About soter

Posts by :

28, January 2025

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS: Cameroon drawn in Group F alongside Côte d’Ivoire ⁰

The 24 teams qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have learned their fates following the group stage draw held on Monday in Rabat. The tournament is set to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026, and promises high-stakes matchups. Cameroon finds itself in a challenging Group F, where it will face defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, and Mozambique.

The most anticipated clash in this group is undoubtedly the showdown between Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. Their last encounter took place during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on November 16, 2021, when the Indomitable Lions secured a narrow 1-0 victory. However, this rematch comes with a different set of circumstances.

Cameroon’s assistant coach, Martin Ndtoungou Mpile, expressed confidence despite the group’s apparent difficulty. He stated that matches against Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon are familiar territory for the team. “We’re not starting as underdogs in this group. On the contrary, these are matchups we’ve known for a long time: Cameroon-Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon-Gabon. But it’s going to be tough. Now we need to prepare well. A strong mentality is essential to win the AFCON,” he said on public television.

On the Côte d’Ivoire side, Serge Aurier, captain of the Elephants, reacted to the draw with anticipation for intense matches in Group F. The former PSG defender acknowledged the challenges posed by all opponents, particularly Cameroon. “It will be difficult. Against Cameroon, we know those matches are tough. What makes Africa proud today is that all teams have improved. So, we can’t talk about just one standout team; it’s about the whole group. We just hope to get out of the group. We know our strength when we advance past the group stage, and based on what we showed in the last AFCON, we know what to do to go all the way,” he commented after the draw.

Cameroon topped Group J in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, bouncing back after an early elimination in the Round of 16 during the last tournament held in Côte d’Ivoire. Facing Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Namibia in their qualifying group, the Indomitable Lions finished first with 14 points (four wins, two draws, and no losses), five points ahead of Zimbabwe, which claimed the second qualifying spot. Cameroon scored eight goals and conceded just two during the campaign. Maintaining this level of performance will be crucial for their success in the upcoming competition.

Source: Sbbc

28, January 2025

Clock ticking on Biya as pressure to quit Unity Palace increases ⁰

The Etoudi walls appear to be closing in on President Paul Biya in Yaoundé.

Barrister Akere Muna, Archbishop Samuel Kleda, Professor Maurice Kamto and Jean-Michel Nintcheu are about as influential as you can get within the Cameroon political structure and all of them have advised Mr Paul Biya that any attempt on his part to bid for re-election will be unrealistic and a costly mistake.

There are also reports that the late David Abouem à Tchoyi, the former Secretary General at the presidency and CPDM party grandee, had told government insiders that Paul Biya’s path to another term will be unwise, and that he needed to seriously consider the country and the future generation.

All of the names above have publicly called for President Biya to step down and Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that there are many more prominent members of government who are pushing for Biya to go but doesn’t want to be accused of disloyalty to the 92-year-old president.

Recently, the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji and the Minister-Secretary General at the presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh were alarmed by anti Biya statements from top Roman Catholic clerics and some renowned Imams.

Many political commentators believe an extension of Biya’s rule will lead the country into civil war. There’s also some evidence that the Far North region that has always been Mr Biya’s stronghold is now slipping away.

Paul Biya himself has been revising his view on what it would take for him to bow to the growing pressure. These days Unity Palace has been making public presidential decrees reportedly signed by President Biya appointing junior officials to insignificant positions in the administrtion while ignoring more than six vacant ministerial portfolios. Majority of the cabinet ministers died before the COVID 19 pandemic.

His latest appearance on a wheelchair inside Etoudi has exacerbated the ongoing concerns about his age, health and fragility. This does not look great for a leader many Cameroonians already know has overstayed his time in the Unity Palace.

The 2025 presidential election is not just going to be about flying to Maroua and read a speech for five minutes and return to Yaoundé and wait for ELECAM and the constitutional court to declare you as winner. 2025 is also going to be about projecting physical strength as a leader which Biya does not have.

Ultimately, the decision to stand down has to come from Mr Paul Biya. He is dismissive of everything and only relies on the military and his powerful presidential guards.

There are also some CPDM militants still fully behind the 92-year-old president and consider him to still be sharp. They include his wife Chantal Biya, her blood relation Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh who currently moonlights as Minister-Secretary General at the presidency, 90-year-old House Speaker Cavaye Djibril, 91-year-old Senate leader Niat Marcel and a sea of corrupt traditional rulers whose chieftaincy titles are still being contested all over the country.

But with the presidential election barely some few months away and with many deep within the Biya generation now dying like flies, it feels as if the clock has again reset and is ticking.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

27, January 2025

Yaoundé: Etoudi throws in the towel for African Development Bank presidency ⁰

Biya and his gang have decided not to put forward a candidate for the presidency of the African Development Bank, despite two profiles emerging in recent months, Africa Intelligence reported today.

Africa Intelligence also stated that Biya made the dramatic u-turn to avoid finding himself at odds with the Chadian leader.

Unity Palace had worked to promote its own candidate for the top African Development Bank seat, despite having officially supported Chad’s contender.

The regime in Yaoundé reportedly ordered Cameroonian diplomats to push for economist Albert Zeufack to take over the presidency of the African Development Bank, instead of the former BEAC governor whom N’Djamena is supporting.

As more candidates apply to take on the African Development Bank leadership role, the presidents involved have been quietly calling round to get a picture of the situation.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Africa Intelligence

27, January 2025

Belgium: prominent footballer arrested in cocaine trafficking sting ⁰

Belgian footballer Radja Nainggolan has been arrested as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking.

The 36-year-old was one of several suspects apprehended by Belgian police on Monday morning, after a series of raids were carried out across the country.

“The investigation concerns alleged facts of importation of cocaine from South America to Europe, via the port of Antwerp, and its redistribution in Belgium,” the Brussels prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

No further information has been released to the public.

The arrest comes just six days after Nainggolan came out of retirement to sign for Lokeren in the Belgian second division.

He scored on his debut, giving his side a point in their 1-1 home draw to K. Lierse.

Born in Antwerp, the midfielder spent most of his career in Italy, playing for both Roma and Inter Milan.

Between 2009 and 2018, he made 30 appearances for the Belgium national team.

Source: BBC

26, January 2025

South Korean thug charged with insurrection over martial law attempt ⁰

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection after he attempted to declare martial law in December.

His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he becomes the first sitting president in South Korean history to be charged with a crime.

The indictment comes after a court in Seoul rejected a request to extend Yoon’s detention on Saturday, which meant prosecutors had to make a decision on whether to charge or release him before Monday.

“The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally,” Han Min-soo, a spokesman from the main opposition Democratic Party told a press conference.

Fear, fury and triumph: Six hours that shook South Korea

Separately, the Constitutional Court has begun deliberations on whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

The impeached president has largely refused to co-operate with the criminal investigation over the martial law declaration.

Yoon is set to stand trial along with his former defence minister and senior military commanders, who are accused of helping him plan and carry out the attempt to seize total power.

In an unprecedented televised announcement on 3 December, Yoon said he was invoking martial law to protect the country from “anti-state” forces that sympathised with North Korea.

At the time, the embattled leader was in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers were under investigation.

The military announced all parliamentary activity was suspended and sought to impose controls on media outlets.

The opposition’s Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged people to protest at the National Assembly and asked his fellow lawmakers to immediately vote to repeal the order.

Less than two hours after Yoon’s declaration, 190 lawmakers who gathered – including some from the president’s party – voted unanimously to block it.

Soldiers equipped with rifles were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows as a dramatic confrontation ensued.

Thousands of civilians gathered in front of the assembly and tried to block the soldiers.

Yoon was was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.

The affair has triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades and has polarised the country.

Many of his hard-line supporters have rallied around him. On Friday, tens of thousands gathered to protest, demanding he be released and returned to office.

If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.

The prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: BBC

26, January 2025

DR Congo rebels close in on key city as 13 peacekeepers killed ⁰

UN Secretary General António Guterres has called on Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s territory and on the M23 rebel group to stop its advance on the eastern city of Goma amid intense fighting.

At a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Sunday, Congo’s foreign minister accused Rwanda of declaring war by sending its troops over the border to help the rebels.

Rwanda’s representative did not deny backing M23.

The calls come after 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the DR Congo were killed in clashes with M23 rebels, UN and army officials have said.

South Africa said nine of its soldiers were killed while deterring an advance on Goma.

Three Malawian soldiers were killed, the UN said, while Uruguay’s army said one of its soldiers had died.

M23 rebels have taken control of vast parts of mineral-rich eastern DR Congo since 2021. Hundreds of thousands have fled their homes, the UN said.

In the past few weeks the group has been advancing swiftly on Goma, a city of more than one million residents, amid intense fighting.

Guterres, in a statement through his spokesman, called on Rwanda to “cease support to the M23 and withdraw from DRC territory”. He also called on the M23 to “immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from occupied areas”.

As Sunday’s UN Security Council got under way in New York City, reports of Rwandan drone strikes aimed at targets near Goma emerged.

Bintou Keita, from the UN peacekeeping force Monusco, told the council that despite ongoing UN efforts, M23 and Rwandan forces had captured the outskirts of Goma, “causing mass panic and fright across the population”.

“Roads are blocked and the airport can no longer be used for evacuation or humanitarian efforts. M23 has declared the airspace over Goma closed. In other words, we are cut,” Ms Keita added.

The UK called for an end to attacks on peacekeepers, while France’s UN representative, Nicolas de Rivière, reiterated Guterres’ call for Rwanda to withdraw its troops from the DR Congo.

Both DR Congo and the UN say the M23 is backed by Rwanda.

Instead, Rwanda blames the DR Congo for the current conflict.

Speaking at the Security Council meeting, Rwanda’s UN representative Ernest Rwamucyo said he regrets that the international community chooses to condemn the M23 group rather than the Congolese army, who he said violated the ceasefire.

“Rwanda also notes with disappointment the international community’s failure to condemn the use of foreign mercenaries in this conflict,” Mr Rwamucyo said, adding that the military escalation “represents an unprecedented security threat to Rwanda”.

It comes one day after the UN said it would be pulling all of its non-essential staff out of Goma. Essential operations are ongoing in the DR Congo.

Since the start of 2025 more than 400,000 people have been displaced in North and South Kivu, provinces near the border with Rwanda, according to the UN’s refugee agency.

One displaced woman, Alice Feza, said she is at a loss of what to do next, as she has fled from Kiwanja, Rutshuru, Kibumba and now, Goma.

“People are fleeing everywhere, and we don’t know where to go anymore, because we started fleeing a long time ago,” Ms Feza said, adding: “The war catches us here among the host families, now we have nowhere to go”.

In the past few days, several countries have urged their citizens to leave Goma, including the UK, France, Germany and the US.

The M23 group has called on Congolese troops in Goma to surrender in order to avoid bloodshed.

Meanwhile, DR Congo has severed diplomatic ties with neighbouring Rwanda, accusing the country of being behind the rebellion.

The move comes after M23 fighters killed a Congolese military governor who was visiting the frontline on Thursday.

Map showing the Democratic Republic of Congo

The M23 formed as an offshoot of another rebel group in 2012, ostensibly to protect the Tutsi population in the east of DR Congo, which had long complained of persecution and discrimination.

Rwanda has previously said the authorities in DR Congo were working with some of those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

However, Rwanda’s critics accuse it of using the M23 to loot eastern DR Congo’s minerals such as gold, cobalt and tantalum.

Human Rights Watch has warned of escalating risks to civilians as DR Congo’s army battle the M23 rebels. The humanitarian group has accused both sides of committing grave abuses against civilians.

Getty Images Non essential civil personnel of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) are seen leaving ahead of their evacuation in Goma on January 25, 2025 — As many as 400,000 people in eastern DR Congo have been displaced since the start of the year, according to the UN

Last week, local leaders said more than 200 civilians had been killed in areas captured by the M23, with hospitals in Goma treating hundreds of patients.

Martin Gordon, an Anglican bishop in Goma, told the BBC fighting in the country had gone on “way too long” and people “will do anything for peace”.

Within reach of major mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand such as gold, tin and coltan, Goma has become a vital economic hub. Its road and air transport links, and the fact that it has a huge UN peacekeeping base, has attracted a host of businesses, international organisations and diplomatic consulates.

As such, Goma is a valuable strategic target. In February last year the town was the focus of a resurgence in fighting between the M23 group and the Congolese army.

Source: BBC

24, January 2025

CEMAC Bank liquidity demand remains high despite BEAC’s reduced offerings ⁰

The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) injected CFA230 billion into the banking system in the CEMAC region on January 21, responding to a surge in demand from commercial banks. This latest liquidity operation saw requests totaling CFA258 billion, exceeding the offer by 112.5%, highlighting the growing need for central bank refinancing.

This renewed interest in BEAC’s funding facilities follows a sluggish period during which the central bank had scaled back its operations due to weak demand. However, since December 2024, commercial banks have been increasingly turning to BEAC, signaling a shift in financial activity across the region.

Bankers link this trend to rising loan demands, which have stretched their available funds. When banks face a gap between loan requests and their liquidity reserves, they typically seek refinancing from BEAC to cover the shortfall.

Source: Business in Cameroon

24, January 2025

A new unrealistic Biya mandate would constitute a mistake ⁰

Several Cameroonian bishops have taken sides against the possibility of a new candidacy by Paul Biya in the presidential election to be held in October 2025. After 42 years of unchallenged rule, part of the Church in Cameroon wants to turn the page in a country that appears fragmented.

At 91 years old, the “sphinx” is the oldest elected leader in office and the second head of state in the world still alive in terms of longevity in power.

This adds fuel to the fire for Africans who made the ironic statement that Africa is a “young continent led by old people.” To top it all off, add to that the autocratic management of Paul Biya, which has hardened after his last highly contested election in 2018, repressing any dissenting political opinion in the country.

The worrying state of health of the current head of state might have been a intimation that the latter would finally hand over the reins. Alas, during his New Year’s wishes for 2025, Paul Biya kept his political future vague. “I have heard your calls and your encouragement, and I remain devoted to serving our beloved nation,” he declared in response to the cleverly orchestrated messages from his fervent supporters who are asking him to run for office one last time in 2025.

A new “unrealistic” mandate would constitute a “mistake” according to the terms used by the Archbishop of Douala on RFI. “People are worried, we need a peaceful transition,” added Bishop Samuel Kleda. Words little appreciated by the government.

While one of the opposition representatives – Jean-Michel Nintcheu, president of the Front for Change – praised the archbishop and called on Paul Biya to take “a well-deserved retirement,” the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs accused the prelate of having “exceeded his clerical responsibilities.”

“He sometimes feels obliged to take political positions, without analyzing all the consequences. He has therefore taken his position as a citizen, and those among his flock who want to follow him will follow him,” deplored Grégoire Owona.

But Bishop Kleda’s episcopal remarks are far from being isolated within the Cameroonian Catholic Church: on January 1, Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo, Bishop of Yagoua (North of the country) denounced, miter on head, the possible candidacy of Paul Biya. “We are not going to put up with any more, we have suffered enough as it is,” exploded the prelate in a message that quickly went viral on social networks.

“The most terrible suffering is that Cameroonians are forbidden to express their suffering. . . referring to threats by the Cameroon Minister of Territorial Administration who describes the state as a ‘blender’ that will crush anyone voicing contrary opinions to that of the government. Who are they going to govern when they have crushed all the Cameroonians? Cameroonians are asked to avoid hate speech, but from above we receive words of violence,” stated the Bishop of Yagoua.

With more restraint, Jean Mbarga, Archbishop of Yaoundé, the country’s capital, called on the State “to do everything to ensure that the voice of Cameroonians is heard,” discreetly alluding to the political transition for which a large part of the citizens are calling.

According to Thomas Atenga, professor of communication at the University of Douala interviewed by the BBC, the position of some members of the Cameroon Catholic clergy would reveal the fragmentation between “the real country and its daily sufferings, which the bishops claim to be close to, and the political class that seems disconnected from the reality experienced by Cameroonians.”

Even if the Catholic hierarchy is not unanimous in its rejection of the “sphinx,” according to the professor, the Church – an institution of importance in this African country – “has no other choice but to aspire to greater freedom. Because after 42 years in power, it is high time that Cameroonians experienced other forms of hope, of government, which allow them to think that, the world is different from the one they have known for these years.”

Source: RFI

24, January 2025

US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s order to change birthright citizenship ⁰

A US judge has temporarily blocked Trump’s order to change birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the constitution

The judge says the order, which was slated to take effect in February, was “blatantly unconstitutional”

Meanwhile, Trump has declassifed files related to the deaths of John F Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr

The president also pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists and signed executive orders relating to cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Earlier, Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos where he told the rest of the world that if they do not make their products in the US, they will face tariffs worth “trillions of dollars”

Source: BBC

23, January 2025

Trump’s return: an unprecedented period of uncertainty for press freedom ⁰

As Donald Trump returns to the White House while making and carrying out numerous threats against journalists and the media, Americans are wondering what the future holds for journalism.

Donald Trump has:

– issued at least 15 separate calls to revoke the broadcast licenses of television networks in political retaliation;

– vowed to investigate media outlets that are critical of him;

– insulted or threatened journalists hundreds of times on the campaign trail;

– formed an alliance with anti-journalism tech mogul Elon Musk;

– threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with jail time in an apparently successful effort to extract concessions on content moderation;

– sued multiple media outlets for coverage he disliked.

No one can say with certainty what threats President Trump will follow through on or whether the institutions that limit presidential powers will withstand an executive onslaught. The United States has the lowest ranking in its history in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, 55th out of 180 countries and territories.

RSF will continue to defend the values of journalism, whatever the threats. Support our actions in the United States and wherever press freedom is threatened. Make a donation now using our online form.

REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES (RSF)