Cameroon

20, January 2025

Biya’s continued stay in power: Bishop of Yagoua comes under attack ⁰

The President of the National Assembly Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has launched a scathing attack on the Bishop of Yagoua, who in a homily on 1 January 2025 denounced the inertia of the corrupt CPDM government in Yaoundé.

‘Even a devil should first take power in Cameroon and then we’ll see’, Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda of the Diocese of Yagoua said.

His Lordship the Bishop of Yagoua used the figure of speech to indicate that it was time for President Paul Biya to make way for someone else.

‘We’re not going to suffer any more than this. We’ve already suffered. The worst is not going to come. Even the Devil should first take power in Cameroon and then we’ll see.”

Cavaye Yeguie Djibril was visibly ‘touched’ by these remarks and has gone on the offensive against the Holy Roman Catholic Church lecturing a pro Biya audience on the notion of the devil and stating that it is imperative to summon Bishop Barthelemy Yaouda to Rome.

‘Catholics should summon that bishop to Rome to show us the devil. Otherwise, it means that all Catholics are saying the same thing. No one has yet seen the devil. Even pagans have never seen the devil. Nobody has ever seen the devil, only this bishop knows where the devil is’, said Hon. Cavaye Yeguie Djibril.

Cavaye’s childish outburst shows that the prelate’s homily is making waves inside the Unity Palace this election year.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

20, January 2025

French Cameroun: Martinez Zogo remains unburied 2 years after assassination ⁰

For 728 days, the body of Martinez Zogo (photo), the radio host whose remains were discovered on January 22, 2023, about 15 kilometers northeast of Yaoundé, has remained at the Yaoundé Central Hospital morgue.

According to his family’s lawyer, Calvin Job, a funeral is currently impossible. “Martinez Zogo’s body is a piece of evidence. In this sense, the court needs it,” Job explained following the January 13th hearing.

The trial, which began at the Military Tribunal in March 2024, has been plagued by significant delays, as highlighted by Job. He criticized the repeated postponements, stating, “This slow pace also hinders the burial process.”

The family has formally requested the release of Martinez Zogo’s remains for burial. However, military justice officials maintain that returning the body is premature, as explained by Christophe Bobiokono, a journalist and editor of Kalara, a publication specializing in judicial news. Bobiokono noted that the body must remain available for further investigation. “A new autopsy might be necessary at any time, as the cause of death could be contested,” he explained.

Bobiokono emphasized that some defendants may dispute the murder charges against them. “This could necessitate another autopsy to confirm or refute the assassination allegations,” he added, concluding that “the investigation remains incomplete.”

Ten months after the first session, procedural issues continue to dominate the hearings, with substantive debates yet to start. Martinez Zogo’s family has expressed frustration with the prolonged process, eager to conclude the trial so they can properly mourn. “We are awaiting the final verdict so they can release the body for burial. We have customs. As long as he [Martinez Zogo] remains in the morgue, we cannot perform the necessary rites,” Crescence Moungou, the late journalist’s elder sister, told Equinoxe TV in 2023.

Seventeen individuals were arrested and charged following the discovery of Martinez Zogo’s body. Among the accused are 12 agents from the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE), including Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, the former head of this powerful intelligence agency. The military tribunal is handling the case due to the involvement of military personnel, gendarmes, and police officers.

According to Bobiokono, who is also a member of the Human Rights Commission, all costs associated with preserving Martinez Zogo’s body are being covered by the military justice system.

Source: Sbbc

18, January 2025

Samuel Eto’o crowned as “Ntumfyon” ⁰

In a ceremony rich in tradition and emotion, Samuel Eto’o, the iconic former captain of the Indomitable Lions and current President of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), was crowned “Ntumfyon” by the traditional rulers of the North West region.

This title in the North West is an exceptional recognition of leadership and impact on society.

The ceremony was held in the heart of the ancestral lands of the North-West, with traditional dances, songs and rituals to consecrate Samuel Eto’o as an ‘Ntumfyon’.

Ever since he was elected president of FECAFOOT, Samuel Eto’o has focused his energy on reforming football in Cameroon, with a particular interest on young talent and creating opportunities for local communities. This new title reinforces his stature as a visionary leader and a unifying figure in Cameroon.

With this new distinction, Samuel Eto’o continues to make history, not only as one of Africa’s greatest footballers, but also as a true cultural icon and a symbol of hope for future generations.

By Fon Lawrence

17, January 2025

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 1 killed, 6 injured in Bamenda clash ⁰

At least one person was killed and six others injured on Thursday afternoon in a clash between government troops and Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Bamenda.

The exchange of fire occurred in the neighborhood of Bamenda, chief city in the North West region as the Francophone dominated military repelled an Amba infiltration attempt, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“They attacked a military outpost at Ntabessi. Our brave forces fought back and opened fire. It was then that stray bullets killed a civilian and injured six others. Our forces are pursuing them to their hideouts,” the official said.

A separatist insurgency has been going on in Cameroon’s two anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017. Armed separatists attempt to secede from the largely French-speaking Cameroon and create an independent nation in the regions.

By Fon Lawrence with files from Xinhuanet

17, January 2025

Another CPDM baron has died in Yaoundé aged 85 ⁰

Professor Pierre Titi Nwel, a member of the Electoral Council (Elecam) has died aged 85.

Cameroon Concord News understands that Professor Titi Pierre passed away late on Thursday 16 of January 2025 in Yaoundé.

He was expected in Douala today Friday 17 January 2025 to begin a tour of ELECAM’s rigging facilities in the Littoral region.

Pierre Titi Nwel was born on 1 November 1940 in Matomb a district in the Nyong-et-Kéllé Division in the Centre region some 65 km south-west of Yaoundé. He held a doctorate in sociology from the University of Paris-X (Nanterre).

He worked at the Ministry of Education from 1973 to 2012 and has held a number of international consultancy positions.

By Rita Akana

16, January 2025

Former Secretary General at the Presidency David Abouem à Tchoyi dies aged 81 ⁰

The former Secretary General at the presidency of the republic David Abouem à Tchoyi has died at the age of 81.

The renowned civil administrator, who was governor of the South West and North West provinces died Wednesday 15 January 2025 in Yaoundé.

Family sources said Mr Abouem had lost consciousness. He collapsed and was pronounced dead at his home. His family believes the cause of death to be a heart attack.

David Abouem à Tchoyi was an outstanding administrator and politician not just of his generation but for generations far before who possessed extraordinary charm and a common touch which endeared him to so many in both French and English speaking Cameroon.

For many years David Abouem à Tchoyi was an incredibly significant figure in Cameroon who worked tirelessly and fought fearlessly for the country that he loved. He was last seen in public on 10 January 2025 at the ceremony to present New Year’s greetings to President Paul Biya at the Unity Palace.

Abouem à Tchoyi was born on 15 January 1944 in Kribi, a seaside town and port in the South Region. He did his primary education in his village in 1950.

He completed his secondary education at the Collège Évangélique de Libamba from 1957 to 1964. He then enrolled at the University of Yaoundé, where he obtained a law degree in 1967, before entering the National School of Administration and Magistracy (Enam) and graduated in 1969. He also studied at the IIAP in Paris.

At the Ministry of Territorial Administration, he became Head of the Coordination Department, Director of Territorial Organisation and Secretary General on 31 August 1972.

He had a meteoric rise in the Francophone dominated Cameroon system and he successively held the following positions:

Secretary General at the Ministry of Planning and Regional Development, Secretary General at the Ministry of the Economy and Planning, and Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office from 17 July 1975.

On 8 September 1976, he was appointed Governor of the North-West region, before holding the same position in the South-West region. On 4 February 1984, he was appointed Secretary General at the President of the Republic. From 24 August 1985 to 21 November 1986, he was Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He was also a member of the National Commission for Bilingualism and Multiculturalism.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, January 2025

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe leading the Ambazonia revolution from behind bars ⁰

Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe has already served seven years of his life sentence at the Yaoundé principal prison in Cameroon, but he is not ready to budge an inch in the political beliefs that landed him there. “The fight for homeland is existential and non-negotiable – being part of the struggle is a calling and not a vocation,” he tells the Guardian.

The 59-year-old computer engineer and former president of a breakaway state is still fighting his revolution from jail. As Cameroon’s civil conflict festers, his quest remains the freeing of his anglophone community from what he sees as the shackles of a francophone Cameroonian state.

Undated photo of Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, leader of the anglophone community in Cameroon. — Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, leader of the anglophone community in Cameroon

“We have an obligation – dead or alive – to bequeath to our children a nation that they can call theirs, something we have been deprived of for too long,” he says.

On 1 October 2017, Ayuk Tabe declared the independence of “Ambazonia” – Cameroon’s English-speaking north-west and south-west regions, known during the colonial era as the British Southern Cameroons – after a government crackdown on protesters.

In November 2016, lawyers from the regions had marched against the government’s decision to appoint francophone magistrates in anglophone courts, seeing it as a threat to common law. Educators followed with their own protests after French-speaking teachers were imposed on anglophone schools.

Ayuk Tabe’s de facto presidency ended in January 2018 when he was arrested in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, allegedly by Nigerian special forces.

Demonstrators protest against perceived discrimination in favour of the francophone majority on 22 September 2017 in Bamenda, the main town in north-west Cameroon and an anglophone hub. — A protest against perceived discrimination in favour of the francophone majority in September 2017 in Bamenda, north-west Cameroon, an anglophone hub. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

He was extradited with nine others to Cameroon, despite claims that many of them were refugees and asylum seekers. The move was later ruled illegal by the UN.

In August 2019, a military court in Cameroon sentenced Ayuk Tabe and his aides to life imprisonment on terrorism and secession charges. They were fined FCFA 273bn (about $428m).

The UN human rights council and three federal high court of Abuja judgments have ordered their release but none of these rulings have been respected, and the men remain in prison.

We will hoist the Ambazonian flag, we will sing the Ambazonian anthem – until that happens, the struggle won’t end

Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe

“How can civilians be charged and sentenced in military courts?” Ayuk Tabe asks. “Before any court in Cameroon, all Southern Cameroonians have a life sentence reserved for them just because of who they are. We are taking one for our nation and we pray it should be the last for all Southern Cameroonians.”

The declaration of Ambazonia’s independence triggered deadly clashes between anglophone armed separatists and the state security forces, which resulted in widespread atrocities against the civilian population.

Protesters march with signs saying ‘we need pens, not guns’ — Pupils, parents and teachers protest after gunmen opened fire at a school, killing at least six children, according to the authorities. Photograph: Josiane Kouagheu/Reuters

More than 6,000 people have since been killed, according to the International Crisis Group, although Ambazonia’s leadership claims the figure is far higher. More than a million people have been displaced within and outside the country. Thousands of people suspected of supporting the revolt have been detained and many are still awaiting trial.

When the Guardian arrives at Yaoundé prison it is teeming with visitors – mainly relatives, friends and acquaintances – who have come to see Ayuk Tabe and those detained with him.

With his customary charm, Ayuk Tabe speaks to everyone, telling them he has three key messages to send to his people back home: “Tell them that we will go to Buea whether [president] Mr Paul Biya likes it or not; come rain or shine. Tell them that we will hoist the Ambazonian flag in Buea and that once this is done, we will sing the Ambazonian anthem – until that happens, the struggle won’t end.

“Finally, tell them to take good care of the needy of the struggle – families who have lost loved ones, the internally displaced, refugees, those in detention, not forgetting the heroes of the struggle – the men and women who have opted to fight and die for the struggle,” he says.

Four men walk down a street outside a building, led by an armed guard — Men arrested in connection with Cameroon’s anglophone crisis at the military court in Yaoundé, 14 December 2018. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

After singing a few verses of the national anthem, Ayuk Tabe gets up to move around and hug a few of his visitors.

“We call them our guardian angels because they baby us,” he says, adding that these supporters have helped the Ambazonian inmates at the prison by bringing them food and bedding.

He says conditions at the prison are difficult: they’re given flimsy beds without mattresses and a single “terrible” meal a day.

“But Ambazonian detainees in this prison feed themselves twice a day, thanks to the generosity of our relatives and friends – they don’t consume anything offered by this prison except the water used for bathing,” he says.

An undated photo showing a group of men in camouflage clothes, with one pointing a rifle towards the sky from behind some bushes — Anglophone separatist fighters training at an undisclosed location. Photograph: Chris Anu

Cameroon was first colonised by Germany between 1884 and 1916, then divided between France and Britain after the first world war. French Cameroon gained independence in 1960, joined by English-speaking Cameroonians through a federation a year later.

The French-speaking area makes up about 80% of the country and the English-speaking part about 20%, both in territory and population. A referendum in 1972 repealed the country’s federal structure which had guaranteed rights and secured a distinct educational, judicial and political system for the minority anglophone section.

The group of officials stands in front of a large crowd of people. Behind them a banner reads: ‘Major national dialogue. Yaounde conference centre. — Cameroon’s prime minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, presides over the opening session of the national dialogue called in September 2019 by president Biya. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Close to the principal prison is the Yaoundé central prison, where nearly 300 anglophone detainees are being held. Abdul Karim Ali, 43, a Muslim scholar, IT engineer and business consultant, has been awaiting trial here since February 2023.

Ali was arrested in the north-west regional capital, Bamenda, on 11 August 2022, for criticising the injustices committed against his anglophone community. He was detained for three months in a windowless room with no toilet and denied access to his family and lawyers for three weeks, he says. Transferred to the dreaded State Defense Secretariat detention facility, he spent another three months there before being transferred to Yaoundé central prison.

I was abducted to be silenced. Not just because I believe in the right to self-determination for Southern Cameroons but because I defended those rights

Abdul Karim Ali

“I was abducted to be silenced. Not just because I believe in the right to self-determination of the people of Southern Cameroons, but because I defended those rights and called out the occupying regime of Yaoundé,” Ali says.

“Like other activists, I have been accused of terrorism and secession. I consider the military court incompetent to try a civilian like myself. I have made it known that I’m not going to court. I want to be tried in a civilian court and in my Bamenda home town where I was abducted.”

Abdul Karim Ali, Cameroonian activist — Abdul Karim Ali, who has been detained since August 2022

Ali says he has no issue with the Cameroon government, but that it has a problem with Southern Cameroons.

“I’m in their captivity just like every other freedom fighter. I don’t wish anybody to experience the prison conditions I have endured.”

He says the situation in Cameroon’s north-west and south-west regions is one of “torture, genocide, colonisation, incarceration and dehumanisation” – the consequence of the annexation that started in 1961.

He blames the current conflict on the “incomplete decolonisation” of Southern Cameroons by Britain and Cameroon’s annexation of the territory thereafter.

“The Cameroon government declared war on Southern Cameroons. They are the invading bully and illegitimate state actor. So, the burden to call for a ceasefire lies on them,” he says.

Peace, he says, would require the unconditional release of all Southern Cameroonians; the demilitarisation of the territory of Southern Cameroons; and dialogue between the two parties.

Ali eats once and prays five times a day. Otherwise, his daily schedule includes exercising in the prison courtyard and reading.

“History provides us with enough verdicts: every dictatorship collapses and every annexation comes to an end,” says Ali, whose political activism was inspired by Gandhi. “Today or tomorrow, the people of Southern Cameroons will be given the right to determine their political future,” he says.

Soldiers of Cameroonian rapid intervention battalion line up — Members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, an elite unit of the Cameroonian armed forces, on parade for Unity Day in Yaoundé, May 2023. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Sitting nearby in the prison hall is another detainee, Mancho Bibixy Tse, a 40-year-old journalist and activist.

In November 2016, Mancho mounted a coffin at a crowded roundabout in Bamenda to denounce the social and economic injustice of his anglophone community, which became known as the “coffin revolution”.

He was arrested, charged with terrorism, secession, rebellion, inciting civil war, and spreading false information through social media, and sentenced to 15 years.

A man weeps among the ruins of a building razed by gunmen in Mamfe, south-west Cameroon, 6 November 2023.

In July 2019, Mancho led a protest against conditions at the prison, which earned him an additional 18 months.

Mancho says frustrations about 60 years of Cameroon’s occupation of Southern Cameroons led to his activism. The idea of using a coffin came about “spontaneously”.

“I have always wanted positive change wherever I found myself – I have been a freedom fighter all my life,” he says, maintaining that he has never regretted – and will never regret his actions.

“I am the first person who declared the Ambazonian revolution,” he says. “And I will do it over and over again if the opportunity shows up. I am ready to die for freedom.”

A car allegedly destroyed by separatist fighters in Buea, Cameroon — A burnt-out car beside an abandoned market after unrest in 2018 in Buea, capital of the anglophone south-west region. Photograph: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images

Back at the Yaoundé principal prison, Ayuk Tabe is hopeful of ultimate victory.

“Rather than waning, our independence ideology is gaining more ground. Proof is that we are in the eighth year of the struggle and a Cameroon military victory is still very far-fetched,” he says.

“No matter how long this darkness has been, victory is assured and on the way. We all, eight million Ambazonians, share a common pain and plight. We cannot continue this life of servitude and pass it on as a legacy to our future generations.”

Culled from The Guardian

15, January 2025

French Cameroun: 3 killed in armed attack on military camp ⁰

At least three security forces personnel were killed in an armed attack on a military camp in Cameroon, local media reported.

Suspected Boko Haram terrorists attacked Ngouma military camp on Monday in the Logone-et-Chari department of the Far North Region, according to the daily Journal de Cameroun.

The victims were members of the country’s Defense and Security Forces and the attackers also seized weapons and set fire to a military vehicle, it said.

Boko Haram launched a bloody insurgency in 2009 in northeastern Nigeria but later spread its atrocities to neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a military response.

Source: Anadolu Agency

15, January 2025

Biya’s Justice Minister receiving emergency treatment in French hospital ⁰

Justice Minister Laurent Esso had to be rushed to a hospital in France after becoming seriously unwell.

Esso had to be evacuated by a presidential directive after he fell ill at his home in Yaoundé.

Mr Laurent Esso is widely seen as one of President Biya’s most trusted acolytes and has served in his government holding numerous portfolios including being Secretary General at the presidency of the republic.

He is known for his arrogant style – a key facet for any Francophone politician – and was described in 2024 as “Finish the Job,” by several media organizations in Cameroon following the role he allegedly played in the murder of journalist Martinez Zogo .

Mr Esso collapsed during National Day celebration inside the Unity Palace in 2024 but silenced critics who claimed that he could not juggle all his ministerial briefs by making a late night trip to the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé to stop an internal revolt.

He has been reachable and available to act at any time against opponents of the Biya regime and this includes during emergencies, at night and at the weekends. And while he is adored by many CPDM militants, he is reviled by critics in equal measure.

The politician, who represents the Sawa people in the Littoral region, remains the main architect of President Biya’s failure as a statesman.

Despite his recent difficult relationship with aides close to the Cameroonian first lady Chantal Biya, he has remained firmly behind President Biya and was a key figure in the arrest and humiliation of the late Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine.

More recently he has been key in green lighting plans for the continued detention of Southern Cameroons activists including President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Rumour circulated recently that the Biya ally was denied authorization to leave the country for treatment abroad.

Etoudi attempted to downplay the seriousness of Esso’s health condition but doing so has become increasingly very difficult. His declining health has reignited public and media debates surrounding his role in the corrupt Biya regime.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

14, January 2025

World Bank ends CFA45bn Swedd Project in Cameroon over poor results ⁰

The World Bank has decided to end the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (Swedd) Project in Cameroon due to unsatisfactory outcomes. Though the decision was made months ago, it was formally communicated to Cameroon’s authorities on December 18, 2024, in a letter from Cheick Fantamady Kanté, the World Bank’s country director for Cameroon, to Economy Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey. The project is officially set to close on December 31, 2024.

The World Bank cited the project’s low disbursement rate as a key reason for its termination. By February 2024, only 8.3% of the allocated funds had been spent. This amounted to just $5.7 million (CFA3.6 billion) out of a total of $75 million (over CFA45 billion). A World Bank mission in February 2024 deemed this spending rate unacceptably low.

The Swedd project, aimed at empowering women in the northern regions of Cameroon (Adamawa, North, and Far North), failed to deliver significant benefits to its target groups. The World Bank described progress as “unsatisfactory.”

The project management under Alphonse Glory Mbah Ngami also came under scrutiny. Cameroon’s Swedd team was found to be the largest among 16 African countries implementing the project, leading to inflated operational costs and reduced efficiency. According to the February 2024 report, most performance indicators were red, except for midwife training. Moreover, teachers involved in remedial courses for beneficiaries reported not being paid.

The World Bank’s recommendations to improve fund utilization yielded little progress. For example, between July 1 and December 31, 2024, the project was supposed to spend CFA2.5 billion. Planned expenditures included a CFA308.3 million ($512,336) agreement with UNICEF for vehicle purchases. However, by December 18, 2024, none of the vehicles had been delivered. Other key purchases, such as mobile clinic vehicles, campaign vehicles, IT equipment for 15 midwifery schools (CFA549 million), and motorcycles (CFA167 million), were also unfulfilled.

The World Bank has granted a four-month grace period, ending April 30, 2025, for eligible payments to be made. Any unpaid expenses after this period will become ineligible and must be covered by the Cameroonian government. In a letter dated December 23, 2024, Cheick Fantamady Kanté confirmed that the government would fund operational costs during this time.

The Swedd project has been operational in Africa since 2015 and was slated to launch in Cameroon in 2020 for a four-year term. However, delays related to credit readiness pushed the official start to 2022. The financing agreement was signed on October 12, 2021, and the project began on February 8, 2022.

Source: Business in Cameroon