Calling for political change can land you in jail in Cameroon, a country ruled by the same president for 42 years.

On July 24, three men in plain clothes claiming to work for the intelligence services arrested Junior Ngombe, 23, a hairdresser and social media activist, outside his shop in Douala, a city in Cameroon’s Littoral region. According to his lawyers, Ngombe was taken to a gendarmerie post in Douala before being transferred the following day to the State Defense Secretariat (Secrétariat d’État à la défense), a gendarmerie-run detention facility in the capital, Yaoundé. Human Rights Watch has previously documented widespread use of torture at the facility.

Ngombe’s lawyers said their client has been charged with “incitement to rebellion” and “propagation of false information.” They believe his arrest is linked to several TikTok videos in which Ngombe encouraged people to register to vote for the 2025 presidential elections, advocated for democratic change, and questioned authorities’ intolerance of criticism.

For many years, the Cameroon government has carried out a pervasive crackdown on opposition and dissent, jailing dozens of political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and other government critics. In recent months, as presidential elections approach, it has increasingly restricted freedoms of expression and association.

In March, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, banned two opposition coalitions, describing them as “clandestine movements.” In June, gendarmes in N’Gaoundéré, Adamawa region, arbitrarily arrested Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, a prominent artist and member of the opposition political party, National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès). His arrest came moments after his release from three-month imprisonment for “insulting” a governor. In July, Cameroon’s National Assembly passed a law to postpone the scheduled February 2025 parliamentary elections and extend the current parliamentarians’ term in office until March 2026. Opposition parties argue the postponement will make it harder for them to succeed in the 2025 presidential elections. Also in July, the head of the Mfoundi administrative division, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, issued a decree threatening to ban from the division “anyone who dangerously insults the [state] institutions or the person who embodies them.”

Cameroonian authorities should listen to peaceful demands for reform instead of stifling freedom of expression. They should immediately release Ngombe and drop the charges against him.

Source: Human Rights Watch

For decades, Manyu has been longing for an organization which can deliver hope to its people. Many Manyu organizations have risen and fallen, breaking the hearts of many development-oriented minds.

When MOHWA rose from its own ashes like the proverbial Phoenix a few years ago, many were excited and the excitement was reinforced when MOHWA USA, Inc raised a huge amount of money for the razed Mamfe District Hospital.

No other Manyu organization had raised such an amount before and news of such an exploit spread across Manyu Division like wildfire during the dry season.

Today, MOHWA USA Inc has morphed into EYUMEMA and if the joy and unity that were on  display in Ohio, USA, on the weekend were anything to go by, then Manyu has finally found that piece of the puzzle which has been missing for decades.

According to some EYUMEMA members, their organization is about to build some structures at the Mamfe Preventive Hospital which was made to act as a full-blown hospital following the burning of the district hospital some years ago.

This noble act by EYUMEMA comes on the heels of other projects such as the Manyu borehole project which has helped to alleviate the hardship of the local population.

Water is life and he who has access to drinking water has guarantees of health as good drinking water helps the population to avoid water-related diseases while enabling women, who in most cases, have the arduous task of fetching water for most households, to devote their time to other productive tasks and granting the girl child the time to devote to her studies.

Manyu has many organizations. There are hundreds or even thousands of Manyu community organizations around the world but their focus is not always to bring much-needed development to Manyu, but for members to socialize and to even compete against each other; a mentality which has retarded economic and financial progress in the region.

Across the globe, diasporic communities are being considered as engines of economic growth but in Manyu Division, the Diaspora has not made its impact felt. The unhealthy competitive spirit that is the hallmark of the people of Manyu is hurting the Division in a big and bad way.

Many Manyu people still think that it is the government which must develop their region. Unfortunately, government-driven development has remained a distant tomorrow affair in Cameroon and Manyu, noted for its plethora of academics and intellectuals has been lagging behind many other regions whose diasporic communities have organized themselves to trigger a wave of development in their regions.

NOMA, MECA, and other Manyu organizations have not been able to mobilize the people of Manyu for development purposes. Infighting and bloated egos have stood in the way of development efforts and even Ekpe which claims to be the traditional judiciary of the Division has not been able to instill order in some of those organizations or has not been able to lead collective development efforts in the Division.

But this does not imply that there are no development efforts in the Division. Individual efforts are ongoing and there are some villages which are making some baby steps towards development.

It is the absence of collective efforts which is at issue here and a source of constant criticism of Manyu people. The Division has the numbers. Its people are educated, but these assets are not being exploited to give the Division the facelift its needs and the shot in the arm that the Division’s economy is begging for. The Division’s economy does not count for much in terms of the country’s GDP and this is affecting the Division when it comes to national politics.

Power is usually controlled by those who control finances and those who make their numbers count both financially and politically. Manyu Division has not got the financial leverage its needs to count nationally.

Despite this dismal picture, some green shoots are gradually emerging. EYUMEMA may not be that silver bullet the Division needs, but its unity of purpose and determination are delivering hope to many people of Manyu descent around the world.

As EYUMEMA makes some strides towards unity and progress, it may trigger something more important which may ripple out to other Manyu organizations which have been ripped apart by conflict and mismanagement.

The joy, enthusiasm and the sisterhood which were on display for all to see over the weekend could become infectious, causing other organizations to revisit their own efforts which have been latent for a long time.

Like most organizations, there will be differences of opinion within EYUMEMA but if its leaders who have so far put on a great show can ensure that when members disagree, they should not be disagreeable, EYUMEMA will finally deliver that hope which the people of Manyu have been scanning the horizon for.

Disagreement is as old as man and when it emerges, it simply implies an organization has to take a look at the way it operates in order to engineer new ways which will keep members together. Ideological differences should never be considered as enmity and a contrary view should not be seen as a challenge.

Nobody knows it all and others people’s contribution, regardless of how they package them, should be seen as an opportunity for growth. The people of Manyu need all their organizations for development purposes and any organization which can hold its members together regardless of the challenges will bring smiles to the people of Manyu Division.

While many hail what they saw over the weekend, events of the past still make them to ask if the hope and enthusiasm triggered by EYUMEMA will stand the test of time. This question can only be answered by time and the leaders of EYUMEMA who have clearly demonstrated that they want to make a difference in Manyu Division.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

Cameroon’s ailing President Paul Biya, has created jobs for members of his entourage without following proper procedures.

The almost 92-year-old Biya, who has opted to humiliate himself all over the world, has transformed all those around him into caregivers and emergency workers without seeking their opinion.

For many years now, Chantal Biya, the country’s first lady, has been doubling as a professional caregiver. She has developed great care giving skills, which have caused many observers to conclude that she might be preparing to move to the United States to serve as a caregiver since such a skill is in great demand and highly lucrative in the US.

For Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, the director of cabinet at the presidency, moonlighting as a prop to the crumbling 92-year-old Biya has given him much money as he has to work longer hours these days, especially as Mr. Biya is out of the country.

The chief of state protocol, Simon Pierre Bikele, also has a lot on his plate. He has been running all over the place like someone suffering from diarrhea to ensure that cameras do not capture some of the ugly moments when members of Biya’s entourage are doing their second jobs.

It is alleged that Mvondo Ayolo is already complaining of a broken shoulder given that he has to constantly carry the 110 kg heavy Biya whose legs can no longer help him stand upright.

Chantal Biya has continued putting on a brave face but having to change those diapers is already taking a toll on her. It is alleged that she too sometimes grumbles about her job as a caregiver, but many insiders hold that she deserves her fate having unjustifiably benefitted from the chaos Mr. Biya has created in Cameroon.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group editor-in-chief recently, a senior staff at the presidency hinted that the Unity Palace had actually been transformed into a health facility, adding that what the public is seeing in Paris is just the tip of the iceberg.

“We are sick and tired of this unpalatable drama which Biya and his entourage are staging on a global stage. At almost 92, Biya is completely finished. The level of incontinence is humiliating and diapers cannot stand such a heavy duty,” our source at the Unity Palace said.

“It is not only Biya who is a comedian. At the Senate, Niat is dealing with similar problems and his entourage is already tired. Members of his entourage know that if Niat dies, he might die with their jobs but they think he is better dead than alive,” the angry CPDM member said.

“Even Niat’s assistants have been pinned down by serious illnesses which are not allowing them to be effective. The second vice president at the Senat, George Tabetando, is screaming in pain in his Yaoundé residence as a prostrate problem is robbing him of his happiness. Cavaye Yegue Djibril of the National Assembly now breathes like an old heavy-duty truck whose engine is falling apart.  They are all very sick but yielding the floor to younger people is not on their agenda. Cameroonians must find away to put an end to this crazy drama,” he concluded.

Meanwhile inside sources at the Presidency say that some CPDM members are insisting that those who are calling on Mr. Biya to run in next year’s presidential elections should be redeployed to the presidency for them to see how expired the president is. He has lost his cognitive qualities and the energy is gone. If they join the odd job crew, they will reconsider their ideas. Biya is a difficult job and no one needs such a tasking job now, a source said.

“Cameroon will be a better place without Biya. His continuous presence at the helm will only imply that things will get worse, and, by so doing, strengthening the wave of brain drain that is robbing the country of its youths,” a CPDM militant said angrily.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

French President Macron met with the Cameroonian dictator Paul Biya on Friday July 26, 2024 at the Elysée, during a working meeting.

Emmanuel Macron first thanked President Biya for his presence in Paris on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Two years to the day after the state visit of the President of the Republic to Cameroon on July 26, 2022, the two heads of state followed up on the commitments that had been made on this occasion.

Biya and Macron discussed advances in the cultural, economic and agricultural fields which have made it possible to deepen this partnership. They particularly welcomed the important work carried out by the Joint Memorial Commission on the role and commitment of France in Cameroon in the fight against the independence and opposition movements between 1945 and 1971. Macron reiterates the need for researchers to have access, as widely and freely as possible, to the archives to enable them to submit their report as quickly as possible.

Finally, Macron reaffirmed his attachment to the friendship between France and Cameroon, stimulated by the vitality of human ties between the two countries.

Source: Foreign Affairs