About soter

Posts by :

30, November 2025

Football: André Onana wins over Turkey ⁰

In Turkey, André Onana is delighting Trabzonspor fans. All this just three weeks before the kick-off of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Three months after leaving Manchester United, André Onana is putting in a string of top-class performances with Trabzonspor. According to some Turkish pundits, Onana is the best goalkeeper in the Turkish league, ahead of Brazilian Ederson at Fenerbahçe.

Asked to compare the league’s goalkeepers, Zeki Uzundurukan, editor-in-chief of Fotomac—one of Turkey’s leading sports publications—didn’t hesitate for a second. “André Onana is an absolutely fantastic goalkeeper and currently the most in-form shot-stopper in the league. When it comes to decisive saves, Onana is far ahead of Uğurcan (Galatasaray) and Ederson (Fenerbahçe),” declared the journalist.

After two disastrous seasons at Manchester United, the Cameroonian has found new life on the shores of the Black Sea. Ten Süper Lig matches, eleven goals conceded—but more importantly, thirty-four saves from forty-five shots on target. His save percentage exceeds 74%, a rock-solid performance in a particularly open and attacking league. Most impressively, not a single direct error has led to a goal for Trabzonspor.

Source: Africa Foot

30, November 2025

Southern Cameroons: 2 soldiers killed in attack in Bamenda ⁰

Two soldiers were killed Sunday in an explosion in the country’s war-torn English-speaking region of Northwest, a security source said.

A military convoy driving through the region’s chief town of Bamenda stepped on an improvised explosive device planted along the road. The blast killing two soldiers on the spot.

“Some of our brave soldiers were also injured and rushed to the hospital. Our soldiers are pursuing the terrorists behind such a coward act,” the source said, adding that separatist fighters known to be active in the region were responsible for the attack.

The Cameroon army has reinforced security in the region with additional troops to secure voting in the country’s regional elections, which began early Sunday.

Cameroon has been experiencing an armed separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017, as separatists want to create a new nation.

Source: Xinhuanet

30, November 2025

Voting for Cameroon’s regional elections kicks off ⁰

Voting for Cameroon’s regional elections began early Sunday, with polling starting nationwide at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) and set to end at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) local time.

In the capital Yaoundé and commercial capital of Douala, a Xinhua reporter observed on site that municipal councilors and traditional rulers who make up the electoral college queued outside polling stations.

Officials of the national electoral body, Elections Cameroon, told Xinhua that voting which took place in 58 divisional headquarters of the country began “without any problems.”

Municipal councilors and traditional rulers will elect 900 regional councilors to serve five-year terms, with 90 in each of the country’s 10 regions.

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement has submitted candidates in all 58 electoral constituencies and is running unchallenged in several of them.

In 2020, Cameroon held its maiden regional election.

Source: Xinhuanet

30, November 2025

Nigeria: Police recover decomposing bodies of female Cameroonians kidnapped in Anambra ⁰

The Anambra State Police on Saturday announced the recovery of two decomposing female bodies believed to be those of kidnapped Cameroonians from a river in Anambra West Local Government Area of the state.

Three Cameroonian women have been missing for some time now, raising posers that they may have been kidnapped.

The police in the state had launched an investigation leading to the arrest of two suspects: Nonso Augustine Akpeh, 37, and Kingsley Akpeh, 44, who had been assisting with information. The third suspect had been on the run.

A statement by the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Tochukwu Ikenga, said that the discovery of the decomposing bodies was in continuation of efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of the three ladies.

He said that on the evening of November 28, 2025, operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, working in collaboration with professional river divers and local volunteers, conducted an intensive search along the Omambala River in Anambra West Local Government Area.

“During the operation, the team recovered two (2) female decomposed bodies believed to be victims of the kidnapping incident.

The operatives immediately contacted the family of the kidnapped victims, who positively identified the recovered bodies as his wife, Mrs. Bognou Alice, and his niece, Miss Sandra.

“Both bodies have been deposited in a mortuary for further examination and necessary investigative procedures”, he added.

Meanwhile, the State Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, has extended condolences to the bereaved family and friends, and ordered intensified search efforts to recover the remaining missing victim.

He has also directed all units involved to strengthen operational activities aimed at apprehending the third suspect, Uchenna Nicholas Mmadu, said to be on the run, to ensure he faces the full weight of the law.

The Commissioner further reassured the public of the Command’s unwavering commitment to protecting lives, maintaining security, and delivering justice.

In other news, the Delta State police command has announced it arrested a suspected serial killer and a prison escapee who has been linked to multiple violent crimes in the past.

The suspect, known as Michael Ezenwa,i was apprehended by the Agbor police division of the state on October 24, 2025, while he was attempting to sell a stolen phone.

Meanwhile, further checks revealed the phone belonged to a woman who was later found dead in her apartment.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed to murdering her during a robbery at her residence on 23rd October 2025.

Ezenwai has been linked to multiple violent crimes, including a 2020 rape and murder case involving a university student.

Commenting on the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Command, SP Bright Edafe, said the command swiftly took action after receiving a distress call.

“On the 24th of October 2025, the DPO Agbor received a complaint that one Michael Ezenwai was trying to sell a suspected stolen phone.

“The DPO swiftly mobilised operatives to the scene and immediately arrested the suspect. Upon interrogation, the suspect claimed that he brought the phone from Libya.

Source: The Guardian

30, November 2025

Young Cameroonians: Build social capital to succeed ⁰

It is normal these days to hear young Cameroonians saying that their seniors do not want to help them. Many of these young men are frustrated. Many are unemployed and helpless.

They have gone to school and really want to work but the harsh economic circumstances in our beloved country make it hard for them to find jobs. Even when they find jobs, the salaries are sometimes derisory.

This unfortunate situation is compounded by the fact that these days, many entrepreneurs only hire their family members, forgetting that those family members may not be as productive as non-family members.

Tribalism and nepotism have also made things worse and this is driving some of our bright young men, especially those from poor homes, to seek greener pastures somewhere else, even if that implies heading to Europe through the desert and on the high seas.

Some even try their luck by heading to North America through the Darian Gap which has turned out to be a massive burial ground for many of these young men.

For every ten young Cameroonians who have succeeded to reach Europe or North America through such challenging means, more than twenty-five have lost their lives in the desert, on the high seas and/or in the Darian Gap. Desperation is driving many young Cameroonians into the waiting hands of death.

However, as pathetic as this situation might be, it must be pointed out that if many young Cameroonians are financially and economically desperate, it is also their fault.

Many of them do not listen. They think they know it all and this has caused many people who can share their golden nuggets of knowledge and their pearls of wisdom with them to avoid them.

It is hard to advise a young Cameroonian to use whatever money they may have to launch a small business while waiting for a good opportunity. The rush to prove that they are living abroad has robbed them of their commonsense. Proving a point is more important to them.

This poor judgment and refusal to listen and learn has been made worse by their trademark dishonesty which makes it hard for even family members to help them.

A typical young Cameroonian believes that he is smarter than every other Cameroonian. Today, young Cameroonians cannot be relied upon. They don’t know that their word must be their bond. Even those who live abroad cannot always be trusted.

To young Cameroonians, building social capital is a long and tedious process that must be avoided. They want to be wealthy without putting in the time and effort to gain wealth. They want to embrace the promise without going through the testing process. They want immediate results and they are now addicted to immediate gratification. They can hurt anyone just to have their way.

Give them money for them to implement a project for you and you will see their true color. Hire them in your small business and they will work hard to destroy it. Their minds know no morals and discipline.

They only understand theft and embezzlement. This unfortunate behavior makes it hard for many people who are rich in the milk of human kindness to share that milk with them.

Many young Cameroonians lack consciences. They can kill just to achieve their parochial goal. Many would think the young women could be different. Women are always considered as angels by many men, but the past few decades have proven that many young Cameroonian women must not be taken seriously.

They lack morals. They have not been raised on discipline and dignity. Many go through excruciating psychological pain in life because of the path they have chosen in life. They take pleasure in deceiving men without knowing that Karma will eventually step in at a certain point. You will always hear many of them blaming men, forgetting that they have a past. The cosmic always deliver to us what we have delivered to others.

Honesty is a foreign concept to many young Cameroonians. Dignity seems to have died in Cameroon. Our beloved country is a place where finding a reliable young Cameroonian is as challenging as finding a small needle in a massive haystack. Young Cameroonians do not know that being reliable attracts great ideas and sustainable wealth.

They waste their god-given social capital when they are young only to end up in churches praying for serious husbands and wives. Young Cameroonian men and women do not trust each other and that is why many of their relationships are always short-lived.

Young Cameroonians must understand that the best capital to own is social capital. Education is good but when it is not underpinned by good social capital, even careers suffer. Build your social capital to make things easy for you. Let your word be your bond.

I learned this very early in life and I have reaped the benefits. I am an investor and many people hand their money to me knowing that it is in safe hands. You can be wealthy using other people’s money through honest investments. Attracting investment capital depends on your moral record. Succeeding in business depends on your honesty. Social capital is a financial magnet that many young Cameroonians do not know. Growing in your career also depends on people trusting you.

Managers only promote people they trust and not dishonest people who think they are the brightest. A word to the wise is sufficient.

By Dr Joachim Arrey

29, November 2025

Yaoundé: Divisional Officer blocks MRC Convention planned for Kamto’s return ⁰

Two days before the planned convention of the Mouvement pour la renaissance du Cameroun (MRC), the divisional officer of Yaoundé IV formally prohibited the gathering through an order issued on November 27. The administrative authority justified the ban by citing a “serious threat of public disorder” linked to the opposition party’s event.

Faced with this decision, the MRC leadership was forced to postpone the assembly. Mamadou Mota, the party’s interim president, announced that the meeting would be rescheduled to a later date. The setback is significant for the party, as the extraordinary convention of November 29 was expected to renew its executive board, notably marking the return of Maurice Kamto as president.

Kamto’s planned return to the MRC leadership

Maurice Kamto, the MRC’s emblematic leader, stepped down in July to avoid a conflict with the law when he ran in the October presidential election under the banner of Manidem. With no local elected officials, the MRC could not nominate a presidential candidate. Manidem, led by Anicet Ekane, agreed to sponsor Kamto on the condition that he formally join the party. To avoid belonging to two political parties at once, he handed the MRC presidency to first vice-president Mamadou Mota.

A leadership race without internal competition

The November 29 convention, which opened executive positions to competition, received only one candidacy for the presidency: Maurice Kamto’s. The assembly was therefore expected to confirm his return as party leader, closing the chapter opened by his temporary departure during the presidential race.

With the authorities’ decision to block the convention, a period of uncertainty opens for the MRC, which had intended to use the meeting to clarify its leadership and internal structure.

For the party, the convention was crucial to reorganizing ahead of the 2025 legislative and municipal elections. The administrative block comes at a decisive moment, just as the MRC sought to reposition itself on the political scene.

For the ruling camp, the stakes lie in keeping the MRC out of an upcoming local election cycle seen as challenging. The governing party recently posted its weakest result in more than thirty years in the latest presidential election.

Source: Sbbc

29, November 2025

FECAFOOT: Eto’o secures second term ⁰

Cameroonian football legend Samuel Eto’o has secured a second term as president of the country’s football federation after winning re-election by an overwhelming margin on Saturday.

The vote, held at the CAF Centre of Excellence in Mbankomo, saw the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker run unopposed.

Of the 87 delegates eligible to cast ballots, 85 endorsed his continuity at the helm, with two ballots declared invalid.

The result hands him a commanding 97.7 per cent approval rate and extends his mandate for another four years.

Eto’o’s renewed tenure comes despite a turbulent first term marked by criticism and internal pressure.

Cameroon’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup fuelled dissatisfaction, while a series of controversies involving the federation kept his leadership under scrutiny.

Even so, Saturday’s outcome underscores the enduring influence and support he maintains within Fecafoot, setting the stage for another chapter in his stewardship of Cameroonian football.

Source: Africa Soccer

28, November 2025

Hungary’s Orban defies EU partners and meets Putin again in Moscow ⁰

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, days before Russia holds talks on a US push to end the war in Ukraine.

Orban is seen as one of Putin’s closest allies in Europe and he has consistently angered his Nato and EU allies by undermining solidarity against Russia.

“We are aware of your balanced position on the situation in Ukraine,” Putin told Orban in remarks carried by Russian state TV.

Posting later on social media, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the Hungarians had got what they came to Moscow for: guaranteed supplies of Russian oil and gas, and agreement to continue the construction of the Paks nuclear power station.

Reacting to news of Orban’s visit, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, the EU’s biggest member state, told reporters: “He is acting without a European mandate and he is doing so without consulting us but that is nothing new.”

Referring to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Merz said of Orban: “He has his own ideas about ending this war. So far, they have not been realised. If someone has a better idea than us, then that is very welcome. Unfortunately I just doubt that this time will be more successful than last time.”

Putin thanked the Hungarian prime minister for proposing Budapest as a potential venue for a Russia-US summit with President Donald Trump.

“Trump immediately said: ”We have good relations with Hungary, you have good relations with Viktor, and I do too, so I suggest this option.’ Of course, we happily agreed,” Putin said.

According to Reuters news agency, Orban told Putin that Hungary was “interested in peace” and added: “Our meetings today give me the opportunity to confirm, Mr President, that Hungary is ready to provide a platform for such negotiations.”

However, the atmosphere when the delegations met in Moscow appeared surprisingly frosty and at one point Orban inadvertently bumped into his Russian host, after shaking hands with other members of the Russian delegation.

One independent Hungarian media outlet also suggested that Putin’s words had been mistranslated into Hungarian, to sound more positive.

Plans for a Budapest “peace summit” were proposed last month but they were shelved, reportedly because the Russian side had refused to compromise on Putin’s maximalist demands for an end to the war.

The Hungarian leader’s Fidesz party faces parliamentary elections in April and polls suggest that for the first time in 15 years it could be defeated at the ballot box. If he were to host a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, it could help boost his chances of re-election.

Orban, who last visited Moscow in July 2024, has repeatedly challenged EU attempts to end European imports of Russian oil and gas.

He billed Friday’s visit as the second leg of a strategy to ensure Russian energy supplies this winter, for Slovakia and Serbia as well as Hungary.

Earlier this month in Washington, he secured exemption from US sanctions on Russian fuel – but only as long as he remains in power.

Ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Orban has claimed to have been on the side of peace and told Hungarian state radio last week that “Europe has decided to go to war in Ukraine”.

He has strongly backed Trump’s 28-point peace plan to end the war and during frantic diplomacy after it emerged, the Orban government and pro-Orban media have accused EU leaders of “war-mongering” for trying to adapt the plan to take account of Ukraine’s objections.

Joining Orban and Putin in the Kremlin were leading Russian officials, including Putin aide Yuri Ushakov, who is part of Russia’s negotiating team with the US.

In a letter this week to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Hungarian leader called for immediate, unconditional peace talks, for the EU to launch direct negotiations with the Kremlin. He stressed his opposition to further EU funds for Ukraine, and rejected the use of frozen Russian assets to fund Ukrainian defence.

Source: BBC

27, November 2025

Yaoundé: 2026 budget deficit set to double on higher spending needs ⁰

Cameroon expects its 2026 budget deficit to more than double due to a sharp rise in spending aimed at supporting economic activity amid continued global instability, according to a draft finance bill presented to Parliament late on Wednesday.

Cameroon is highly exposed to external shocks, including price volatility, due to its heavy reliance on imports of fuel, wheat and automobiles.

The overall deficit is projected to be 631 billion CFA francs ($1.11 billion), up from 309.9 billion in 2025, raising the government’s total financing needs to 3,104.2 billion CFA francs in 2026, compared with 2,326.5 billion this year.

The government has proposed a 2026 state budget of 8,816.4 billion CFA francs, up 14% from 2025, driven by higher personnel costs, goods and services, transfers and debt payments.

The draft bill is expected to pass as President Paul Biya’s ruling CPDM party holds a majority in both houses of Parliament.

Economic growth is expected to improve, reaching 4.3% in 2026, up from an estimated 3.9% in 2025.

“This growth would be driven primarily by the strong performance in the non-oil sector, while the oil sector is expected to contract slightly by 0.1% in 2026,” a government statement said, adding that inflation would ease by 0.2% from the current 3.2%.

To cover its financing gap and other obligations, the government plans to rely on 1,000 billion CFA francs in external borrowing, 826.7 billion CFA francs in project loans, 589.7 billion CFA francs in bank financing and 400 billion CFA francs from issuing government securities, along with budget support and exceptional financing.

Cameroon, Central Africa’s largest economy with major sectors in oil and gas, cocoa and timber, has recently stepped up borrowing to plug budget shortfalls and fund infrastructure.

Over the past few years, Cameroon has suffered from liquidity problems, pushing the government to carry out structural reforms and broaden its tax base.

Source: Reuters

27, November 2025

Indomitable Lions: date announced for Marc Brys’ departure ⁰

The fate of current Indomitable Lions head coach Marc Brys is all but sealed. The Belgian tactician is set to leave his position.

Marc Brys is edging closer to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to sign in January. The Belgian coach, who took charge of the Indomitable Lions in April 2024, boasts an impressive record to date. In 15 matches, he has suffered only one defeat, and successfully led the Cameroonian team to qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Early reports suggest Patrice Carteron is the front-runner to take over. Carteron is no stranger to African football, having led Mali to a bronze medal at AFCON 2013. He is, however, better known for his club achievements on the continent, winning multiple titles. With TP Mazembe, he lifted the CAF Champions League trophy in 2015, before clinching back-to-back CAF Super Cups in 2019 and 2020—first with Raja Casablanca and then with Zamalek SC.

Source: Foot Africa