Breaking News

22, December 2016

Douala CPDM mayor get caught, nude photo made public by wife ⁰

The nude photo of a CPDM Mayor of the Douala city council who got caught has created a buzz on the internet. The local representative had reportedly had a fast one in a hotel with one of his many concubines when his wife stormed the room and took photos of him in Adam and Eve uniform.

Internet users are wondering about the publisher’s interest in releasing on the internet a picture of a man she calls her husband. Many have questioned if is a blackmail that went wrong or an attempt to undermine the image of the deputy mayor?

This phenomenon is increasing in Cameroon despite a new penal code voted into law that prescribes severe punishment on attacks on privacy using the social networks.

Sonne Peter in Douala

22, December 2016

UN: Security Council urges Gambia’s President Jammeh to transfer power ⁰

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has called on Gambia’s longtime head of state, Yahya Jammeh, to hand over power to President-elect Adama Barrow, who won the December 1 polls in the West African country.

In a statement read at an open council meeting on Wednesday, the 15-member body said it was “encouraged” by decisions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union to recognize Barrow as Gambia’s future leader.

Barrow and Jammeh secured 43.3 and 39.6 percent of the vote respectively. Jammeh, who has governed the country for 22 years, initially accepted the results but later reversed his position, saying the polls were riddled with irregularities and vowed to challenge the outcome in the Supreme Court.

ECOWAS, in turn, urged Jammeh to honor his initial pledge to accept electoral defeat and threatened “to take all necessary action to enforce the results” of the polls. However, Jammeh said he would not step down and accused West African leaders of violating the ECOWAS principle of non-interference. “I am not a coward. My right cannot be intimidated and violated. This is my position. Nobody can deprive me of that victory,” he said during a televised speech.

Reports said ECOWAS might seek approval from the UNSC, of which Senegal is a non-permanent member, for the use of force against the Gambia. The UNSC said ECOWAS initiatives “aimed at ensuring a peaceful and orderly transition process.” It further urged Barrow’s security to be “fully ensured” and called on Gambian defense and security forces to “demonstrate maximum restraint to maintain an atmosphere of calm” in the capital, Banjul.

Barrow’s inauguration ceremony is expected to be held on January 19. Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 military coup, has come under fire by human rights groups for what is said to be his crackdown on opponents.

Presstv

22, December 2016

Finance Minister in hot waters over a 24 billion FCFA payments made to a CPDM tycoon ⁰

The Minister of Finance has been accused of paralyzing public finance as many service providers are unable to reclaim their funds due to a fictitious financial slump within his department. Information has also filtered that Cameroon is broke and the state is no longer able to meet some of its commitments.

However,Cameroon Concord News gathered recently that the Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey approved the payment of 24 billion FCFA to the billionaire Baba Danpullo who reportedly is a President Biya acolyte. The reasons for this payment have not yet been clarified and made public. But what we do know is that the payments to the CPDM tycoon, Baba Danpullo were made spontaneously while other invoices validated for payments to some economic operators and other service providers have been tripping for several months at the premises of the ministry.

The CPDM Francophone pattern of governance provides for payments to some people at the detriment of several others. The Minister had reportedly told some other businessmen and women that the war on Boko Haram had emptied state coffers but was quick to dish-out 24 billion CFA to Baba Danpullo. Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey comes from a family whose fortunes have been linked to the Biya administration for more than 40 years. His father was a close confidante of Biya under Ahidjo.

By Rita Akana

22, December 2016

Southern Cameroons 54 years after: Anglophones are perpetually subdued, victimized and traumatized as house slaves ⁰

It is now 54 years since the Republic of Cameroun and the UN trusteeship state of Southern Cameroons came together in 1961. The now bastardized, skewed and imbalanced Unification gave birth to a premature and deformed baby we Christened bilingualism. 54 years after, the hapless child is still limping with one leg while the Union is standing on a tripod of injustice, discrimination and inequality of opportunity.

In honest, genuine bilingualism has never existed in Cameroon. The Francophones have never respected bilingualism in practical terms. What we have on ground is a charade, a Francophone fad and a masquerade- a fake! It is a sleazy stratagem, a shameless swindle, a freaky farce and a spineless political slogan engineered by the Francophones to get what they want from the Anglophones. Now that they have our crude, timber, cocoa…; they shamelessly and with great avarice grab and reserve all the juicy appointments and positions for themselves. The Anglophones are perpetually subdued, victimized and traumatized as house slaves and nannies, carriers of water and cutters of wood in a land where Communal Liberalism is a national mantra.

No Anglophone has ever headed ministries like Finance, Territorial Administration, Defense, Foreign Affairs … No Anglophone has ever been the General Manager of S.N.H., SONARA, S.C.D.P., despite the existence of these state corporations more than 40 years ago. From the current political configuration, it is very likely that no Anglophone can become the President and Head of State in this country in the next 100 years. As a matter of urgency the Anglophones need to begin NOW to protest and insist that as stakeholders in our bigoted and discriminating Union, thy also must start getting and enjoying some of the goodies and special privileges illegally and unconstitutionally reserved only for the Francophones beginning from the next Cabinet reshuffle.

Francophones are using bilingualism as a carrot, a political ploy, a cultural vogue and a hype to hoodwink and placate the Anglophones. It is a well-planned smokescreen to distract the attention of the Anglophones from their predicaments and the negative realities of their marginalization; a strategic cover up to give them a false sense of belonging and to mollify their suppression so as to keep them loyal, subdued, subservient and gullible to their mischievous whims and sneaky machinations.

In Cameroon, our democracy is on trial. Our country is engulfed in the flames a diabolical precipice and senseless cultural cold war masterminded by French language zealots, lingual saboteurs and cultural terrorists. Our bilingualism is under attack and the English language, the inheritance, the pride, identity and legacy of the Anglophones in the Union has been under siege and the target of elimination since 1961. The culture and language of every group of people is sacrosanct to them- so is English language to the Anglophones in Cameroon. This campaign of exclusion and war of attrition against the English language is a colossal and collective gang up spear headed by over ambitious Francophone elites: the ruling class, the academia, politicians, professionals, and the mainstream press including the religious leaders. A repressive miasma of resentment, a paroxysm of discontent and dark clouds of subjugation and uncertainty still hang over the controversial, one-sided and unfair Union.

21, December 2016

Yannick Noah outraged over Dad’s fake death announcement ⁰

International tennis star Yannick Noah has lashed out at the Cameroon Radio and Television for announcing that his 79 year old dad had died. Cameroon state media reported around 8:30 am today Wednesday, December 21, 2016 that Zacharie Noah had passed away in a Yaoundé hospital.

The Noah family registered a protest observing that “Zack is very sick. All his children have been in the country for two weeks now and even though he has problem talking, he has not breathed his last.” Zacharie Noah is a former defender of French football club, Paris Saint-Germain and successfully built an empire of sports heroes including Joakim Noah, the basketball player (seen today with his dad on a wheel chair) and Yannick Noah. CRTV that was visibly in a hurry to announce the “scoop” also quickly returned and correct the false information .

By Ebong Kingsley

21, December 2016

Eseka train disaster: Shameless delay on publication of Philemon Yang inquiry ⁰

Two months after the Eseka train tragedy which occurred on the 21^st of October 2016, some 128 km from Yaoundé the nation’s capital, mystery still persists on the official causes of the tragedy. The CPDM government is yet to establish the responsibilities and role played by prominent officials prior to and after the crash.

Four days after the accident which officially claimed the lives of 79 people and wounded over 600, President Paul Biya, on leave at the time of the events, and whose drama had precipitated his return to the country, announced that his government was determine to make public the causes of the railway accident and to propose measures to limit the risk of the occurrence of such a catastrophe in the future.

After a month’s work, the commission created by the Cameroonian dictator and headed by the Prime Minister handed over its findings to the Head of State. The presidency has not made any official declaration on the subject. Access to the site was highly secured and many journalists were prevented from visiting the crashed wagons of the Inter city service 152. Consequently, Cameroonians are still unaware of the real causes of the train accident which cost the lives of several of their compatriots.

The President of Bolloré Africa Railways was quoted as saying that the train was running at an “abnormally high” speed before the derailment. The various investigative commissions set up by the judicial police in Yaoundé and announced by the public prosecutor at the Mfoundi and Nyong-et-Ekelle High Court (Eseka), seem to have disappeared.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

21, December 2016

Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh says police brutality on Kumba youths “unacceptable” ⁰

Dr Christopher Fomunyoh was honored on Tuesday December 20, 2016 by the Publisher of The Scoop newspaper. The much respected Cameroonian opinion leader who also moonlights with the US based National Democratic Institute was described during the award ceremony as the most Combatant politician in Cameroon in 2015.

The President of US based National Democratic Institute, NDI; Dr Christopher Fomunyoh used the forum to assure the people of Kumba that the time has come when all their wounds will be healed and their worries forgotten.

He described recent Police brutality on Kumba youths as unacceptable and urged them to hold on steadfast, “This is an opportune moment to send a strong message to fellow Cameroonians to say I have been very dismay by what is happening since the month of November,I have really been saddened by the loss of lives and the violence and my message is that this is the time for healing ,the healing needs to begin and it is going to happen”. He reassured them.

Kumba inhabitants say they now live in fear of the unknown after last week’s brutal acts on them where some youth lost their lives and others were arrested.

Culled from Cameroun Info.Net

21, December 2016

Washington denies involvement in assassination of Russian envoy ⁰

US Secretary of State John Kerry has denied American involvement in the assassination of Russia’s envoy to Turkey, voicing concern about Ankara’s rhetoric against Washington. On Tuesday, Turkey blamed US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen for Monday’s assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey and tried to place blame on the United States for allowing Gulen to live in the country. Kerry has raised concerns about “some of the rhetoric coming out of Turkey with respect to American involvement or support, tacit or otherwise, for this unspeakable assassination yesterday because of the presence of Mr. Gulen here in the United States,” US State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.

Kirby dismissed the accusation as ridiculous and warned against hasty conclusions. “We need to let the investigators do their job and we need to let the facts and the evidence take them where it is before we jump to conclusions,” Kirby added. “But any notion that the United States was in any way supportive of this or behind this or even indirectly involved is absolutely ridiculous.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Kerry during a phone call on Tuesday that both Turkey and Russia “know” that a movement led by Gulen was behind the attack, according to a Turkish Foreign Ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was fatally shot on Monday by an off-duty policeman while attending an event at an art gallery in Ankara. The assailant, identified as 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, was later killed in a shootout with police. After carrying out the murder, which was caught on camera, the assailant went on a rant, blaming Russia for the death of civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo. The assassination was condemned by the Turkish and Russian leaders as an attempt to derail bilateral ties. It came as the countries are maintaining cooperation over the Syrian crisis. Moscow and Ankara support the opposing sides of the conflict in Syria and the two have military presence in the Arab country.

Presstv

20, December 2016

Congo-Kinshasa: 9 killed in clashes amid rising tensions ⁰

Nine protesters have reportedly been killed in clashes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, amid rising tensions over the refusal of President Joseph Kabila to quit after the expiration of his term in office. On Tuesday, the United Nations director of human rights in the Central African country announced that there were “solid” reports that 20 civilians had been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces in Kinshasa. “On the issue of deaths, it looks bad. We are reviewing allegations of up to 20 civilians killed, but it (the information) is pretty solid,” said Jose Maria Aranaz.

The UN also raised concern earlier on Tuesday over a new wave of detentions in the DRC over Kabila’s refusal. Director of the UN mission in the DR Congo, Maman Sambo Sidikou, announced that his office had documented 113 arrests of opposition leaders and civil society activists, human rights campaigners and journalists by police and intelligence authorities since December 16. “I am gravely concerned by the arrests of those who seek to express their political views,” said Sidikou, who also serves as the UN secretary general’s special representative to the Central African country.

“I urge the national authorities to strictly adhere to their international human rights obligations, to create a climate of political tolerance and respect at this important juncture in the DRC’s history, and to grant full access to United Nations personnel to all detention centers,” he added. News outlets reported sounds of gunfire in the country’s two largest cities as the opposition leader urged citizens to reject Kabila, whose second and final term expired on Tuesday with no indication pointing to his intent to quit or hold new polls.

As fears grew about the eruption of new violence across the country, gunfire rang out in the capital as well as the second largest city of Lubumbashi. Moreover, dozens of troop carriers patrolled the populous capital of nearly 10 million people and police officers and paramilitary forces have remained deployed in other cities since Sunday. Meanwhile, as the deadline of Kabila’s end-of-mandate approached on Tuesday, crowds had gathered before midnight Monday to blow whistles and beat on improvised drums, calling for the president to step down.

State television overnight announced the establishment of a new government in line with an October deal between the ruling party and tiny fringe opposition groups to leave Kabila in office pending elections in April 2018. The main opposition bloc, however, rejects the plan. The new cabinet will be led by Sami Badibanga, a defector from the party of the mainstream opposition party led by 84-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi.

Presstv

20, December 2016

4 Anglophone detainees killed in Yaounde ¹⁹

Cameroon Concord News has learnt that 4 of the 71 British Southern Cameroonians arrested in Bamenda and taken to Yaoundé have died while being held prisoner by the Francophone army. Our informant hinted that the 4 were deliberately killed.

The Biya Francophone regime has blatantly refused to open up any investigation as recommended by many international human rights organizations including Amnesty International over the killings, rape and arrest of many Anglophone Cameroonians in Buea, Bamenda, Kumba and Kumbo.

A sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report has identified Prime Minister Philemon Yang and nine senior military officers including the governors of the North West and South West regions in a report that accuses them of responsibility for the deaths of many Anglophone Cameroonians recently.

The Francophone army had run amok during the unrest in Bamenda, Buea, Kumba and Kumbo killing dozens of innocent people in summary executions. There is a huge military buildup in Bamenda, the regional capital of the North West region and many Anglophone civilians are now subjected to arbitrary arrest and their mobile devices confiscated.

By Rita Akana