Monthly Archives: September 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: IG urges Amba Fighters to catch enemies off guard

22, September 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: IG urges Amba Fighters to catch enemies off guard 0

A senior aide to the Southern Cameroons Vice President Dr Patrick Ayuk has urged the Ambazonia diaspora to continue to invest in the big rubbergun project to enable Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces catch the French Cameroun military off guard.

“You are advised to continue to support the big rubbergun project that will equip our restoration forces with advanced and surprising capabilities to confront the French Cameroun enemy,” the Southern Cameroons front liner said on Monday.

The Big Rubbergun scheme is currently serving as Southern Cameroons topmost self defense operation, tasked with raising funds, devising, coordinating, and overseeing Ambazonia Restoration Forces operational activities in Ground Zero.

Dr Patrick Ayuk made the remarks at an important meeting grouping Southern Cameroonians in the Republic of South Africa. Other ranking officials from the Southern Cameroons Interim Government and County Coordinators were in attendance at the meeting.

Dr Patrick Ayuk, meanwhile, voiced delight over Comrade Dabney Yerima’s performance as Vice President of the Interim Government.

He expressed gratitude towards the Vice President for the quality of his style of management and the premium state of interaction with the Ambazonian people both at home and in the diaspora.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

Canada: Prime Minister Trudeau wins another minority

21, September 2021

Canada: Prime Minister Trudeau wins another minority 0

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hung onto power on Monday as his main rival conceded defeat, but his Liberals fell short of his goal for a majority win.

Trudeau, in power since 2015 and governing with a minority of House of Commons seats since 2019, decided to gamble on an early vote and capitalise on his government’s handling of the pandemic, which included massive spending to support individuals and businesses and a push for high vaccination rates.

Instead, he will end up where he started after an unexpectedly tight election race characterised by a lacklustre campaign and voter anger at an election during a pandemic.

“You (Canadians) are sending us back to work with a clear mandate to get through this pandemic into brighter days ahead,” Trudeau said, flanked by his wife Sophie Gregoire and their children on stage at a victory gala in the early hours of Tuesday. “That’s exactly what we are ready to do,” he said.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, whose party placed second, conceded defeat as results trickled in late into the night.

COVID-19 makes its way to Mamfe

21, September 2021

COVID-19 makes its way to Mamfe 0

The Coronavirus, which for almost two years has been a virus of the cities and big towns, has begun spreading to smaller towns and is very likely to reach villages that, know nothing about the virus and how it can be prevented.

The virus, which is suspected of having killed many people in Cameroon’s major cities, has now found a new place in Mamfe where some ten people have been diagnosed with COVID-19-related health complications, with two actually dying.

For the past eighteen months, the people of Mamfe have been going about their business as if they are beyond the virus’ reach, but this indifference has simply varnished following the announcement of the virus’ presence in a town  where people love shaking hands and do live a social life that many consider as dangerous.

The country’s military is highly suspected of bringing this virus to the shores of Mamfe as most of the soldiers posted to Mamfe are from Yaoundé and Douala where the virus has been decimating the  population segment that  is either too vulnerable due to age or co-morbidities.

The Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Mamfe has been talking to many people on the streets of Mamfe and most of them are really scared, with the majority assuming that the military is to blame for the importation of this virus into a town that has been COVID-19-free.

“We have not been wearing mask here and I doubt if many people will be adopting a new lifestyle which includes wearing masks and avoiding people. If this virus really decides to take up residence here, then we have a huge crisis on our hands,” the desperate Mamfe resident said.

He added that “with the socio-political chaos playing out here in most of Manyu Division, we do not know where we can go to stay out of this virus’ path. Many people are scared. Who will help us? Neither Amba fighters nor the government can help us in this regard. The government is ill-equipped to deal with this ugly situation and Amba fighters cannot use their guns to kill this insidious virus. We just have to continue praying, but I know that prayers alone will not roll back the virus from our Division,” the Mamfe resident said.

Meanwhile, many residents of the city informed the Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Mamfe that Doctors Without Borders have been in Mamfe for close to one gear where they set up an isolation center which closed sometime in August and once the health organization shut down this facility and left because there were no COVID-19 cases, the virus showed up, coming in through the back door.

However, residents of the town have confirmed that Doctors Without Borders are back and their presence in the town is reassuring.

By Julius Agbor Bate in Mamfe

Football: Barca held at home by Granada as pressure cranks up on Koeman

20, September 2021

Football: Barca held at home by Granada as pressure cranks up on Koeman 0

Ronald Koeman’s position as Barcelona coach became even more fragile on Monday as Ronald Araujo’s late header was only enough to rescue a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Granada.

Granada were ahead inside two minutes and while Araujo’s equaliser gave Barca a dramatic finish at Camp Nou, the whistles from the home fans at the final whistle indicated a point was far from enough.

Barca have now won only two of their opening five games of the season and Koeman’s future looks increasingly uncertain, particularly on the back of last week’s 3-0 drubbing at home to Bayern Munich.

Koeman reacted to that result by picking a young team that included Eric Garcia, Sergino Dest, Alex Balde and Yusuf Demir, all aged 20 or younger.

But another stodgy performance did little to inspire confidence, with Barca’s best efforts at finding an equaliser in the second half reduced to a series of speculative crosses slung into the penalty area.

Koeman insisted on Sunday he was “calm” and not fearing for his job but an already-strained relationship with club president Joan Laporta will be pushed to breaking point if results do not improve.

There were 85 seconds on the clock when Domingos Duarte headed Granada in front.

Sergio Escudero was quickest to his cleared corner and he beat Sergio Busquets twice, once to the ball and then again to the line where he fed Duarte, who nipped in front of Frenkie de Jong at the back post.

Barca tried to exert some control but they never really stretched Granada, who could have doubled their lead when Jorge Molina volleyed over a cross from the lively Darwin Machis.

Sergi Roberto cushioned a shot against the crossbar to begin a late surge of pressure at the end of the first half, which also saw Araujo go close with two headers in quick succession.

Luuk de Jong came on for Sergi Roberto at half-time, indicating a more direct approach was coming but Granada were not uncomfortable. Depay hooked over from a de Jong ball in before Oscar Mingueza’s delivery grazed the top of the crossbar.

As Barcelona grew more desperate, they became more predictable too, as more and more crosses were slung into the box in the hope someone might capitalise. De Jong should have scored with 11 minutes left but headed over from five yards.

Araujo was booked after a skirmish with Granada’s defenders and then, with the adrenaline still pumping, he grabbed an equaliser for Barca, keeping the ball alive in the box and then dashing forward to meet Gavi’s chipped ball in.

Barca chased a second but it was too little too late. Granada took a deserved point.

Source: AFP

Father Etienne Khumba:  A Man full of Faith and the Holy Spirit Transitions to Eternal Glory

20, September 2021

Father Etienne Khumba:  A Man full of Faith and the Holy Spirit Transitions to Eternal Glory 0

Reverend Father Etienne Khumba who transitioned into the eternal glory of the Lord on 19 September 2021, like Stephen in the Holy Bible, was a man “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”( Acts of the Apostles, 6:2 v.5) . It pleased the Lord whom he served with unreserved tenacity to call him home to eternal rest for the glory of His Holy name. Alleluia! Amen.

It is hard to pontificate on the life and times of Father Etienne, because he was a total man of God at the service of the Lord.   His life and times do not therefore need pontification. I will therefore leave pontification and medals of honour to the occasion of the death of politicians whom their earthly political leaders, peers and lackeys often rely on to attempt to counter the reality of the parable of the rich fool. Mathew.19: 16-30, Mark 10: 17-31 Luke 18: 18-30.

Father Etienne was neither a politician, a cleric-politician nor a rich fool. He was a servant of the Lord, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a fervent spirit of true justice and the truth. With all the frailty of an ordinary human, I will attempt to offer the following humbling words in honour of a man whom I know for sure was indeed “full of faith and the Holy Spirit”, so help me God.

He has bequeathed to humanity, a life of faith and service which will remain indelible for our living memories and those of generations unborn.  Father Etienne transcended constraining barriers to reach out for all souls who were in need of the healing WORD of the Lord which were ordained by the Lord Himself. (Mathew 10: 1 – 1  “He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of disease”. He did so in total respect of the injunction” at Mt 10 v.8, “Freely you have received, freely give”).

In this ministry, he was conscious of the fact that he needed faith in the Lord and the  power of the Holy Spirit to realize the Devine Biblical injunction within a Church of God which St John Paul II described as perfect but which is nevertheless a Church of Saints and Sinners.  He was aware of and did encounter strong opposition in carrying out this ministry but did not relent as long as his faith in the Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit guided his actions and the needs of God’s people for spiritual guidance, help and healing. His faith, the Holy Spirit and the order of the Lord, “freely you received, freely give”, were his staying power until he was called home to the Lord whom he loved and served. 

Those who strongly opposed this ministry, whom they wrongly perceived as a social function of the Church as opposed to a Biblical function which the Lord gave to the Apostles, as well as persons who were ordained with this same missionary authority, did not know then that floodgates of blasphemy would open for quacks and profiteers to enrich themselves, professing to possess power over the sick, possessed souls, power mongers, fortune seekers and adventurers of all manner. They did not anticipate the extent to which this category of individuals would supplant ordained ministers of the Word of the Lord, and draw away from established churches, millions of Christians who genuinely sought spiritual help for their health needs, social and religious direction. They have realized the need on a stampede, confusion and chaos caused by their paucity of faith, lack of vision, purposeful biblical enquiry sensitivity to the condition of Christians entrusted to their care. These are spiritual matters requiring profound interpersonal prayers and relationship with the Lord.  What went wrong?

 The prevalence of mental health challenges, spiritual challenges and social problems afflicting Christians and non-Christians in our society is troubling. Yet, a majority of victims are not even aware of the fact that they may be suffering from these conditions with devastating impact on them, their families and the community at large.  Although many established Churches already had hospitals and social services to provide therapy to the victims of some of these challenges, thousands of clerics who may themselves be suffering from these challenges may not know until the situation leads to cases to suicide ideation or other traumatic experiences before they seek professional help. Some of the situations may be due to spiritual attacks arising from varying situations in life and even evil spirits which are out to destroy.

The complexity of the situations and the lethal nature of these conditions require engaged clerics who are full of faith and the Holy Spirit to lead and help the people of God in their spiritual, mental and physical healing and wellbeing, so that the bodies of God’s people serve as the temple of the Lord for which they were intended.   Father Etienne fully understood and embraced this mission of the Lord.

The clamour for positions and the administration of Church funds has been known to be one of the bane of the missionary mandates of many clerics. He was not distracted by the obstacles he encountered as a minister in the Church of Lord while serving the people of God. He sought no personal wealth, position, personal glory, or easy life of luxury.  He told me that he did not take Church money for himself and that even during times of his travails; he kept complete accurate accounts and records of all Church money which came into his custody. I knew about this because, His Lordship Bishop Lysinge (then Father Lysinge) and I intermittently, acted as confidential peace facilitators during the painful so-called Bojongo crisis.  His Lordship Bishop George Nkwo ( then Fr George Nkwo)  who provided spiritual help to needy Christians and played a very positive rule in crisis management, met me at the Bishop House in Soppo one morning when I came to see the Bishop shortly before rushing to the airport to fly out of the country. 

Father Etienne did not seek retribution and bore no rancour against any of his peers or anyone whatsoever, for what was done or not done against him. He perceived his stand as actuated by the adherence to his faith, his mission as an ordained cleric, and the guidance he received from the Holy Spirit. Some persons perceived the problem as a social, administrative or even political problem. More opportunistic and sycophantic persons perceived and used the crisis as ladders to attain personal ambitions and objectives. 

In the end, Bishop Pius Awah and Father Etienne thought all of us, that it is unwise to get blindly involved a disagreement between a father and a son.  The presence of retired Bishop Awah on a wheel Chair during the funeral celebration of the deceased father of Father Etienne’s father in Bolifamba Mile 16 brought tears in the eyes of most of the people present.  The news went viral worldwide.  In the end, it was the lesson of the public appearance of father and son during that occasion, which God chose to manifest the magnanimity of his love that has endured than the acrimony that arose on a disagreement on a fundamental matter of faith and mission of the Church.

Father Etienne affirmed at all times, that the healing powers of all ministers of the Word of God were ordained by the Lord. He explained that the Lord in the Holy Bible gave the mandate and conditions under which the mandate must be executed. Anything which is inconsistent with the mandate of the Lord contained in the Holy Bible and in accordance with Faith and the Holy Spirit is not of the Lord. He was resolute about this until the end. 

I met him a number of times in the United States of America.  The first time was during a heavily attended birthday ceremony which was organized for him in Maryland which was attended by many persons from the USA and Canada. The sheer number of persons in attendance and the memorable sermon he gave on that occasion was very touching.   I met him again when he came over to California and was at St Mathias Catholic Church Laham Maryland. I invited him to have a dinner with my family.  We spent about three hours together during which time, he told me how grateful he was, with Bishop Emmanuel Bushu who granted him permission to pursue a very rare specialised course in counselling in a Jesuit University in California. He was grateful for the advice and support of Bishop George Nkuo as well as the support which a distinguished Jesuit Priest in Douala Father Nkeng gave him during moments of dire need in his priestly mission.  He told me that he appreciated the assistance that Arch Bishop Andrew Nkea, then Bishop of Mamfe, gave him during a visit in the US. They both met during the ordination of Reverend Father Achanyi as a Priest of the Diocese of New York.

While in the USA Father Etienne mended many broken matrimonial relationships, counseled people of all nationalities and preached the Holy Word of God in many Churches and occasions.  He healed, counseled, preached and served.  His strength came from his fullness of faith and in the Holy Spirit.  Every person who approached him for healing will related that Father Etienne said that it was God, and God alone who is the ultimate healer, but the afflicted person should have faith in the Lord. He provided special prayers for the personal circumstances of each afflicted person directly from the Holy Bible, and both of them prayed and fast for the healing which often occurred to the glory of the Lord.

He advised me to pray as often as I could at least three times a day because, every time we pray, we invite the angels of the Lord who are always present whenever we call on the name of the Lord. When we sin, they withdraw.  I learned about guardian angels during my catechism days in primary school but did not learn about the circumstances under which they perform the mission assigned to them by God in my life. I did so many years after, through Father Etienne. How many people are conscious of this simple, reality?  We need clerics such as Father Etienne to counsel, and guide us how to sustain the presence of the Holy Spirit of God and the angels of the Lord around us, our homes and communities.  This how we can really keep the devil at bay and in trouble all the time.

A moving moment in our discussion came when I told him how his late mother supported me when I was completing my primary school education in Catholic School Laduma CDC Mukonje Estate. Father Etienne was her only child. She treated me as her own child in the CDC harsh environment.  When we met in Maryland, our both mothers had departed this world to meet God the Creator, leaving us their offspring to continue the spirit of love and service in which they raised us. Father Etienne joined them with a teaming record number of ancestors who preceded them yesterday.

With the death of Father Etienne, the Royal Family of Fontem has lost yet another distinguished son two weeks after we  lost another cousin Dr George Atem (Ndi Nkem Atem Asong) on September 7, 2021). This is the sovereign will of God who created them and indeed all of us for his eternal glory. We bow to His will therefore with all humility and pray for a reprieve, good health and protection over all members of this royal family. 

May Father Etienne’s record of service in the fullness of faith and the Holy spirit within the Church and the world at large is greatly appreciated.  He will be missed but his service in the house of the Lord will live forever. May his soul rest in peace

By Chief Charles A. Taku

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yaoundé is in a cul-de-sac

20, September 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Yaoundé is in a cul-de-sac 0

Four years ago, nobody thought the whole notion of Southern Cameroons independence could ever be taken seriously.

For many in government, those who called for the separation of Cameroon, a country touted as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos, were adventurers who were playing with fire.

The Yaoundé government which is known for its penchant for repression declared the angry Southern Cameroonians terrorists and immediately proceeded to implement its strategy of repression in the pious hope that future adventurers would think twice before calling for any independence.

This wrong assessment of the situation pushed bureaucrats in Yaoundé  onto the airwaves to pontificate on things they had very little knowledge of, confidently telling the French-speaking majority that the military’s mission in the two restive regions of the country would be swift and short.

In less than two weeks after the country’s president, Paul Biya, declared war on two English-speaking regions of the country, the government dispatched hundreds of its outdated tanks to many remote parts of Southern Cameroons not knowing that the outcome could be the reverse of what many in the country’s bureaucracy were sure about.

Little did the government and its poorly trained soldiers know that they were treading on dangerous terrain. The government was confident that it was going to roll back the “adventurers” right back to where they came from, but it did not know that behind the ragtag military, there was massive financial and moral support which will help the fighters to give the government’s military, a run for its money.

For years after, the ragtag military has morphed into a very dangerous force that is wreaking havoc on the military and its expensive equipment.

The last couple of months have been particularly tough for the military. The various factions seem to be ganging up against the military and the northwest region in particular has become a graveyard for many soldiers and their military equipment.

Last week was indeed one of the bloodiest with Ndop fighters demonstrating that they can hit the military anywhere, anytime and where it hurts the most.

 Southern Cameroonian fighters are no longer interested in exchanging fire with the fear-filled soldiers. They are now employing a more sophisticated and effective method to hit the military in its soft underbelly.

Soldiers are now being blown up like dilapidated buildings with many bursting like rotten tomatoes. The use of IEDs by Southern Cameroonian fighters is one game changer that has left the Yaoundé regime in the grip of mobid fear and in a cul-de-sac.

The government seems to be frozen in its position. The country’s president, Paul Biya, had vowed that there would never be talks on the form of the state, but things are changing on the ground and if care is not taken, Southern Cameroons’ independence might come sooner rather than later.

The fighters on the ground are determined and the massive flow of cash from many parts of the world is giving the fighters a morale boost.

The government is confused. The Southern Cameroonian crisis has become a hot potato in the government’s mouth. The government must decide. It must change its position. Time is of the essence in this situation. Cameroon is falling apart.

The government must come back on its decision. It will never win this war. Its soldiers are deserting and this is rendering the military more vulnerable.

Despite numerous recruitment drives for more gendarme officers and soldiers in the country, the Yaoundé government is still concerned as its hope of winning this dirty war is diminishing by the day.

Most of the soldiers being killed are young men from the South and Center regions and the numerous body bags heading to those regions are gradually convincing the president’s supporters that he had engaged in a journey that might not be ending anytime soon.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has been talking to some soldiers in Yaoundé and many say they are permanently in fear. Many have lost their mental health and the mere thought of being sent to the warfront has transformed the stomachs of these soldiers into butterfly tanks.

More than three thousand soldiers have been killed and a similar number has been maimed. Most of those who get deployed to Southern Cameroons usually visit their doctors and they feign illnesses just to obtain either exemptions or 6- monthly sick-notes.

Young recruits are quitting the military daily. Many in the military are now handing themselves in to be imprisoned for 6 months (customary prison term for disobeying war orders) instead of going to Southern Cameroons.

The much-touted Cameroon military is gradually falling apart, especially as thousands are deserting and heading to neighboring countries.

To encourage the country’s military, the government recently issued a memo to the army and gendarmerie to the effect that should a soldier die in combat, his or her family would receive a paltry sum of CFAF 5 million.

 Unfortunately, this financial incentive is not helping and many young soldiers are plotting to quit the beleaguered and poorly-paid military.

Soldiers of the rank and file know they cannot win the war, but their bosses are insisting that they must fight to a finish, especially as the war has created a booming war economy that is transforming the military generals into instant millionaires.

Paul Biya seems to have handed the treasury to the military but Southern Cameroonian fighters are clearly demonstrating that this war is not a war of money but a war of courage and strategy.

They have proven that even if the Yaoundé government is given the Federal Reserve (the American Central Bank), it will never win this war.

The dynamics are changing on a daily basis and the power dynamics clearly favor Southern Cameroonians and their fighters who are looking forward to the day the government will swallow its pride and call for real negotiations which will lead to an independent and strong Southern Cameroons with Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his colleagues taking the reins of power in their fatherland.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Africa Cup of Nations Women’s Volleyball: Cameroon is champion for the third time

20, September 2021

Africa Cup of Nations Women’s Volleyball: Cameroon is champion for the third time 0

Cameroon is the African champion of women’s volleyball for the third time 2017, 2019, 2021.

The Cameroonian women defeated the Kenyan women on the score of 2 sets to 1. After losing the first two sets respectively by (25-23 and 25-23) the malkia stricker of Kenya, came back in the match in the third set (15-25) thanks to Shumba.

This is the third time that Cameroon is meeting the same opponent in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations Women’s volleyball.

The formidable Kenya, 9 times African champion, played the final for the sixth time in a row. The five previous ones ended with 3 victories and 2 defeats. As for Cameroon, it was playing its 4th final.

The first three had resulted in two wins and one loss.

By Rita Akana

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 26 Cameroon gov’t  soldiers injured in Bamenda road accident

19, September 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 26 Cameroon gov’t  soldiers injured in Bamenda road accident 0

At least 26 Cameroon government soldiers were injured, 10 of them critically, when their military vehicle overturned on a steepy road on Saturday in Northwest region, police said.

The accident temporarily blocked traffic in Bamenda, chief city of the region where the tragedy occurred as emergency crews worked to extricate the soldiers from a valley where the vehicle fell.

Witnesses said, it appeared a wheel came off the vehicle as it descended the road.

The soldiers were on the way to reinforce security in parts of the region where Ambazonia Restoration fighters were operating actively, according to army sources.

The Cameroon army is intensifying military operations in the region following repeated raids by Amba fighters who want to create an independent nation in the two Anglophone regions of the Central African nation.

Source: Xinhuanet

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Vice President Yerima says French Cameroun military will face more defeats

19, September 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Vice President Yerima says French Cameroun military will face more defeats 0

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Dabney Yerima has warned the French Cameroun invading army that the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and its self defense forces would face them with more defeats if they kept up their aggression against it.

“Retaliatory killings against the invading French Cameroun military will continue until Southern Cameroons complete liberation,” Yerima said on Saturday.

The Ambazonian Vice President was reacting to major self defense victories recorded by Amba fighters recently in both the Northern and the Southern zones. Yerima reportedly shared a telephone conversation with the Ambazonian Chief of Intelligence in Ground Zero who has been jointly leading Southern Cameroons defensive operations against the French Cameroun invasion.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said the Southern Cameroons war was an unjust act by all political, moral, and humanitarian standards and vowed that the people of Southern Cameroons would come out victorious against the criminal gangs in Yaoundé who had sought to reach their goals in the war over just weeks or months.

The 88-year-old President Paul Biya ordered the war to keep British Southern Cameroonians under French Cameroun control and to continue to plunder its resources.

Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces have been delivering a decisive response to the French Cameroun aggressors with their constant retaliatory ambush attacks, continuously preventing the invading Francophone military from realizing any of its objectives.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Guinea’s junta rules out exile for ousted president

19, September 2021

Guinea’s junta rules out exile for ousted president 0

Guinea’s ruling junta on Saturday ruled out exile for detained former president Alpha Conde and said transition towards civilian rule would be done in accordance with “the will of the people”.

The statement from the ruling council came in defiance of international pressure for Conde’s release and a six-month timetable for elections after a coup on September 5 sparked global condemnation.

It also followed the visit on Friday of a mission from ECOWAS led by two heads of state from the 15-member West African bloc.

Mamady Doumbouya, the colonel who led the coup, told the visiting delegation that “it was important for ECOWAS to listen to the legitimate aspirations of the people of Guinea,” said a junta spokesman, Colonel Amara Camara, at the ruling council’s first news conference on the six-month deadline.

Doumbouya stressed the need not to repeat the “mistakes of the past”, recalling that national consultations to outline the transition had begun on Tuesday and that “only the sovereign people of Guinea will decide its destiny”, Camara said.

“It is also clear to all parties that the former president will remain in Guinea,” he added.

‘Frank and fraternal talks’

During their visit, the Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo, whose country holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara, presented the junta with the organisation’s demands for elections within six months.

They also insisted on the release of Conde.

“We had very frank, fraternal talks with Colonel Doumbouya and his associates and collaborators and I think that ECOWAS and Guinea will find a way to walk together,” Akufo-Addo said at the end of the visit.

The ruling council, which now designates Doumbouya as “president of the republic and head of state”, said that consultation sessions scheduled for Friday with banks, insurance companies and unions would be held on Saturday.

The consultations will continue next week, it said, including Monday meetings with cultural actors, press associations and those within the informal sector.

The military has already held talks with political parties, religious leaders, and the heads of mining companies, key players in this poor but resource-rich country, and other figures.

Local rights groups, including the Guinean Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights (OGDH), put out a statement voicing their concern over “respect for democratic principles and the rule of law” and called on the ruling junta to “communicate as soon as possible a roadmap for the transition that takes into account all the proposals arising from the consultations”.

Activists return from exile

Public discontent in Guinea had been brewing for months before the coup over the leadership of Conde, 83.

A former opposition figure, Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president in 2010 and was re-elected in 2015.

But last year, he pushed through a controversial new constitution that allowed him to run for a third term in October 2020.

The move sparked mass demonstrations in which dozens of protesters were killed. Conde won the election but the political opposition maintained the poll was a sham.

On Saturday four activists against Conde serving a third term returned to the country from exile and were met by cheering crowds at Conakry airport.

“Honour to the patriots” read one placard on display among the hundreds who waited hours for the exiles to return.

Some in the crowd were wearing the red t-shirts of the opposition FNDC coalition, which led the protest against a third mandate for Conde. Others sported the red, yellow and green of the Guinean flag.

“We never doubted for a moment that we would win this fight,” said Ibrahima Diallo, one of those returning.

“We want to accompany the process of democratic transition that will lead to credible and transparent elections so that Guinea can turn towards development,” he added.

Fellow returning activist Sekou Koundouno, expressed his relief that the people of Guinea “have rid themselves of the despot Alpha Conde who had taken the institutions and the army hostage”.

Source: AFP

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