of close to 2,300 confirmed and/or suspected cases,” read the statement.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that nearly $10 million is needed to keep the disease from spreading.

Additional funding would assist to implement a cholera response and prevention plan in the coming months, including providing access to clean water and a vaccination program.

Peter Lundberg, OCHA’s deputy humanitarian coordinator for Nigeria, said that despite new treatment centers and sanitation measures, more needed to be done.

“The camps for displaced persons are congested, there is not enough water, sanitation facilities are poor, and the health care system is weak,” Lundberg said, adding, “We must tackle this urgently to avoid preventable suffering and loss of life.”

The first cholera case was identified in Borno State on August 16 and has since spread, mainly in camps for those displaced by the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group.

A boy walks through one of the internally displaced people camps in Gwoza, north-eastern Nigeria, on August 1, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection spread by contaminated food and water. It can be easily treated with oral rehydration solution if caught early, but the disease can kill within hours if left untreated.

The latest figures by the UN suggest a 4.3 percent fatality rate — well above the 1 percent rate that the World Health Organization rates as an emergency.

Cholera is just one of the challenges facing the Nigerian government, which is still struggling to expand its authority in the militancy-wracked northeastern states.

Displaced families stand at the main gate of a camp for internally displaced people at the Monguno district of Borno state, Nigeria, on February 14, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Last week, Mark Lowcock, the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief, said that the threat of famine caused by the conflict’s impact on farming had been averted.

But 8.5 million people in the northeast, out of 17 million in the wider Lake Chad region comprising Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, needed humanitarian assistance, Lowcock added.

Northeast Nigeria is already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, which has killed at least 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million since 2009.

Source: Presstv

19, September 2017

Lord Justice Ayah Paul speaks of his arrest; Says Cameroon in need of a truth and reconciliation Committee ⁰

Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine has broken the silence he maintained after his release from prison on Sunday, September 17, 2017, on the TV program Geopolis of the Equinoxe Television channel. Ayah Paul made an overview of his arrest, the conditions of his detention, his release, the reparations demanded by his party and the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The magistrate accused the Biya Francophone regime of having contributed to the deteriorating state of his health. “It is probably my stay at the SED (Secretariat of State for Defense) that caused me damage. I can say irreparable damage. Currently I can not see anything with my left eye. All of a sudden, I became a cardiac patient, ” Ayah pointed out.

Ayah Paul Abine revealed that he spent his first night in a small cell without window or mattress, a situation that worsened his health. “If I returned to this cell even for 30 minutes, I will die,” said Ayah Paul Abine, who added that in his new cell he was given “a semblance of a mattress with a thickness of 5 cm”.

The former Supreme Court judge regretted that during his stay at the SED, only one of his colleagues visited him. He said he was abducted from his home on a Saturday night without an arrest warrant and no magistrate reacted. “How can I explain why I stayed in a cell for 223 days and only one magistrate in all of Cameroon had the courage to visit me?” Asks Ayah Paul Abine. The retired magistrate insisted that 80% of Cameroonian magistrates should not be part of the judicial family as “they are all afraid to do their job”.

For Ayah Paul Abine, the arrest of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was a political affair. Ayah noted that he was not a member of the Consortium but was arrested because he asked for the law to be applied in the case. He called for the establishment of the National Truth and Reconciliation Committee. The Attorney General suggested that arrogance be set aside in dealing with the Southern Cameroons leadership.

By Sama Ernest with files from CIN

19, September 2017

French Cameroun: Boko Haram escalates terror campaign in the Far North region ⁰

8 people lost their lives first following an explosion of an improvised device at Wulba and in a suicide attack attributed to the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram at Kossa in the Far North region of French Cameroun. The attacks took place on Sunday the 17th of September 2017 in the morning.

Five people including three civilians and two suicide bombers died in Kossa, near Mora, Mayo-Sava division in the Far North region. It was around 5am (4am GMT), during prayer time that the first girl triggered her bomb at the entrance of a concession. The second suicide bomber who took advantage of the panic created by the first detonation, set off his bomb inside the concession killing three people including one child and two women.

The two suicide bombers died in the double suicide bombing. 72 hours before, in Wulba, three Cameroonians, including a first-class soldier, Abakar Mahamat of the Joint Multinational Force(FMM), based in Mora, died after the explosion of an improvised explosive device.

Two other men, including members of vigilance committees whose mission was to alert the army and authorities during the Boko Haram intrusions, were also killed in the explosion.

By Fru James
Cameroon Concord News

18, September 2017

With Cameroon mired in turmoil, Nature partitioning the Country ⁰

Nature has once again added its voice in the political turmoil in Cameroon, and once again the partitioning of the country into Southern Cameroons and French Cameroon is becoming evident. The partition trope resurfaces periodically, most often while the one and indivisible Cameroon looks “too hard to fix.”

The N 63 road at the level of Bamendjou in the western region linking French Cameroun and the Bamenda County is impassable since Saturday. According to officials from the Western Regional Public Works Delegation, the traffic disruption on this part of the road was caused by a landslide over an 80-meter range at one of the sections, a drop of nearly three meters.

The Southern Cameroons Governing Council and many other advocates of partition suggest that Cameroon is a false construct of British and French colonisation and that Franco-phones and Anglophones are incapable of sustaining a heterogeneous state.

Southern Cameroonians who want to divide the country owe the African Union, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the rest of the world extensive, detailed clarification. Surely, any plan to drastically restructure Cameroon must be more thoughtful and detailed.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News

18, September 2017

Kenya opposition urges reform of electoral commission ⁰

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga Sunday said the coalition he leads will hold nationwide campaigns to urge reforms of the electoral commission before the fresh presidential elections next month.

Odinga has maintained that the electoral commission must be reformed or he will not participate in the new election ordered by the Supreme Court when it nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election in August. One of the reforms he wants is the removal of a dozen top officials he accuses of electoral fraud. The electoral commission has set Oct 17 for the repeat election.

Those who perpetrated illegalities and irregularities in the nullified election remain in place, “claiming readiness to conduct another election,” Odinga told thousands of supporters at a rally.

“We are ready to go for elections, even tomorrow, but we will not go to elections with a compromised electoral commission,” Odinga said. Odinga accused the electoral commission of working with Kenyatta’s Jubilee party to rig the elections.

A supporter of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga holds a placard in the Kibera area at an election rally in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 12, 2017. (Photo by AP)

“IEBC (the electoral commission) and Jubilee are partners in crime,” said Odinga. “The two need each other. If Jubilee is in power, it will protect the co-conspirators and fraudsters in IEBC. Those IEBC officials have every reason to protect Jubilee as their only source of protection.”

Kenyatta has said the electoral commission should not be changed and he even warned the judiciary from interfering.

Other changes that Odinga wants include disqualifying a French firm, OT-Morpho, from supplying equipment to transmit results, claiming that only two of more than 40,000 kits were used to transmit the nullified election results and that staff from the company may be complicit in electoral fraud. Odinga also said the Al Ghurair printing firm should be blacklisted from supplying ballot papers because the Supreme Court found that some of the forms it printed that were used to transmit presidential results lacked security features such as serial numbers and water marks which were meant to prevent rigging.

Odinga has complained about the electoral commission for some time. In May 2016 he led protests calling for the removal of top officials of the electoral commission who oversaw the 2013 elections, which Odinga lost to Kenyatta and the Supreme Court upheld the results. At least five people were killed in those protests after police responded with live ammunition. Those electoral commissioners were eventually removed by parliament and replaced with the current officials.

(Source: AP)

18, September 2017

Anglophone Crisis Symposium, Coventry, United Kingdom ⁰

A symposium on the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon has been organised for all Cameroonians to attend regardless of their persuasion. Whether you are Anglophone or Francophone, come along and let’s debate the issues.

This is a joint initiative of WCA and WCMC UK to explore lasting solutions to the recurrent Anglophone problem.

Date of Symposium: 30th September 2017, Start time 11am prompt.

Location: The Hilton Hotel, Paradise Way, Walsgrave Triangle, Coventry CV2 2ST.

Questions from delegates will be address to our distinguished panel of speakers consisting of:

*1. Edith Kahbang Walla (Kah Walla) 2. Prof. Jean Emanuel Pondi 3. Barrister Ben Muna 4. Mola Njoh Litumbe 5. Prof. Nelson Enonchong – (as moderator) 6. Hon Jean Mitchel Nintcheu – MP for Doula and Wouri central*.

Other potential Independent guests who have been approached are:

Representative from Commonwealth Secretariat • Representative from Ghanaian High Commission • Representative from Nigeria High Commission • MP for Coventry North East, Colleen Fletcher, MP. • Representative from the Community Secretary, Sajjid Javid’s office .

We have engaged a market research company to conduct a survey of the views of delegates on which option they are for, prior to the symposium and again take their views after they listen to all the panellists in order to measure opinion of a cross section of the UK Cameroonian Diaspora.

Tickets will be priced at £40 which will,

include dinner and alcoholic beverages at the end of the symposium and an opportunity to network with the panellists and some of the distinguished guests who will be attending.

This is a significant and inclusive gathering of Cameroonians in the UK to debate the issues facing Anglophones specifically. The organisers are looking to engage all parties and steer a better way forward with input from all attendees.

For tickets to book your place please call – Judith +44 7916 276295, Frank +447429880730 or Phil +44 7975981048

You can also purchase tickets online using:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cameroon-anglophone-crisis-symposium-coventry-uk-tickets-37259450018

Please note that tickets will be available on a first come first serve basis as the places are limited.

We would be most grateful to have you at the Symposium.

Organisers and sponsors:

*West Cameroon Association (WCA):* Is a Think Tank and a collective of English-speaking Cameroonians based in Cameroon and the Diaspora.

*West Cameroon Movement For Change (WCMC):* Is a Coalition of West Cameroonians worldwide who are campaigning for the restoration of the dignity of the people of West Cameroon.

18, September 2017

Yaounde: How President Biya’s children are changing the rules at ENAM ⁰

Last Saturday’s late arrival of the son of the President of the Republic at the examination centre for Cycle B “General Administration” into the National School of Administration and Magistracy, compelled the management of the exams to let the other candidates who came late into the hall.

A Mercedes brand vehicle matriculated CE 915 belonging to the Director of ENAM, Linus Toussaint Mendjana, having on board Paul Biya Junior entered the ENAM campus very late. Tongues have ever since been wagging on why the Director General of ENAM preferred to put his car at the disposal of the son of the President of the Republic.

4,837 candidates competed on Saturday 16 September for the entrance examinations at ENAM Cycle “B” of the administrative division. Paul Biya Junior sat for the exams in “G.A block 3” on constitutional law and general culture.

A week ago, Brenda Biya, the daughter of the President of the Republic, took part in the entrance examination to the cycle B “financial control” of the same school. The presence of the children of the President of the Republic in the list of candidates for entrance examinations to ENAM has generated a new debate in French Cameroun.

By Sama Ernest
Cameroon Concord News

17, September 2017

Bui County: Six killed in crash ⁰

Six people were killed on Saturday in a serious traffic accident in Bui County precisely in Kumbo. The accident between a semi-trailer carrying goods and a public transport bus also caused many injuries. As in 2010, when 1,200 people were killed on Cameroonian roads, there is a peak of deaths from traffic accidents in 2017 supporting calls for immediate independence for Southern Cameroons.

For the first eight months of 2017, (from January to August), 4190 accidents including 179 fatalities, 784 bodily and 3227 material were recorded in Cameroon. The month of August 2017, was the most deadly with a total of 626 accidents of all categories, including 34 fatalities, 79 bodily and 513 material. Officially, there were 98 deaths as a result of road traffic accidents, in August alone.

Cameroon experts attributed 70% of these accidents to human causes, 20% caused by road conditions and 10% to technical causes. The Francophone government fears that the upward trend will continue and recently claimed to have taken a series of measures, including the reform of the driving license. The new Cameroonian driver’s license, which includes a dozen points, entered into force on 1 September.

The Cameroonian authorities are also considering the use of mobile radars, multiplying joint checkpoints (police, gendarmerie and road traffic prevention in the Ministry of Transport), as well as general alcohol tests and other measures such as limiting the speed limit to 100 kilometres per hour for transit vehicles and heavy goods vehicles.

By Eyong Johnson
Cameroon Concord News

17, September 2017

30 Burundian refugees die in clashes with Congo security forces ⁰

At least 30 Burundian refugees have been killed in clashes with Congolese security forces over plans to send some of them home, a Reuters witness and local activists said on Saturday.

Police and soldiers opened fire as the refugees protested over the plan in the town of Kamanyola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, the activists told Reuters.

Congo’s government spokesman Lambert Mende denied that those killed were refugees, saying that the clashes broke out when assailants from an unidentified armed group attacked an office belonging to the national intelligence agency.

Five soldiers and 20 of the attackers were killed in the fighting, Mende said.

More than 400,000 refugees have fled Burundi – including 40,000 to neighboring Congo – since violence erupted in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term in office, a move his opponents said was unconstitutional.

Wendo Joel, an activist from a Congolese pro-democracy and human right group, said the refugees had seized a weapon and killed a soldier as they tried to free some of their arrested compatriots.

“The soldiers first fired in the air but there were many refugees,” Joel told Reuters. “I have counted 32 bodies. There are also about 100 wounded.”

Republican Guard soldiers in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (Photo by Reuters)

Reuters TV footage showed more than 30 bodies covered by sheets on the roadside in Kamanyola, with many more wounded also lying in the street.

A UN spokeswoman confirmed that at least 18 Burundian asylum seekers had been killed but said the toll was likely to rise. Many others had taken shelter at the UN peacekeeping mission’s nearby base, she added.

According to a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, more than 2,000 Burundian refugees live in Kamanyola with host families.

In a statement, Burundi’s main opposition grouping, CNARED, accused Burundian army troops and members of the ruling CNDD-FDD’s youth group Imbonerakure of carrying out the killings with the Congolese army.

Burundian officials could not be immediately reached for comment, but Burundi’s foreign minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter: “My heart sinks as I learn of the shootings in Eastern #DRC.”

“Clarifications are needed on the shootings and circumstances around,” he added.

The violence in Burundi has killed over 700 people and a UN commission said last week there were reasonable grounds to believe authorities had committed crimes against humanity. The government rejected the commission’s findings as “propaganda”.

17, September 2017

Suicide among US war veterans highest in west, rural areas ⁰

Newly released US government data shows suicide rate among military veterans as considerably higher in western and rural parts of the country, further indicating that female and older veterans are at higher risk and that social isolation, gun ownership and limited access to health care are likely factors.

The new figures are the first-ever Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data on suicide that show wide state-by-state disparities, demonstrating that states such as Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico have had the highest rates of veteran suicide as of 2014 — the most current VA data available, the AP reported Saturday.

According to the official report, the suicide rates among US war veterans in the four states stood at 60 per 100,000 individuals, which is much higher than the average veteran suicide rate of 38.4.

Veterans in large parts of those states must drive 70 miles (112 kilometers) or more to reach the nearest VA medical center for treatment.

The overall suicide rate in Western states, the latest data shows, stood at 45.5 while all other regions of the US had rates below the national average rate.

The new VA data also reconfirmed drastic demographic differences: Female veterans are at much greater risk, with their suicide rate 2.5 times higher than for civilian women. This is while the suicide risk among male veterans was 19 percent higher than civilian men.

As a whole, however, older veterans make up most military suicides, according to the government report, which pointed out that nearly 65 percent of the victims were age 50 or older.

Other states with high veteran suicide rates, including mostly rural West Virginia, Oklahoma and Kentucky, had greater levels of prescription drug use, including opioids.

This is while a 2016 VA study found that veterans who received the highest doses of opioid painkillers were more than twice as likely to die by suicide compared to those receiving the lowest doses.

“This report is huge,” said epidemiologist Rajeev Ramchand, who studies suicide for the government-sponsored RAND Corporation. He further noted that the suicide rate is higher for veterans than non-veterans in every single US state by at least 1.5 times. “No state is immune.”

According to Ramchand, pinpointing specific causes of veteran suicide was difficult but they likely involved factors more rampant in rural areas, such as social isolation, limited health care access, gun ownership and opioid addiction.

“This requires closer investigation into why suicide rates by veteran status are higher, including the role that opiates play,” Ramchand emphasized.

“These findings are deeply concerning, which is why I made suicide prevention my top clinical priority,” VA Secretary David Shulkin said recently. “This is a national public health issue.”

The VA has reported a major hike in the number of veterans seeking medical care after returning from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the US military has intervened in purported bids to root out terrorism and bring stability to the troubled regions.

Terrorism, however, expanded drastically in both countries since the US-led military meddling as Washington seeks another upsurge of troops in the war-torn nations following major withdrawals.

The latest data provides more detailed breakdowns on national figures released in 2016, which saw 20 veterans committing suicide per day. The statistics come from the largest study of veterans’ records by the VA in a bid to uncover new information on where to direct resources and identify veterans most at risk.

Source: Presstv