Headline News

7, January 2017

Cameroon arrest 700 agents from the Ministry of Finance ¹

700 agents from the Ministry of Finance have been arrested and charged for diverting from the state coffers the sum of 1 billion 300 million FCFA. CIR gathered that the 700 agents are members of a vast network operating within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate.

Several members of the gang have been detained at the Central prison in Kondengui. We gathered that those involved were employed in the salary and human resource department including the IT services. These officials were paid several times and on several occasions. They even received salaries and wages for deceased persons and even the death benefits of some families instead of the rightful beneficiaries. The network also provided fictitious payslips to non civil servants.

The fraudsters benefited from a wide network within the Ministry of Finance. Those in the IT department were in charge of erasing all data from the computers that could trace any money received. This is not the first time that such a network has been dismantled by the Ministry of Finance. Each time it is uncovered with a media announcement, the mafia always succeeds in reappearing again in the ministry of finance where agents are ranked among the richest men and women in Cameroon.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

7, January 2017

Wilfred Tassang says victory is at the corner, Garga Haman cannot stop Ghost Town Operation ¹

Tassang Wilfred is one of the leaders of the largest teachers’ trade union in Cameroon. In a short post released to the public, he has asked West Cameroonians to believe in God, remain steadfast for victory is at the corner. “..Now it is written in the Book of (Exodus) that when the Lord wanted to show His power, glory and destroy Pharaoh, He told Moses “but I will harden his heart so that he will not let my people go.”

Our people in their time-tested wisdom also say, “He the gods want to destroy, they, first of all, make mad”. The Word of God quoted above, and the wisdom of our people referred to above explain succinctly what is happening to Yaoundé. Yaoundé’s resorting to forgery, lies and unprofessional blackmail, the Head of State sending an old and frail Garga Haman to come and bring us to reason is indicative of Yaoundé’s desperation.

The blood of the Lamb is already written on every West Cameroon door post. This is the reason why everyone has received the spirit to discern fake and fraud, forgery and lies. These are signs that don’t lie. A little more determination and Yaoundé’s back will be on the floor. And we shall, like we did in Njindom village during my primary school days, pin Yaoundé to the ground and feed him fists full of dust, apply the same all over him so that when Yaoundé gets up, there will be no lying what happened. The Captain of the hosts of heaven Himself is on the battle field. Just “be still” and know that He is God…”

Praise God.

Deacon Tassang Wilfred

NESG CATTU

7, January 2017

Anglophone Problem: Consortium ready for productive dialogue ⁰

Members of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC, have revealed that they are much ready to dialogue with the government to break the deadlock that has existed since the strike action in the North West and South West regions began.

In a Press briefing on the developments of events and their stance, they said, “We are willing to dialogue and solve problems which have beset the NW and SW regions, but Government seems to have other priorities. We still believe that a return to two-states Federation remains the best guarantee or institutional safeguard for the protection of our legal, educational, social economic and political in Cameroon.” They also said only a press conference will be convened to announce any strike suspension and not a Press release.

The announcement comes a day after a fake Press release presumably from a government agent said the strike had been suspended and called on students and pupils to go back to school on Monday, it was later found out that the release was not from the Consortium. The Consortium equally observed with regrets governments plan to undermine the dialogue process by making several moves to non members of the ad hoc committee by trying to coerce Chiefs, Fons, Principals and Elites. Members of the Consortium have given the Parliamentarians One week to secure the release of youth ‘abducted’ in Bamenda without which they will face difficulties in upcoming elections. They maintained the ghost town on Monday the 9th.

Culled from CIN

7, January 2017

Southern Cameroons: New born baby found dead inside a cartoon in Bamenda ⁰

The remains of a four day old baby boy weighing approximately 3.5kg has been discovered at the Bamenda Up-Station.

Saidou a 12 year herdsmen made the discovery. Saidou revealed that in the course of walking his cattle, he saw a brown carton at the hill side. Curious to open, he uncovered a black plastic paper and in it was a dead baby.

He immediately alerted security forces of the army camp who, in the company of municipal authorities got to the scene.

The remains were buried immediately and investigations opened to identify the mother of the dead baby.

CRTV

7, January 2017

Anglophone crisis: Ad Hoc Inter-ministerial Committee Chairman admits South Westerners ⁰

The controversial Chairperson of the so-called Ad Hoc Inter-ministerial Committee tasked with examining and proposing solutions to the concerns raised by the Anglophone Teachers’ Trade Unions, Professor Ghogomu Paul Mingho has issued a release admitting more members into the committee.

Ghogomu who attempted invoking the North West/South West divide to please his Francophone master has finally settled with the recommendation of the North West members of the committee.

The eight new members admitted into the working group include;

1- Mr. Njie Samuel Kale, PCC Education Secretary

2- Mr. Ntoko Ntuba Wilfred, Cameroon Education Forum

3- Mr. George Ngwane, parent

4- Ms. Louise Ebenye Ikome, Principal G.B.H.S Tiko

5- Mr. Mbete William, Principal G.T.H.S Muyuka

6- Mr. S.T Mbu, Education Secretary Lay Private

7- Fr. Ebiaga Peter Paul, Mamfe Diocess

8- Mr. Motanga Hilary Hamza, Islamic Education Secretary Buea

It is widely believed that the admission of these members by Ghogomu Paul Mingo, Chairman of the committee will bring more serenity to future discussions. The decision was made following pressure from members of the committee during their first meeting that more representatives from the South West Region be incorporated into the committee.

CRTV

7, January 2017

Ivory Coast: Heavy gunfire heard near military base in second largest city ⁰

Heavy gunfire has been heard near the main military base in Ivory Coast’s second largest city of Bouake as disgruntled soldiers remain in control of the city after waging a mutiny over wages. “The shooting is very heavy right now at the 3rd Battalion. I’m nearby and I hear it like it was right next to us,” said a Bouake resident Konan Benoit in a phone contact on Saturday as quoted in a report by Reuters, which added that gunfire could be heard on the line.

Heavy fighting and gunfire exchanges broke out early on Saturday near the key military camp in the city of nearly half a million inhabitants, where angry soldiers and military officers started a revolt against the central government over pay and bonuses a day earlier. Most of those involved in the armed revolt are reportedly former rebels who were later integrated into the nation’s army.

A picture taken in Bouake on January 6, 2017 shows UN Blue Helmet peacekeepers vehicles arriving at the entrance of the city where soldiers demanding more pay and housing revolted earlier in the day. (Photo by AFP)

Reports indicate that the uprising has spread to a number of other cities with the nation’s Defense Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi declaring on national television that a group of soldiers had used their weapons to force their way into Bouake’s military headquarters shortly after midnight to make known their demands.

“Mainly they revolved around the issue of payment, timely bonuses, around grades, the time it takes to get to the superior grade. There were also demands relating to the living conditions for soldiers,” Donwahi stated. He further described the move by the rebelling soldiers as “deplorable,” reasoning that the nation was recovering from a deep crisis. However, he also noted that their grievances were “understandable” and that he would travel to Bouake on Saturday to speak to the revolting soldiers.

“We shall talk with our men, collect their concerns and then find solutions to this situation which is deplorable, it’s understandable but still deplorable because of the image of our country, because of the work done by the president of the republic since coming out of the crisis, to demonstrate in this way can be prejudicial to our country but we understand what happened,” Donwahi added.

Passengers rest next to a bus, some 15 km from Bouake, as they wait to enter the large city on January 6, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The defense minister, who confirmed that five cities has so far been affected by the uprising, made the remarks following an emergency meeting with other members of the African country’s National Security Council, including President Alassane Ouattara and senior military officers.

According to press reports, exchange of gunfire also erupted at a military base in Daloa city, the main trading hub in the western cocoa belt, where civilians said soldiers, some wearing masks, were patrolling the streets in sport utility vehicles. The city of Bouake was the seat of another uprising that began in Ivory Coast in 2002 and controlled the northern half of the country until it was reunited following a civil war in 2011.

Presstv

7, January 2017

Revealed: President Putin helped Donald Trump win the presidential election ⁰

US intelligence agencies claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered his government to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidential election. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA) released a report on Friday which shows Russia “sought to help” Trump by running a smear campaign against Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival.

“We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments,” the report read.

“When it appeared to Moscow that Secretary Clinton was likely to win the election, the Russian influence campaign began to focus more on undermining her future presidency,” it added. Heavily favored to win the election, Clinton led Trump in most polls throughout the campaign but lost the ultimate face-off to him on November 8. The run-up to the November vote saw the two candidates attacking each other over a series of confidential emails that belonged to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton’s top aide John Podesta.

Trump said that the emails showed Clinton’s corruption, proving that she was unfit to lead the country. Clinton, however, blamed the leaks on Moscow and accused Trump of getting help from the Kremlin. President Barack Obama’s administration has been blaming the hacks on Russia, but the Kremlin has categorically denied the claim.

The Friday report by the American intelligence agencies claimed that Russia’s behavior since early November had increased the credibility of their assessment. Trump and Moscow have been on seemingly good terms since the vote. Putin has even written a letter to the incoming US president, calling for better ties with the US.

The report said Russia chose WikiLeaks as an outlet for the hacked documents because of the anti-secrecy website’s “self-proclaimed reputation for authenticity.” “Russia collected on some Republican-affiliated targets but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign,” the report continued. The three agencies concluded that Russia would use the learnings of the “Putin-ordered” campaign to carry out future operations worldwide.

Presstv

7, January 2017

US President-elect calls on all US ambassadors to resign before January 20th ⁰

US President-elect Donald Trump has called on all US ambassadors to hand in their resignations before he is sworn in on January 20, according to some diplomats. The envoys were notified of the incoming president’s decision through an abrupt State Department cable, which was issued on December 23 and called on all US missions in over 180 countries to return “without exception,” according to diplomats who saw it in person.

Trump’s move marked an unprecedented break from the tradition of extending the ambassadors’ stay for some time, giving them enough time to make the required arrangements. Previous administrations of both parties have usually given envoys enough time until at least the end of their children’s school year. Calling back all of President Barack Obama’s appointed envoys abroad risks leaving the US without proper representation in key countries like Britain, Germany and Canada for months.

Within two weeks of his inauguration, Trump has only named Zionist hardliner David Friedman as ambassador to Israel and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad as his ambassador to China. Some of the envoys are reportedly planning to appeal the decision with Trump’s designated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. They think it is unfair that their personal lives have been disrupted while First-Lady-in-waiting Melania Trump is allowed to remain at Trump Tower until her son’s school is over.

The move is in line with Trump’s other unorthodox steps in destroying Obama’s legacy, specially his foreign policy. However, a senior member of the New York businessman’s transition team told the New York Times that there was no “ill will” in the decision. According to the American Foreign Service Association, a union representing diplomats, there are 188 US ambassadors worldwide.

Many of America’s key ambassadorships go to political appointees, i.e. senior members of the president’s party or the people who supported his campaign through major donations. In Obama’s case, such sinecures were granted to Jane Hartley, a Democratic fundraiser who served as ambassador to France, and former President John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, to Japan. For Israel, the outgoing president chose former Democratic congressional aide and adviser Daniel Shapiro.

Presstv

7, January 2017

Florida airport shooting: FBI not ruling out terrorism as motive ⁰

Federal investigators have not ruled out terrorism as a possible motive in a shooting rampage that killed five people and wounded eight others at an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Esteban Santiago, a 26 year-old resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was taken into custody immediately following the shooting on Friday and questioned at length, according to officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

FBI agent George L. Piro, who is in charge of the Miami field office, said Santiago would be facing federal charges and will appear in federal court in Broward County on Monday.

People on the airport ramp area near terminals 1 and 2 are seen following the shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, January 6, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Authorities said Santiago, an Iraq war veteran, suffered from psychological problems and had complained that the US government was controlling his mind. Santiago retrieved a semi-automatic handgun from his checked luggage and began firing indiscriminately after arriving in Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport from Alaska.

“After he claimed his bag, he went into the bathroom and loaded the gun and started shooting,” Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said.

Esteban Santiago, an Iraq War veteran, was identified as the gunman who opened fire Friday in the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.

One witness said the attacker kept shooting until he ran out of ammunition for his handgun. The airport remains closed and planes scheduled to land there have been diverted to other airports in Florida.

“This is a senseless act of evil,” Florida Governor Rick Scott told reporters. A White House spokesman said President Barack Obama had spoken to Scott and other state officials. Obama said such tragedies had happened too often during his eight-year-term in office.

Passengers take cover as first responders secure the area outside the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport after a shooting took place near the baggage claim on January 6, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Incoming President Donald Trump said that it is a “disgraceful situation that’s happening in our country and throughout the world” and that it was too soon to say whether it was a terrorist attack. Santiago was sent to Iraq in 2010 and spent a year there as a combat engineer while serving the Puerto Rico National Guard. He later joined the Alaska National Guard.

His family members said he had been receiving treatment for mental problems which began after he returned from Iraq. Maria Luisa Ruiz, Santiago’s aunt from Union City, New Jersey, said, “He lost his mind. He said he saw things.”

A federal law enforcement official said Santiago had entered into an FBI office in Anchorage in November and was behaving erratically and was turned over to local police, who took him to a mental facility for evaluation.

During that visit, he told FBI agents that his mind was being controlled by a US intelligence agency, which was ordering him to watch videos by the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.

Presstv

6, January 2017

Ivory Coast: Demobilized soldiers have taken control of the city of Bouake ⁰

Former soldiers in the Ivory Coast have taken control of the city of Bouake, causing a shutdown in the West African country’s second-largest metropolitan city. “The city is under the control of former soldiers,” said an unidentified army officer, media reported on Friday.

The demobilized soldiers, who had seized weapons from at least two police stations, took up positions at entry points into the city, according to reports. “It’s a mutiny by former fighters integrated into the army, who are demanding bonuses of five million CFA francs (8,000 dollars) each plus a house,” a soldier who asked to remain anonymous told media.

Residents reported heavy shooting at around 2 am (0200 GMT). Sporadic gunfire continued later into the morning. “There are many of them at the north and south entrances to the city. We are on alert and await instructions from the hierarchy,” said another source from Bouake.

Residents stayed inside and businesses in the city remained closed on Friday morning. “The city is deserted. Men in balaclavas are patrolling the city on motorcycles or in cars. They aren’t attacking residents… They told us to stay at home,” said Ami Soro, a teacher living in Bouake.

An officer speaking from the commercial capital, Abidjan, said reinforcements had been sent to Bouake. The city was the seat of a rebellion that resulted in the seizure of the northern half of the world’s top cocoa grower from 2002 until Ivory Coast was reunited following a civil war in 2011.

Meanwhile, gunfire was heard at a military camp in Daloa, another town in Ivory Coast, on Friday. “There is gunfire at the Second Battalion in Daloa. It’s young demobilized soldiers,” said a resident, speaking by telephone from a cocoa processing factory near the army camp.

Presstv