Reporters Without Borders (RSF) can reveal that the contents of mobile phones and interrogations have yielded new, very incriminating evidence in the investigation into journalist Martinez Zogo’s murder in Cameroon. Businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga is more deeply implicated than ever and the net is closing on justice minister Laurent Esso, one of the pillars of the Cameroonian government.

The joint gendarmerie-police investigation is moving ahead quickly and, at this rate, is liable to eclipse President Paul Biya’s 90th birthday on 13 February. It is Biya, Cameroon’s president since 1982, who ordered the investigation into Martinez Zogo’s abduction, beating and murder by intelligence officers on the evening of 17 January. But he must surely realize to what extent the case is liable to cast a heavy shadow over the final period of his presidency and perhaps remove one of its most loyal allies.

As RSF already revealed, the initial arrests of around 20 members of Cameroon’s General Directorate for External Investigations (DGRE), including its boss, the feared Maxime Eko Eko, and its special operations director, Justin Danwe, led to the arrest on 6 February of Belinga, a prominent businessman, who owns the newspaper L’Anecdote and the TV channel Vision 4.

RSF has been told in confidence that evidence of Belinga’s role as the leading instigator of Zogo’s murder has continued to grow. The statements provided by the six members of the unit who abducted and killed Radio Amplitude FM’s director – and who were mainly recruited from outside Yaoundé, the capital, as RSF has now learned – have corroborated the staggering statement made by Danwe, which RSF already reported.

Their statements and other evidence have also confirmed Belinga’s presence at the scene of the murder. And examination of the phones of the suspects has confirmed that calls were made between Belinga and Danwe, and between Belinga and justice minister Laurent Esso, on the evening of the murder. In view of the growing volume of evidence, a reconstruction of the murder – envisaged in recent days – no longer seems to be a priority for the investigators, RSF has learned.

He “wanted to finish with him”

Sources very close to the investigation report the discovery of damning new evidence of a payment of 35 million CFA francs (about 53,000 euros) from Belinga to Danwe. This money allegedly passed through the account of Retired Colonel Etoundi Nsoé, the former presidential guard commander who is Belinga’s father-in-law and unofficial head of his security. Nsoé was arrested on 6 February, as was Bruno Bidjang, the head of the Belinga’s media group, who is reportedly cooperating with the investigators. A face-to-face confrontation between these two men was scheduled to take place today.

Finally, RSF has interviewed two people in the past two days who say Zogo had been threatened by Belinga or people close to him. And RSF has heard a recording in which Zogo voiced concern on 9 January – eight days before his murder – about the fact that he had been contacted by a man “very close to [Belinga].” This man had told Zogo that Belinga “wanted to finish with him” and with at least eight other Cameroonian journalists.

When contacted by RSF, Belinga’s lawyer, former bar association president Charles Tchoungang, claimed that no legal procedure had been respected since the start of what he called a “unilateral investigation.” He insisted that “warrantless searches” had been carried out, that the prosecution case was “empty,” and that it had the subject of a “manipulation unacceptable to public opinion.”

Sights now turned on Laurent Esso

The investigators are now focusing on the role that Esso, the justice minister, may have played. “We have proof that he was deeply involved,” said one of the investigators, refusing to elaborate. A government minister in six successive administrations since 1996 and one of President Biya’s oldest political allies, Esso has been under close surveillance in the past few days. Gendarmes were posted close to his home although there was no question of any threat to his security.

Belinga, who is being held in a cell at the defence ministry, has asked several times to call Esso, but his request has not been granted. RSF has meanwhile learned from a very reliable source that Belinga spent more than an hour in Esso’s office on 3 February, several days after first falling under heaving suspicions.

Despite several attempts, RSF has not been able to reach Esso.

 Purveyors of disinformation identified

The evidence against Eko, the DGRE’s boss – who is being held in a cell near Belinga’s – also seems to be damning. He is the owner of the Prado SUV used to abduct Zogo. “It’s hard to imagine his men borrowing it without telling him,” one of RSF’s sources said. He also “had his share,” the source added, alluding to the sums of money paid to the participants in the operation.

The military justice system and the Government Commissioner are now in charge of the case. The 31 suspects already in provisional custody should be charged and placed in pre-trial detention, probably in Yaoundé’s main prison, by the end of the week. Who will join them? How high does the level of complicity go? The investigation is continuing and around 100 people are now regarded as “persons of interest” in the case.

Those who have been taking turns to spread disinformation since the start of the case – and who have targeted RSF, among others – could also be questioned. The investigators say they have found evidence of payments – ranging from a few hundred to several thousand euros –made by Belinga associates with the aim of discrediting reports unfavourable to him, rehabilitating him or creating diversions in order to influence the investigation or public opinion. At least 18 persons had been identified by yesterday evening.

Culled from RSF

The murder of two journalists Martinez Zogo and Jean Jacques Ola Bébé in Yaoundé is not a new development in Cameroon but it is also one that should prompt prosecutors to bring the death penalty on the table for men like Amougou Belinga found to be killing media men and women and looting the state.

President Biya as always is facing international condemnation for his brutal crackdown on opposition figures to his rule, age is telling on him, the Southern Cameroons uprising has become increasingly hydra-headed, Boko Haram is now in control of certain areas in the Far North region as CPDM defectors are joining forces with anything antagonistic with his regime.

It is now time for the judiciary in Cameroon to do something to cleanse Biya’s nasty legacy and that is imposing the death penalty on Belinga Amougou.

This tougher measure should come immediately including the implementation of the Canada peace plan aimed at halting the violence that has killed thousands of Southern Cameroonians according to United Nations estimates.

On Monday, security agents arrested business tycoon Amougou Belinga and a young journalist he recently promoted to the post of General Manager of his privately-owned television channel, Vision 4 for planning and teleguiding the barbaric murder of journalist and whistleblower Martinez Zogo and his close associate Jean Jacques Ola Bébé.

The late radio host of the program “Embouteillages” had been very critical against alleged corruptors and embezzlers of public funds. It is said that more than 22 people have been arrested in Yaoundé and are currently being interrogated at the Secretariat for Defense (SED).

Earlier today, forensic searches were conducted in the building hosting the head office of the French Cameroun mafia boss. The search was conducted by Colonel Mbarga, accompanied by two divisional commissioners and officers. Amougou Belinga was present as well as his lawyer, Charles Tchoungang. The building was searched from top to bottom. AMOUGOU BELINGA only refused to open a finger print lock safe where he said some of his blood money was.

Investigators also auditioned his wife, Sarah Amougou Belinga, a senior magistrate. The operation targeting his wife was led by Colonel Abena Ayissi Parfait. Justice Sarah Amougou Belinga refused to grant access to some rooms that were later on forcefully opened.

Biya reluctantly agreed to allow an investigation into the Zogo affair after pressure from Paris, Yaounde’s close ally, and the European Union, which threatened to refer Yaoundé to the UN Security Council, a serious diplomatic escalation that could have led to the collapse of the 40-year-old regime.

In a divided nation where atrocities are being recorded on a daily basis – common sense demands state prosecutors to seek a death penalty for Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga-to use his four names, stop the bloodshed in Southern Cameroons, withdraw Francophone civil administrators from English speaking Cameroon, release all Southern Cameroons detainees including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides and start talks with the jailed Southern Cameroons leaders.

We of the Cameroon Concord News and the Cameroon Intelligence Report are calling on state prosecutors in Yaoundé to halt the killing machine against journalists in Cameroon and the Biya regime’s tactics to buy time and avert a showdown with the international community by sentencing Jean Pierre Amougou to death by hanging.

To this I put my name

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

In power since 1982, Cameroon President Paul Biya has ruled autocratically for more than four decades. While Cameroon is officially bilingual, one manifestation of such authoritarian governance is the persistent marginalization of the minority English-speaking population in the Northwest and Southwest regions, the former British Southern Cameroons.

Since 2016, in the face of state violence, peaceful protests by Anglophone groups have morphed into armed conflict in which separatist groups are fighting for an independent Republic of Ambazonia. In its sixth year, this hidden and neglected war has killed thousands and forcibly displaced more than  one million people.

 Biya’s autocratic regime remains intent on a military solution to a political problem, uninterested in peace negotiations, and with little or no external pressure. The colonial and post-colonial roots of this contemporary conflict are well-known to English-speaking Cameroonians. Originally a German colony (1884-1916) called Kamerun, after World War I, it was divided between France (80 percent) and Britain (20 percent), under League of Nations and then United Nations mandates. Britain subdivided its territory into Northern and Southern Cameroons and governed them as part of Nigeria. A botched reunification process occurred at independence in 1960 and 1961. French Cameroun and Nigeria gained their independence in January and October 1960 respectively.

 In February 1961, an UN-organized plebiscite was held to decide the future of Northern and Southern Cameroons, with the choice of joining either independent French Cameroun or Nigeria, but not independence as a separate state. Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria, while Southern Cameroons voted to join Cameroon. The terms of reunification between Southern Cameroons and French Cameroun were then agreed upon at the Foumban constitutional conference in July 1961, resulting in the Federal Republic of Cameroon, consisting of two federated states: West Cameroon (former Southern Cameroons) and East Cameroon (former French Cameroun).

 The Federal Constitution came into effect in October 1961, with the federal system perceived to uphold the bi-cultural and bi-lingual nature of Cameroon within which the state of West Cameroon retained some autonomy, inclusive of separate governance structures and distinctive legal and educational institutions. However, federalism was short-lived, despite article 47 of the Constitution stating it to be “indissoluble.” In May 1972, President Ahmadou Ahidjo held a controversial national referendum that led to the abolition of the federal constitution and the creation of a unitary state called the United Republic of Cameroon.

 The 1972 referendum removed West Cameroon’s autonomous governance structures, most notably the West Cameroon House of Assembly. In 1984 President Biya re-named the country, in French, as La Republique du Cameroun, returning to the name before reunification with Southern Cameroons. Writing in 1985, the barrister Fon Gorji Dinka described the 1972 referendum as a “constitutional coup” and the 1984 decree as an “act of secession” of La Republique du Cameroun from the 1961 union with Southern Cameroons. Current Anglophone separatist groups call themselves “restorationists,” fighting for the “restoration” of the state of Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, and perceive this as an anti-colonial struggle given that British colonization was replaced by colonization by La Republique du Cameroun in 1961. Although the current violence in Southern Cameroons is unprecedented, today’s conflict is a consequence of longstanding Anglophone grievances coupled with a strategy of “denial and repression” by the Francophone-dominated state towards Cameroon’s so-called Anglophone problem. Being Anglophone in Cameroon goes beyond language to encompass a cultural identity that has a history linked to Britain and a set of distinctive institutions.

For decades, many Anglophones have felt that the Francophone-dominated state’s policy of assimilation has attempted to erode that identity, and feel treated as second-class citizens within Cameroon, with marginalization experienced in the socio-cultural, political, economic, and linguistic fields. Anglophone opposition has risen at different times. In the early 1990s, political liberalization enabled Anglophone-specific trade unions, interest groups as well as political groups to emerge, advocating for Southern Cameroonian interests, notably the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC).

Of particular note were the All-Anglophone Conferences (AACI and AACII) held in 1993 and 1994 and attended by more than 5,000 delegates from Anglophone organizations and associations.  AACI’s Buea Declaration I called for a return to two-state federalism, but total disregard of such demands by Biya’s regime led to secession being placed on the agenda in the declaration from AACII. The aim was stated as “the restoration of the autonomy of the former Southern Cameroons which has been annexed by La République du Cameroun.” SCNC in particular advocated for secession, but notably by non-violent means through the “force of argument rather than the argument of force.” These long-standing grievances re-emerged in late 2016 with peaceful protests by lawyers and teachers against the francophonization of the legal and educational systems in the English-speaking regions. Lawyers were unhappy about the appointment of French-speaking magistrates educated in civil law and unfamiliar with common law, as practiced in the Anglophone regions, while teachers were concerned about the influx of French-speaking teachers. Separately, they undertook strike action and demonstrated in October and November 2016 respectively. These peaceful protests were violently dispersed by the security forces using tear gas and bullets, with some fatalities and many arrests.

 Following this violence, the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) was established, advocating a return to pre-1972 two-state federalism. CACSC initiated “Operation Ghost Towns Resistance,” with closures of schools and businesses in the Northwest and Southwest regions on selected days as a tactic of non-violent resistance. The government’s response in January 2017 was to ban the Consortium, along with SCNC, and arrest their leaders on treason and terrorism charges, as well as a three-month internet blackout. Writing in April 2017, sociologist Piet Konings and anthropologist Francis Nyamnjoh likened the Francophone-dominated state’s approach to Anglophone grievances to that “of a workman whose only tool is a hammer and to whom every problem is a nail.”  One consequence was that separatist voices became stronger. State repression of, first, legitimate expression of grievances and, second, peaceful advocacy of federalism, led to increasing calls for secession of Southern Cameroons. Following the banning orders, existing separatist organizations, largely active in the diaspora, came together to form the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front (SCACUF), with Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, previously involved in CACSC, appointed as chairperson. While advocating secession, his strategy remained non-violent, echoing SCNC’s position in the  1990s. Divisions shortly became apparent, however, with Ayaba Cho Lucas, leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGC), one of SCACUF’s constituent organizations, advocating armed struggle. While SCACUF’s leadership remained largely outside of Cameroon, notably in Nigeria, civil disobedience continued in the Northwest and Southwest during 2017 with widespread support for the weekly “Ghost Town” days. The state’s response was military occupation, with arbitrary arrests and detention of young men on the pretext of supporting secessionism. In response, the AGC announced the deployment of their armed wing, the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF), with the first attack on September 9, 2017 in which three soldiers were killed. On October 1, 2017, the anniversary of Southern Cameroons’ independence from Britain, the independent Republic of Ambazonia was declared by SCACUF, alongside mass demonstrations in which 17 people were killed by state security forces. The SCACUF transformed itself into the Interim Government of Ambazonia (IG) on October 31, with Ayuk Tabe as President. The state intensified its militarization of the Anglophone regions, and on November 30, 2017 President Biya declared war on the secessionists, described as “terrorists.” Armed conflict continues to date. War causes misery.

Over five years later, the impact on the four million population has been severe. While figures are approximate and underestimated, at least 6,000 people have been killed and hundreds of villages razed, with 1.1 million people displaced by 2020, including 70,000 registered refugees in Nigeria, and 2.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance. School closures have caused education disruption to hundreds of thousands of children for years. Gross human rights violations committed by both warring parties have been widely documented, including by the Cameroon-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa. The military is accused of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, unlawful imprisonment, torture, as well as the burning and destruction of homes, schools, and health centers. Armed separatist groups are accused of kidnappings and extortion of civilians, killings of alleged informants (so-called “blacklegs”), and beatings of teachers and students for non-compliance with the school boycott. Evidence indicates that the security forces are responsible for a greater proportion of the various atrocities, with the World Bank stating that government forces have caused 10 times as many civilian deaths as separatist armed groups. Rape and other forms of sexual violence have increased dramatically, described as “pervasive” and “rampant” in a UN report, and perpetuated with impunity by the military and non-state armed groups.

 As in other conflicts, rape has been used as a weapon of war, terrorizing local communities into submission and grossly violating women and girls. The Cameroon government’s approach to the war was described recently as one of “hammer and lies,” in other words, military force alongside a disinformation campaign. The government continues to fight a counter-insurgency war, while simultaneously denying that a conflict exists, preferring to refer to a “security crisis” in the English-speaking regions, one which is largely resolved with a Presidential Plan of Reconstruction and Development in place from 2020. The lie to this is evident by Biya’s deployment of a new military commander and special elite forces to the two regions in September 2022. Essentially Biya seeks a military victory by crushing the separatists. But how strong is the Ambazonian movement and what threat does it entail to the Cameroonian state? Like similar movements, the Ambazonian movement has political and military wings. Leaders of the political wing are mainly based in the diaspora or imprisoned in Cameroon, with significant divisions between them. The military forces, known locally as the “Amba Boys,” comprise up to 30 armed groups across the two regions. Initially, the main political split was between the Interim Government (IG) led by Ayuk Tabe and the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGC) led by Cho Lucas.

 However, in January 2018 Ayuk Tabe and nine other IG leaders were arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon. They were detained without trial, then all sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal in August 2019.  With Ayuk Tabe detained, US-based Samuel Ikome Sako was elected as interim IG president. However, infighting ensued with a split in early 2019 between “IG Sisiku” and “IG Sako.” Despite its initial rivalry with the Interim Government, the AGC supported the IG Sisiku faction and formalized cooperation ties in August 2019.  In 2021, the AGC also formed an alliance with Biafran separatists in Nigeria, the Indigenous People of Biafra. Cho Lucas has also encouraged Francophone Cameroonian groups to take up arms against Biya’s regime.

Militarily, while the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) remains the largest group, there is a proliferation of smaller armed groups, for instance, the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF), Ambazonia Restoration Forces, Red Dragons, Tigers of Ambazonia, and Vipers, comprising around 4,000 fighters in total. Allegiance with the political factions varies, with Red Dragons and SOCADEF believed to be aligned with IG Sako, for instance, while other armed groups operate quite independently. Initially, equipment was rudimentary, including hunting rifles and machetes. But the armed groups’ combat strength has increased through the acquisition of more sophisticated weaponry, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and rocket launchers, with a greater intensity of operations. Precise figures are unknown, but both sides have lost considerable numbers of combatants.

The fragmentation of political leadership has led to disagreements and multiple policy directions. In response to the Swiss peace initiative, IG Sako formed the Ambazonia Coalition Team (ACT) in September 2019 to present a joint platform for negotiation. However, IG Sisiku refused to participate. Opposing policies over “lockdowns” (or “Ghost Towns”) and the so-called “liberation war tax” on civilians also indicate a lack of unity. The multiplicity of voices over policy directions is symptomatic of the disconnect between the diasporic leadership and their militias in Cameroon, with the absence of political authority on the ground. While the war is unremitting and the government was forced to deploy special elite forces in September 2022 to bolster its counterinsurgency efforts, fragmentation and division amongst Ambazonian groups have weakened the movement. As recently stated, the international response to the Cameroon Anglophone conflict has been “feeble.” with little or no pressure from Western governments and no political intervention from the AU or UN. Why is this? The Cameroon government’s “lies and disinformation” strategy has been relatively successful in hiding the reality of the war, and Western governments have prioritized economic and geo-strategic interests that require friendly relations with Biya’s regime. For the UK, for example, this included an off-shore natural gas deal in June 2018, and a UK-Cameroon Economic Partnership Agreement in April 2021. For France, its longstanding Françafrique policy prohibited criticism of the Cameroon government, evident in July 2022 when President Emmanuel Macron’s visit made no public reference to the Anglophone conflict. Stronger statements have come from the US Congress. House of Representatives’ Resolution 358 (July 2019) and Senate Resolution 684 (January 2021) which called for both warring parties to end all violence and pursue broad-based dialogue to resolve the conflict. However, neither congressional resolution has led to any significant action by the US government. The African Union’s lack of response contrasts with the AU-led peace process in the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia, for instance. Cameroon’s membership of the AU’s Peace and Security Council has ensured its internal conflict has not been discussed. Similarly, successful lobbying by Cameroon’s diplomats has kept the conflict off the agenda of the UN Security Council. More than forty years of autocratic and centralized rule under Paul Biya means that the Francophone-dominated state is intent on maintaining its control over Southern Cameroons, with little or no concession to Anglophone grievances, and currently unwavering from pursuing a military solution to a political problem, whatever the cost to the English-speaking population. The lack of international pressure has contributed to enabling the regime’s hard-line stance. However, the outlook of the Anglophone population would seem to have changed irrevocably. The unprecedented military occupation, repression, and violence from the Francophone-dominated state have given rise to a shift in consciousness. Although the desire for peace is profound, the political status quo is no longer tolerable. Any peace settlement will necessitate that the Anglophone population determines its future, for instance by means of an internationally-supervised referendum on constitutional arrangements, with options including federalism and independence. If the decolonization process of the Southern Cameroons in 1960 and 1961 was botched and contravened the original UN Trusteeship Agreement, then decision-making on Southern Cameroons constitutional future has to be fully democratic some 60-plus years later. –

Culled from The Elephant

Tension is high in Yaoundé following the murder of Martinez Zogo, a brilliant journalist, who while alive, had made it a duty to tell the truth on how government affairs were being run in a country wherein freedom of speech is still a foreign concept.

 Martinez Zogo might have been killed but his death is clearly that blow to the government’s liver and eye which has left it with a bloodshot eye. Many around the world still had a little faith in the Yaoundé government, but the capturing of a journalist in front of a Gendarmerie Office in Yaoundé and his cold-blood murder have come to expose how cruel and inhuman those ruling the country are.

The world is now seeing the Yaoundé government in a different light as those accused of being responsible for the journalist’s death are members of government and their business partners who pass off for the Lords of the Universe.

Sources in Yaoundé which are very close to Cameroon Intelligence Report and Cameroon Concord News have clearly pointed a finger at Amougou Belinga, the Yaoundé-based media mogul and owner of Vision 4, a TV network which also operates in other Central African countries. Mr. Belinga is very close to the country’s Minister of Justice, Laurent Esso, and the Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji, who do not believe in the tenets of democracy and free speech.

Mr. Zogo has, on many occasions, openly called out Amougou Belinga and his associates about their shady business dealings with the country’s Finance Minister, Louis Paul Motaze.  

On Tuesday, Cameroon’s Communication Minister, Rene Sadi, visited the family of the slain journalist and the radio station for which he was working, but his visits are unfortunately not making sense to the population which already knows how the Yaoundé government operates.

The Yaoundé government is more of a cloak-and-dagger organization whose cardinal objective is to eliminate anybody who reveals the truth about its shady and undemocratic operations or anybody who stands in its way when it comes to oppressing the Cameroonian population.

The Yaoundé government is in the business of killing journalists and members of opposition parties who dare to challenge it or expose its devilish political machinations. Samuel Wazizi, an English-speaking journalist from the Southwest region of Cameroon, was captured and taken to Yaoundé where he was professionally tortured to death. 

He was buried in an undisclosed location by workers of the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison and the country’s government has yet to say anything meaningful about the death of a young and brilliant journalist whose objective was to help enlighten Cameroonians on the government-organized massacres in the country’s   two English-speaking regions.

Many members of the country’s opposition parties are still in jail in Yaoundé following their contest of the fake election results which gave the country’s ailing and senile president, Paul Biya, another 7-year term after a polling whose result was known even before the election took place.  

Martinez Zogo might be dead, but his death may turn out to be a millstone around the government’s neck. Tensions are high in Yaoundé and the government propaganda machine is in motion trying to diffuse the tensions. It is feared that the murdering of Mr. Zogo might be the last straw which might break the camel’s back as journalists are mobilizing to carry out certain actions which will not only draw the international community’s attention to their sorry plight but will also go a long way in giving the moribund government a very bad name. 

Mr. Zogo is Beti like most senior government officials in Cameroon and his murder is a clear testimony to the dying government’s determination to crush anybody who stands in its way. 

However, the killing of Mr. Zogo is more than just a wake-up call to the people of the South and Centre regions of Cameroon who have, for decades, erroneously thought that the government is theirs. 

They must come out of their sedative and join other Cameroonians to organize a massive revolution which should chase the murderers and rogues running the show in Yaoundé. 

Cameroon has been ruined and every Cameroonian regardless of the region has been affected by the incompetent, corruption and government-related violence which are chasing foreign investors from a country which could be the envy of the continent if well-managed.  

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai   

The Southern Cameroons crisis which has resulted in the death of thousands and the displacement of more than a million Cameroonians is gradually losing steam and there is hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel following the Canadian government’s announcement that it was happy to play a leadership role in upcoming negotiations and talks between the warring factions. The Canadian government has opted to openly lead the talks which will ultimately bring peace to the country, especially to the two English-speaking regions and many Cameroonians welcome Canada’s leadership role. Dr. Joachim Arrey, himself a Canadian and a native of Ossing in the Southwest region of Cameroon, has been relentless in his call for peace and has never stopped to urge the Canadian government to play a key role in any talks given the country’s experience in dealing with its own linguistic minorities and he had this to say when the Cameroon Concord News Group editor, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, sought his opinion after the announcement by the Canadian foreign affairs minister. 

Cameroon Concord News: It is always a pleasure to see you, especially at this time when Cameroonians are looking forward to a resolution of the conflict. What is your view about the Canadian government’s announcement?

Dr. Jaochim Arrey: Thank you, Mr. Editor, for giving me the opportunity to share my perspective on the Canadian government announcement regarding the resolution of the conflict in the Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions. Let me clearly state that I am very happy that Canada has come out openly to help find a long-lasting and peaceful solution to the conflict in Cameroon which has blighted the lives of many Cameroonians. Canada has always indicated its interest to play a key role but disagreements between the warring factions did not let Canada, an honest and neutral peace-broker to help pull Cameroon out of its mess. Canada was among those countries financing the Swiss-led peace mediation process which began in 2019, but the Cameroon government pulled out of the process last year. This was disappointing. Canada has unquestionable experience in the organization of referendums and inter-governmental negotiations and its offer should be taken seriously by all the parties. Canada has once been caught up in a socio-political mess like the one in which Cameroon finds itself when Quebecers wanted to walk away from the Canadian confederation. This experience will surely come in handy when the North American country will be mediating. 

Cameroon Concord News: Do you think this process will deliver any hope?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: There is hope on the horizon. Cameroonians cannot afford to miss this golden opportunity. I know Canadians for their patience and determination. There will be challenges, but Canadian negotiators are very astute and experienced when it comes to conflict management and resolution. Let us not be deceived. If Canada has come out with such a statement, know that the whole world is behind the Trudeau government when it comes to the Southern Cameroons crisis. There have been several behind-the-scenes talks in Mont-Tremblant in Quebec and in Toronto in Ontario, and despite the massive disagreements between the warring factions, Canadian negotiators kept their calm and they have been steering the ship to peaceful shores. The world is standing behind Canada. The Cameroon government, which has not yet issued any statement after the Canadian foreign affairs minister said that Canada would lead the negotiations, must seize this opportunity if it really wants peace to return to the country. The separatists have already sent out a press release and they all, at least most of them, agree that Canada is a trusted partner and are in favor of peace talks which should reduce tensions in the two English-speaking regions in the months ahead. Even the Vatican is involved in the process. On Sunday during an address, Pope Francis urged the signatories to the Canadian-mediated peace process to “persevere on the path of dialogue.” Tibor Nagy, the top U.S. diplomat on African affairs during the Donald Trump Administration, has also chipped in a tweet, hoping that the talks would result in peace. He however warned that the Cameroon government might engage in delaying tactics. The process will be an uphill climb and time is of the essence. Both parties must demonstrate flexibility and there is a need for substantive actions such as a ceasefire and prisoner release to ensure that support for the peace process does not collapse.  The government must demonstrate a lot of good will. It should release Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his team as a demonstration of its seriousness and sincerity.

Cameroon Concord News: One of the issues which resulted in the escalation of violence was the form of the state. Do you see that happening?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I don’t think the form of the state has been cast in stone. Cameroon was initially a federal system, and it was changed by an individual who thought a united republic would bring more peace and unity to the country. After many decades, it is obvious that a highly centralized system has failed the people of Cameroon. Things are falling apart. Corruption and abuse of power are blighting the lives of our young people. The form of the state will be on the table and to the best of my knowledge, Canada is not for secession. Canada will never support any group which stands for secession. Canada will use its own experience to engineer peace in Cameroon. The most likely form of government which will emerge from these talks will be a federal system which will grant the people the right and opportunity to run their own affairs. The federal government will only be in charge of natural resources, the military and foreign affairs. I am hopeful and I stand for a federal system.

Cameroon Concord News: Which form of federalism do you stand for?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Ultimately, it is the people of Cameroon who must decide on the form of the state they think will deliver the best possible development results for their country. For me, I stand for a ten-state federal system which will engineer sustainable development in all the nooks and crannies of the country. I want the Southwest region, my own region, to be free from any form of fighting. As a people, we should never forget how we got entangled with French Cameroon. We must be bold and audacious when it comes to sharing our perspective on the new Cameroon which will emerge after the talks. I really admire the Canadian federal system which has brought the best living conditions to Canadians. It is cost-effective and nobody gets left behind. Canada is run on capitalism, but Canadian capitalism is different from American capitalism. Canada’s capitalism is known as Compassionate Capitalism, and this has brought prosperity to many, and life is simple in Canada. I have spent 25 years of my life in Canada, and I can speak without fear of contradiction that Canadian capitalism and federalism will make Cameroon the envy of the continent. 

Cameroon Concord News: You are versed with the Canadian and American systems. I am sure people like you should lend a hand to the peace efforts. Will you be willing to lend that hand if given an opportunity? 

Dr. Joachim Arrey:  Cameroon is the country of my birth, and I can do anything to make it a better place for our young people. I have had more than my fair share of life and I think it is a responsibility for me to help rebuild Cameroon after having worked for over thirty years in Cameroon, Canada and at the international level. I must be quick to add that my services to Cameroon will always be honorary (free-of-charge). As Cameroonians, we must seek to rebuild our country. Nobody will do it for us. Let us all support the peace process. It is not about any individual, it is about the country, a country blessed with natural and human resources which if well harnessed could transform our country into an earthly paradise. 

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you Dr. Joachim Arrey for your time.

Dr. Jaochim Arrey: I should be the one to thank you for the excellent job you and your team are doing to bring the latest news on Cameroon to the world. Have a great day!

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the announcement of a peace process aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon:

“Civilians are bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, with more than 6,000 people having lost their lives since 2017. In addition, nearly 800,000 people have been displaced as a result of this crisis, and 600,000 children do not have full access to education.

“Canada welcomes the agreement by the parties to enter a process to reach a comprehensive, peaceful and political resolution of the conflict. The parties have also agreed to form technical committees to begin work on confidence-building measures.

“The agreement to enter a formal process is a critical first step toward peace and a safer, more inclusive and prosperous future for civilians affected by the conflict.

“We commend all parties for engaging in substantive dialogue. We encourage all stakeholders to support and work with the parties to advance and contribute to an inclusive process to reach a lasting and sustainable political settlement.

“Canada has accepted the mandate to facilitate this process, as part of our commitment to promote peace and security and advance support for democracy and human rights. Our role also reflects Canada’s engagement to work with our African partners to build a better future for everyone.

“The parties to this agreement are the Republic of Cameroon, the Ambazonia Governing Council and the Ambazonia Defence Force, the African People’s Liberation Movement and the Southern Cameroons Defence Force, the Interim Government, and the Ambazonia Coalition Team. The parties further express the hope that other groups will join the process.’’

Culled from Canada.ca

Cameroonians are known for being prayerful, but very few of them ever tell you why they are praying so hard.

Many Cameroonians will spend time in churches praying for work, even when they know their own churches do not create jobs.

Students will spend the entire academic year praying for excellent grades instead of reading and their pastors will continue to encourage them to hope against hope even the grades indicate that some of those students are engaged in truancy and other vices which are hurting their scores.

But in 2023, more Cameroonians have opted to join the ever growing number of popularly unpopular prayer warriors.

Cost of living and government taxes have left many Cameroonians wondering if they will be able to make it to the next year, but the government is not yet done with Cameroonians.

The worst is yet to happen. The government is still holding its cards so close to its chest but the Cameroon Concord News is aware of some of those plans.

A liter of fuel will soon be CFAF 900 and cooking gas will hit CFAF 8,500. The government wants to squeeze Cameroonians into total submission and their indolence and fear are really helping the government.

The pain is real and many Cameroonians know that death is in the offing for them if something is not done and urgently. Charges in government-run hospitals will soon go up, but private clinics have already set the pace, with some private clinics already charging as much as three times what they charged last year.

In their helplessness, many Cameroonians have decided to become dangerous prayer warriors and these prayers are not really taking place in churches.

Cameroonians know that Biya is to blame for their sorry plight and since they cannot take him down through the ballot boxes or through a people power revolution, they have decided to weaponize prayers, with the key prayer point being that God should recall Mr. Biya who is already a colony of diseases.

It is even within Mr. Biya’s government that the prayers are more aggressive. Some of the president’s collaborators are sick and tired of Mr. Biya embarrassing them and the country and given that a popular uprising is a distant tomorrow affair, Mr. Biya’s collaborators are imploring the Almighty to intervene in the country’s favor.

Mr. Biya is an ill wind which has not blown any good to the country. For forty years, the man many thought would take the country to the land of promise has incompetently and quietly taken the country to the brink of collapse.

Corruption has become the country’s distinctive feature and the pillaging has entered a higher gear as some unscrupulous collaborators are picking up any dime and penny they find in their path.

Many suspect the end is near. They know that without steroids Mr. Biya would have already been dumped on the ash heap of history. They however know that his body has become steroid-resistant.

The events in Washington DC during the Africa-US Leader Summit where Mr. Biya lost his mind and was heard speaking “in tongues” during an event seem to confirm that his days are numbered.

According to sources at the Presidency of the Republic, Biya is even too tired to attend certain official events. Sometimes, he invites his own ministers to come and see him, but when they come, the tired and helpless Biya will still be sleeping and even his own social workers will still be waiting for him to wake up.

Biya will never leave power voluntarily. He is aware of his crimes, especially those against his predecessor. He understands he has failed and disappointed Cameroonians and he is in no mood to answer embarrassing questions.

Tribalism and nepotism are at their highest. The country has been polarized and 80% of the country is clearly against Mr. Biya’s ethnic group for the nepotism which has become the country’s hallmark.

Inflation is at its apex with many Cameroonians not even sure of a meal a day. Moral decadence has become the order of the day and many young girls have been morally disarmed. Prostitution is now an acceptable way of life and it is being practiced even in religious and political milieu.

Today, it is hard for a Cameroonian to achieve anything without government officials asking for a reward. Sex has become a medium of exchange in Cameroon. Where girls do not have money, they can pay with sex. Young boys are also delivering their bodies to old men whose key objective is to destroy anything in their path before they die. Homosexuality, once a Western phenomenon, has taken root in the country.

While the national desperation continues, Cameroonians hope that their prayers will be heard by a God who seems to be deaf and on Biya’s side.

According to some sources, it is being alleged that Cameroonians have been praying to the wrong God. By being indolent, they have chosen peace over political violence and the God of change is not  a God of peace.

If Cameroonians have to see their dreams take shape, then they must change their ways. Biya knows he is going and he is not in a haste to change his strategy which has helped to keep him in power for more than four decades. Cameroonians will therefore have to pray to the right God if Mr. Biya must stop being a millstone around their necks.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Ashu M. just clocked 20 years this November, the legal age for voting in the central African nation of Cameroon. The enthusiastic young man is looking forward to enlisting his name on the biometric voter roll in preparation for the next general elections coming up in 2025. However, this will only be possible if Ashu is able to obtain his biometric national ID card, which he applied for back when he was 18.

In Cameroon, obtaining the national identity card has become more difficult for many than the biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle. And by law, citizens cannot exercise their voting, and other civil rights, if they do not possess a valid national ID card.

Like Ashu, there are thousands of young Cameroonians willing to take part in the country’s electoral process but facing one major challenge: that of lack of a national ID card, which is an indispensable ID credential. Voter registration requires presentation of the national ID card.

Not only that. The national ID card is also required during voting as it is the document used to verify the identity of the voter. This is because Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) – the agency responsible for organizing and managing elections in the country – does not yet employ a biometric system for voter accreditation as is the case in neighboring Nigeria, and elsewhere around the continent.

“I applied for a national ID card in November 2020 when I turned 18, — the age required for the establishment of a national ID card in Cameroon. You can’t believe that since then, my ID card has not been delivered. I have gone uncountable times to the police station where I applied for it, but I am told the card has not been produced. I have gone through all sorts of difficulties,” Ashu tells Biometric Update.

In July 2021, Cameroon launched a new generation passport which was delivered by German firm Augentic. This has dramatically revolutionized the passport production experience in the country, with the travel document now issued only within a time span of 48 hours maximum, as opposed to at least one month in the past.

Conversely, there has been an avalanche of complaints over the innumerable problems rocking the ID card production system, and the frustrations seem to be on an upward spiral with many Cameroonian now urging the government to bring the passport experience to the ID card sector.

Lack of ID cards and voter exclusion

Cameroon has seen low voter registration figures over the years, and less than 60 percent of nearly seven million registered voters showing up in the country’s last presidential election in 2018. Although there is no evidence to demonstrate that the low figures are attributable to lack of ID cards by potential voters, there is no gainsaying that the problem is part of it.

“I chased my national ID card in vain during the last presidential election in October 2018. I had a choice to make at the ballot box but I was unable to do so because I had no ID card to prove who I am. The inertia with the ID card system is part of the reason we need to vote for change,” says Anna T., a fruits seller down a street market in Yaounde.

ELECAM believes that the slow issuance of ID cards may not be the entire problem, but is part of it, and therefore solutions have to be sought as soon as possible.

In October, the body’s chairman Enow Abrams Egbe had a meeting with the delegate general for national security – the issuing authority of the national ID card. According to Enow Egbe, the kernel of the talks was to discuss ways through which the huge backlog of ID cards can be cleared ahead of the general elections.

“The main focus of our discussion was on the obtention of the national identity card. Many Cameroonians are complaining that they are unable to obtain their cards. We got clear and precise information from the delegate general who assured us that all will be done for citizens to get the national ID card,” said the ELECAM chairman.

Later, speaking in an interview with Biometric Update on the issue, Enow Egbe claimed that the problem is also more with citizens who abandon their cards at production centers: “The ID card is a major document required for voter registration. As such, I urge all Cameroonians of voting age to try as much as possible to go and collect their ID cards and register their names on the voters list. The problem of ID cards, from my discussion with the police boss, arises from the laxity of citizens to go and collect their cards, because we realize from the various reports, that there are piles of abandoned ID cards in many police stations, and some have even expired still in their keeping.”

“This has a negative impact on the voter registration process, because it reduces the number of potential voters. We also have the problem of some people in remote areas who are reluctant to go get a birth certificate, a prerequisite of obtaining an ID card needed for registration on the electoral list,” Egbe adds.

Ordeals of delays, extortion

While Cameroonians like Ashu harbor fears that they may not be able to vote for change in the next general elections because they do not have a national ID card, other citizens like Isaac Genna Forchie and Jonathan A. have other sad tales to narrate.

Genna Forchie, a journalist working for state-run newspaper Cameroon Insider in Yaounde, tells Biometric Update he has gone for more than two years without an ID card, after duly applying for the document. This, he explains, has made life quite hellish for him as there are certain public services he cannot have access to without the original copy his ID card.

“I established my ID card way back on June 5, 2020. They issued a receipt and asked me to come for the document six months later. I have been there at least 10 times since then, and each time I get there, I am told to be patient. This has caused me a lot of inconveniences,” he explains.

“There was a period I traveled to the town of Kribi (a town in the south of Cameroon) and the receipt expired while I was there. I got terribly embarrassed on my way back. At another instance, I got frustrated when I wanted to do a financial transaction in the bank. Now, my passport expires this 2023. An ID card is a requirement for the establishment of a passport. I am yet to figure out how to renew my passport.”

Jonathan A., for his part, will not soon forget how about five years ago, he spent around XAF 500,000 (about US$810) to procure an ID card on an emergency note after he failed to obtain the credential following the normal procedure.

“My first ID expired after using it for ten years, so I had to procure a new one. I compiled all the necessary documents and followed the procedure that was required of me. I was issued an application receipt. When the original card was supposed to be out, I was told that there was a problem of double identity. I was surprised because all the information that was on my expired ID card is the same information I provided. It was the same information on my birth certificate. That is where my trouble started,” Jonathan A. narrated to Biometric Update.

He confessed that in order to circumvent the problem, he had to contact a staff of the police station who promised to facilitate the delivery of the ID card for a fee. “I went for roughly two years without an ID card. Within this period, the validity of the applicant receipt was extended many times. At some point, I needed a passport because I was supposed to travel. I was forced to get in contact with a police commissioner who asked me to give him XAF 250,000 (US$405) so that he can help me out. I gave him the money, but unfortunately, the process didn’t go well. So I lost the money, and didn’t have the ID.”

He says he was forced to spend another XAF250, 000 (US$405) with another agent, who eventually succeeded in getting the ID card for him within a period of one month, after another thorny procedure.

Unlike Jonathan A., who was able to cough out such a huge sum of money just to get an ID card, there are millions of Cameroonians who cannot afford such funds for the same purpose.

Many Cameroonians live on less than US$1 a day, and things appear worse off now as the country has been facing inflationary pressures which government has largely blamed on the war in Ukraine and the lingering global economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I find it difficult to have money for my daily bread. I have a wife and five children, and I don’t work for any government office or big enterprise. I was told I can pay XAF 25,000 (US$40) and get my ID card within days, but where can I find that kind of money with the hardship we are currently facing in this country?” says Abesolo M., a motor mechanic. He adds that “I have not been able to get my ID card for the past one year.”

Cases of extortion for ID cards have been so rife that some Cameroonians say they have called the toll-free number (1517) of the Cameroon national anti-corruption agency (CONAC) the state anti-graft body, to report their frustrations.

A matter of jail and death?

With reports of delays and extortions notwithstanding, not being in possession of the national ID card, especially when you come face-to-face with law enforcement officers in certain circumstances, can either land you in jail or at worse into your grave.

Section 1(2) of law No. 19-42 of 19 December 1990 instituting a national ID card in Cameroon states that “possession of a national identity card shall be compulsory throughout the country for all citizens aged 18 or more.”

Section 5, sub section five, of the same legislation states: “Whoever does not possess a national identity card shall be punished with imprisonment for from three months to one year or with fine of from XFA 50,000 (US$80) to XAF 100,000 (US$160) or with both such imprisonment and fine.”

Indeed, stories exist of many Cameroonians who are currently languishing in jail after being convicted of criminal charges including “failure to hold a national ID card.”

Such is the case with popular Anglophone activist ‘Mancho Bibixy’ who was jailed alongside six other activists in May 2018 for acts of terrorism and hostility against the state of Cameroon. Bibixy was arrested in January 2017 in the Anglophone North West city of Bamenda after staging a peaceful protest against bad governance by the regime in Yaounde. He was not in possession of his ID card at the time he was arrested on 19 January 2017, which is considered a crime.

The Mancho Bibixy example is in no way an isolated one. On 10 October this year, a man whose name was reported by the Cameroonian media as Foundikou Daouda was arrested and thrown into a police cell after storming a police station in Foumbot, a town in the West region of the country, to protest why his ID card had not been issued many months after he applied for it.

Considering his protest as disturbance of public order, Daouda was reportedly beaten by officers and put behind bars where he spent many weeks. He was released only in November after pressure from family members and rights activists, according to local media reports.

Activists kick, want urgent action

The arrest of Daouda for simply asking questions about delays in issuing his ID card sparked anger in the country, with many activists and rights lawyers chiming in to speak about an issue which is now considered by some critics as a national embarrassment.

In the wake of the incident, a Cameroonian human rights lawyer Christian Ntimbane Bomo, in an open letter to President Paul Biya, as published by a local news portal Cameroun Actuel, wondered why issuing a “simple” national ID card should be such a big problem for a country in the 21st century.

The lawyer alleges that going by his sources, the delay in rolling out the new national ID card scheme announced by the government a long time ago, is the result of a “battle” at the level of the presidency over who should be awarded the “juicy” contract. He urges the President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya, to take all necessary measures in order to save Cameroonians from the current quagmire, so that they can be able to prove their identities.

Also reacting to the Foumbot incident, Anne Féconde Noah, political activist and one of the proponents of an online campaign dubbed #JeveuxmaCNI (loosely translated as ‘I want my ID card’), expressed regrets, saying the authorities must take the requisite measures in order to avoid a repeat of such a scenario in the future.

“Not having an ID card in one’s own country is absolutely not an option. Citizens do not have to beg to have this document which is very essential in their daily lives,” said the activist on his Facebook page. Noah is also member of a popular opposition party in Cameroon known as the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN), which is known for sharply criticizing the actions of the Paul Biya administration.

In all of this, one thing is sure. Cameroonian authorities are very much aware of the agony citizens face in obtaining their ID cards, and the ordeal those who do not have the credential go through on a daily basis. What remains unsure, however, is when exactly they intend to undertake concrete action so as to bring the lingering problem to an end.

Culled from Biometricsupdate