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26, October 2016

Cameroon government spokesman says several bodies from the train crash not yet identified ⁰

Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has made public the CPDM death toll of the Eseka train crash incident. The Cameroon government spokesman reduced the tally to 76 and increased the number of wounded to 599 during a press conference on Tuesday the 25^th of October 2016 in Yaounde.

The minister of communication gave a breakdown of the distribution of those injured in different hospital units in the country. He observed that there were 473 persons at the Eséka District Hospital: 22 at the Mother Teresa; Mercy 25 and Urban health Centre: 79.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary also revealed that, 368 wounded continued their treatment in hospitals in Douala, Edea and Yaoundé. While 231 minor injuries returned to their families immediately after First Aid care in Eséka.

The Cameroon government spokesman added that a process has been developed on the identification and collection of bodies of victims. Said Tchiroma: “The applicants and other rights holders must bring original and photocopies of their identification and any official document that can link the family with the remains (marriage certificate at birth or other documents …)”

However, the minister noted that several other bodies have not yet been identified. Issa Tchiroma indicated that these bodies are subject to “an identification procedure in the presence of at least three members of the applicant family. For each body, the doctor in charge of the mortuary services deliver a kind of death certificate to the family, “he further informed.

The Centre for Health Emergencies of the Ministry of Health has mobilized to respond to all queries relating thereto. It responds to hotline: 1510.

By Sama Ernest

25, October 2016

Eseka train crash: Biya signs decree setting up commission of inquiry ²

President Biya has signed a decree setting up a commission of inquiry into the train derailment incident that happened in Eseka on Friday 21st October 2016. Alot of tongues are reportedly wagging already in Yaounde on the failure to include an independent personality in the commission-not even the Roman Catholic Arch Bishop of the Yaounde Diocese. Our Yaounde city reporter say there is also some under-the-table talk going on following the non-inclusion of the the all-powerful Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebo Ngoo

The Commission as appointed by the 83 old leader will be headed by the Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

Its members include;

-The Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals

-The Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation

-The Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of State Control

-The Secretary of State for Defense in charge of the Gendarmerie

-The Delegate General in charge of National Security

-The Permanent Secretary of the National Security Council.

The commission is expected to;

Determine the cause of the accident and propose ways of avoiding a similar occurrence
Identify those responsible for the accident
Assess the management of the catastrophe

The decree was signed today Tuesday 25th October 2016

25, October 2016

SDF North West Regional Elections: The Patriarch of Njinikom, Njong Evaristus still in charge ⁰

The Mayor of Belo, Ben Tosam has been defeated in the North West regional elections of the Social Democratic Front. Ben Tosam was humiliated by the incumbent Regional Chairman; Hon. Njong Evaristus Ndim of Njinikom. The SDF patriarch of Njinikom, Njong Evaristus scored 217 votes as against 192 for Mayor Ben Tosam.

Cameroon Concord News learned that the challenger ran a good campaign but unfortunately with militants who had left the SDF under controversial circumstances. Our senior political commentator in Bamenda observed that Fon Martin Yembe, deputy mayor of Ndu, a prominent member in the Mayor Ben Tosam Campaign was himself a Provincial Chairman who resigned from that position and also from the SDF.

Another chartered member of the Ben Tosam Campaign was Mrs Nyah Margaret, also a former Provincial Chair Lady who too had resigned from the SDF and joined Barrister Ben Muna’s AFP party. Chop Samuel who reportedly scripted most of the speeches delivered during the campaign season for Mayor Ben Tosam served as SDF Communication Secretary but later on resigned from the SDF and joined the ruling CPDM crime syndicate. We were also reliably informed that Nico Kubri, who moonlighted in the Ben Tosam team, had been on the communication desk of the SDF and faced out of the party for almost 20 years.

The SDF North West regional electorate saw the Ben Tosam team as CPDM mercenaries sent to destabilised the party if he won. The SDF-Boyo Division clash of the Titans is now over and Njong Evaristus Ndim has another deserving mandate. At the time of filing this report, our North West regional correspondent signalled that all those elected today were all in the Njong Evaristus list.

By Eyong Peter in Bamenda

25, October 2016

Emergence 2035: 15km rural road to be rehabilitated in the Nyong and Nkelle Division ⁰

A 15km rural road in Matomb in the Nyong and Nkelle Division of the Centre Region will soon be rehabilitated to serve as deviation from the Manyai spot where the Yaounde – Douala highway split last Friday 21st October 2016.

Officials at the Ministry of Public Works made this announcement, indicating that negotiations are ongoing with a Chinese construction company to rehabilitate the road alongside five bridges to which traffic will be diverted.

Work continues on the broken spot some few days after it was officially opened for traffic. As part of the Ministry of Public Work’s policy to maintain national highways, over 300 metallic coverts will also be replaced along the Yaounde – Douala stretch.

CRTV

25, October 2016

Nigeria: Former Aso Rock spokesman Reuben Abati arrested ⁰

Reuben Abati, the former Aso Rock spokesman during the Goodluck Jonathan administration was arrested yesterday in Abuja. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands his arrest was sanctioned on Monday the 24^th of October 2016 by the Commission against financial and economic crimes (EFCC).

Our source in Abuja say Abati allegedly received funds from Sambo Dasuki, a former National Security adviser also of the Goodluck government. The Commission confirmed the arrest earlier today and stated that Abati will be interrogated by financial crime experts soon.

The arrest of Abati brings to three the number of former acolytes of former President Goodluck Jonathan currently deprived of liberty by the EFCC.

By Chi Prudence Asong

25, October 2016

Day of National Mourning: Biya shies away from inter religious services ⁰

President Biya declared Monday a day of national mourning in honour of the close to 100 people who died in the Eseka train disaster. But did not take part in any of the ceremonies held in and around the country. Some areas of the country observed a moment of silence in loving memory of the victims of the intercity train 152 and the more than 560 injured persons.

At the train station in Yaounde, the staffs of the Cameroon Railway Company simply dressed in black and also did observe a minute of silence at 1 pm local time; the only permitted activities were public religious services. Correspondingly, inter religious services held in churches and prayers in mosques mainly in Yaounde, Douala and Eséka.

In the nation’s capital, Yaoundé, a handful of people converged at symbolic places and wrongfully thought that there were going to be a special events with the 83 year dictator in attendance. But nothing happened. Cameroon-info.net reported that Cameroonians who wanted to go to the Independence Square to pray were prevented by the police. Police officers were stationed at all entrances to the historic site located at the Hippodrome district.

There only significant event in Yaounde was a Holy Mass celebrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady by Bishop Jean Mbarga, Archbishop of Yaoundé. As usual, the Head of State was personally represented by René Emmanuel Sadi, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

By Sama Ernest

25, October 2016

Race for the White House: Early voting has begun in a number of states ⁰

Early voting has begun in a number of US states two weeks ahead of Election Day after more than 18 months of intensive battle between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.

Thirty-six states and Washington, DC, offer some form of early voting. According to the rules in those states, voters can cast their ballots before Election Day without having to give an excuse to vote early. In addition, unlike standard voting, voters are not bound to a specific location for early voting.

People vote at a public library in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, as early voting polling places open on October 24, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Americans started voting Monday in Alaska, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Texas, Wisconsin, Colorado, and some parts of Florida, with the last three states being some of the battleground ones up for grabs.

In Harris County, Texas, 15,205 ballots were cast during the first 2.5 hours of early voting, the Harris County Clerk’s office said, adding, the number is equal to one third of the total cast all day on the first day of early voting in 2012, about 47,000.

In Broward County, Florida, over 18,840 residents voted at early voting sites by 3 pm, according to the elections office. “I think people are excited about the presidential election,” said Susan Bucher, elections supervisor for Palm Beach County. “We hope it keeps up like this.”

According to local media outlets, more voters have been choosing an early option in recent election cycles. Up to 40% of voters may go for early voting this year, CBS News estimated.

Democratic nominee Clinton speaks at a campaign rally on October 24, 2016 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. (Photo by AFP)

According to a recent poll, Clinton holds a 12-point lead over Trump nationally, with the business mogul campaign denouncing “biased” media surveys.

Clinton had the support of 50 percent of likely voters as opposed to Trump’s 38 percent, said the ABC News 2016 tracking poll released on Sunday.

Trump speaks during a rally at the St. Augustine Amphitheater on October 24, 2016 in St. Augustine, Florida. (Photo by AFP)

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 5 percent support among likely voters, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein got 2 percent, the poll showed.

Trump’s campaign said Sunday that the candidate would “break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies” if elected president and denounced Clinton as “the official candidate of the multinational ruling elite.” He has called the US election process rigged, saying that the media is colluding with Clinton in order to beat him.

Presstv

25, October 2016

Camrail intercity train accident: Cameroon ends rescue mission ⁰

The search for victims trapped in the wagons of the Camrail Intercity train that derailed at Eseka has ended after the body of a baby was found in the last wagon lifted on Monday, 24th October 2014. After four days of intensive and productive rescue efforts, the search exercise has officially come to an end with the CPDM government reporting that more than 90 dead bodies were pulled out the wreckage and taken to mortuaries in Yaoundé and Douala.

Emergency communication units have been opened in the train stations in Yaoundé and Douala to help relatives of victims to easily identify the corpses. The over 500 injured are now receiving treatment in hospitals in the Centre and Littoral Regions. Telephones numbers have been made public for relatives to call and get information about their love ones: Yaoundé – 699113333 and Douala- 699114444.

At the crash site, a security cordon has been placed around the rubble preventing the public from gaining access pending a mixed police and gendarmerie investigation. The stench from the crash site remains a sad reminded of the gravity of the crash which is so far the worst railway disaster in the country’s history.

CRTV

24, October 2016

French aircraft on surveillance mission crashes in Malta ⁰

A small aircraft conducting a surveillance mission over the Mediterranean for France’s Defense Ministry has crashed in Malta, killing all five people on board. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian confirmed that the twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner went down near the runway of the southern Mediterranean island nation’s main airport on Monday morning.

“A light reconnaissance aircraft … carrying out surveillance operations over the Mediterranean for the defense ministry crashed this morning at 0630 at Malta’s Luqa airport, during take-off,” the defense minister said.

The minister noted that three of the victims were ministry staff while the other two were contractors. The French daily Le Monde reported that the officials belonged to France’s intelligence services. Video footage showed flames and thick black smoke billowing from the site of the crash, next to the runway.

The Maltese government said in a statement that inquiries were under way to determine what had caused the crash. “Official information, footage and eyewitnesses … clearly indicate that there was no explosion prior to impact.” The officials have not yet ruled out sabotage as a possible cause of the crash.

Airport officials said the plane had been heading for the city of Misrata in Libya, where some countries have sent teams of Special Forces to support the new UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in its ongoing fight against the Takfiri Daesh militant group. Malta’s government said that the flight had been due to return to Malta within hours without landing in any other countries.

Presstv

24, October 2016

Governor Otto Wilson passes on ⁰

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Emmanuel René Sadi has confirmed through a statement the death of Governor Otto Joseph Wilson of the Centre region. According to René Sadi, the Governor

died early Monday morning at the American Hospital in Paris. The late Joseph Otto Wilson who hailed from Isangele district in the Bakassi peninsula was born March 19, 1964 in Douala. After high school in Douala, he studied at the University of Yaounde, where he obtained a Masters in Economics. He was admitted in 1987 into the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) in Yaounde and graduated two years later.

Otto Wilson Joseph had a brilliant career in the ministry of territorial administration where he held several positions as DO, SDO and finally Governor. Before his appointment as governor of the North region in April 2012, was the only civil administrator in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (MINATD) who served as inspector general in charge of electoral matters.

He will be remembered in the North following his skilful management of the 2012 floods, the highway robbery phenomenon and cross-border insecurity. On the 4^th of June 2014, President Biya gave him the honour to serve as governor of the Centre region with headquarters in Yaounde.

The death of his daughter in 2016 reportedly weakened the seasoned administrator who had been diagnosed with cancer. His health condition worsened and he was evacuated on October the 8th, 2016 to the American Hospital in Paris, France where he died this morning.

By Rita Akana