The November 11 hearing at the Yaoundé Military Tribunal lasted approximately 20 minutes, with the court rejecting all objections raised by the defense.

The tribunal, led by Colonel Missé Njonè, denied the defense team’s request for a reenactment of events related to the case of businessman Amougou Belinga. The court also dismissed requests to dismiss certain preliminary investigation and case file documents.

The judges further rejected a proposal to reclassify charges against some defendants and denied the application of a contested referral order from December 1, 2023, which had previously ordered the release of Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga and Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, former head of the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE).

The court reaffirmed its decision to include the DGRE as a civil party in the case, a status the intelligence agency has sought to avoid since the trial began in March.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 2, when the parties hope to initiate substantive deliberations.

Source: Sbbc

Tibor Nagy, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during Donald Trump’s first term, has suggested that Washington’s policy on the ongoing separatist crisis in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions could see a shift. which has simmered since 2016, could see a shift. In a recent tweet, he wrote: if “Trump selects certain people whose names have come up for high level posts the Yaoundé regime will get much more pressure over its mistreatment of its Anglophone population.” Nagy, who previously engaged with this issue, believes that the Biden administration has largely neglected the crisis, a situation that he expects could change with new leadership in the White House. “Cameroon [government] has gotten a relatively free ride with Biden; hopefully that will change,” he added.

During Trump’s first term, U.S. diplomacy took an assertive stance on Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis, with Washington repeatedly condemning the Cameroonian military for alleged human rights violations and abuses against civilians. “I receive more emails about Cameroon than any other African issue—10 to 20 daily, with horrific photos and videos of people decapitated with machetes, security forces committing terrible acts…We need a de-escalation,” Nagy said in a 2019 interview. His comments led to strained relations between Yaoundé and Washington, with Cameroon’s Minister of Communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, responding that such statements reflected “a lack of understanding of the issues, realities, and facts” and constituted an “unacceptable attempt at interference in Cameroon’s internal affairs.” After meeting with President Paul Biya in Cameroon, Nagy later adopted a more measured tone.

In recent years, Washington has taken a more collaborative approach with Yaoundé regarding the Anglophone crisis. The U.S. has even prosecuted U.S.-based Cameroonians accused of trafficking arms to separatists in the troubled regions, a move welcomed by the Cameroonian government, which had long sought American cooperation to neutralize these leaders.

However, analysts argue that Washington’s assistance in pursuing those behind attacks in the separatist regions is driven primarily by broader geopolitical strategy. Amid rising tensions with Russia, especially over the Ukraine conflict, the U.S. has aimed to isolate Moscow by offering reassurances to certain Kremlin partners. This dynamic, however, could shift if Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Starting November 15, 2024, Cameroon will eliminate physical fiscal stamps. The announcement was made by the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motazé, on November 1, 2024.

From that date, the fiscal stamp required for various documents—such as driver’s licenses, vehicle registration cards, gun permits, hunting licenses, scientific research permits, transport contracts, property transfers, and others—will be declared paid online through the General Tax Directorate’s (DGI) platform.

The Minister said that the traditional physical stamp will be replaced by an online payment receipt. This receipt can be verified through the DGI’s system for authenticity. Although Motazé listed specific documents in his announcement, DGI officials confirmed that the move to digital applies to all types of fiscal stamps, including those used on photocopies and graduated stamps.

According to tax agents, most beneficiaries of tax exemptions pay this stamp tax, which has a fixed rate of CFA300,000, in line with current regulations.

The reform is designed to improve the security of tax revenue by removing cash transactions and the use of stamping machines, which have been linked to fraud in the past. Some of these machines were reportedly missing or deliberately malfunctioning in certain financial districts, allowing criminal networks to divert public funds. The issue was especially apparent during high-demand periods, such as the start of administrative exams or public sector recruitment drives.

Stamping machines were introduced in Cameroon a few years ago to combat the widespread counterfeiting of physical stamps. However, despite this effort, fraudsters continued to find ways to bypass the system, depriving the government of substantial revenue each year.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Colonel Misse Njoné, head of the panel of judges in the military tribunal handling the high-profile case of journalist Martinez Zogo’s assassination, is set to rule today on procedural objections raised by the defense and the prosecutorial motions presented by the government commissioner. This case involves 17 defendants, including 12 agents from Cameroon’s powerful intelligence service, the General Directorate for External Research (DGRE). They stand accused of kidnapping, torturing, and killing Martinez Zogo in January 2023. Zogo, a prominent radio host at Amplitude FM in Yaoundé, frequently exposed corruption involving top government officials.

The judge’s decision on whether to accept the defense’s complaints regarding alleged irregularities in the preliminary investigation and the case’s instruction phase could significantly impact the course of the trial. If the judge upholds the defense’s objections, the investigation could be restarted from scratch, potentially resulting in the release of some of the accused. During the last hearing on October 21, the government commissioner opposed all objections and requested their outright dismissal.

In recent hearings on September 30 and October 21, defense attorneys raised multiple procedural challenges, particularly pointing to errors made by investigators during both the preliminary and instruction phases. For instance, lawyers for Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga—an influential businessman suspected of ordering Zogo’s murder—argued that the search of his residence was conducted without a warrant or notification to his attorneys. They also alleged that certain items disappeared during the search.

Furthermore, the defense claims that witness statements were illegally taken and that interrogation records were “regularized” only after the fact. This retroactive approval was reportedly granted by the government commissioner, who headed the joint police-gendarme investigative team. Defense attorneys contest the legality of this team, asserting that jurisdiction should have rested with the public prosecutor in Mfou, where Zogo’s body was found, or the Central Region tribunal prosecutor.

The defense also challenges a December 1, 2023, dismissal order issued by former investigative judge Sikati II Kamwo, which called for the release of Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga and former DGRE chief Léopold Maxime Eko Eko. Following an administrative dispute, the military tribunal deemed the dismissal order falsified, keeping both men in custody. The defense now insists the order was genuine and demands the immediate release of their clients based on this document.

Since the proceedings began in March, these procedural debates have delayed the trial’s progression to substantive issues. Today’s decision by the tribunal president will determine whether the case will finally proceed to the main trial phase or face further delays.

Source: Sbbc

Workers have recovered 12 bodies following landslides that engulfed a road in the west of Cameroon, a regional official said Saturday, adding there is no hope of finding survivors.

State television CRTV reported the comments by the governor of West region, Augustine Awa Fonka.

“In our opinion, there is no longer any possibility of finding survivors,” he told the station.

Only 12 bodies had been recovered from the site of the disaster, the last of them on Saturday morning, he said.

Dozens more people are still missing, and the search for bodies is still continuing, he added.

Two landslides hit the Dschang cliff road Tuesday — the second as emergency workers were using heavy machinery to try to clear the road.

Vehicles hit included three coaches with around 20 seats each, five six-seater vehicles, and several motorbikes said Awa Fonka in an earlier statement.

Cameroon’s roads are notoriously dangerous, with almost 3,000 deaths each year in accidents, or more than 10 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, published in 2023.

In early September, a tractor-trailer carrying passengers plunged off a cliff road into a ravine near the town of Dschang, killing eight people and injuring 62 others, including eight children.

Source: VOA

At least three members of the Boko Haram terror group have been killed in Cameroon’s Far North region, security sources said Thursday.

They were killed in a military offensive against the terror group in the region’s Walassa locality Wednesday night, a senior military official in the region said.

“They (Boko Haram) tried to fight back when our troops attacked, but they were overcome. Several of them escaped with wounds. Our forces will continue to secure the region and protect civilians against the terrorists,” the official, who asked not to be named, said.

Boko Haram has been operating in Cameroon’s Far North region since 2014.

Source: Xinhuanet

The Oslo District Court in Norway has extended the preventive detention of Ayaba Cho Lucas, leader of the Ambazonia Defence Force, for an additional four weeks. According to the decision, the separatist leader will remain under detention until November 19, 2024. The extension aims to prevent tampering with evidence. The court has also imposed restrictions on the defendant’s mail and visitation.

Born Cho Lucas Ayaba on August 11, 1972, the separatist leader was arrested by Norwegian police on September 25 in Oslo, where he resides. His arrest followed a complaint filed by Cameroonian-born US lawyer Emmanuel Nsahlai. Ayaba Cho and other separatist leaders command armed groups in these regions, fighting for the creation of an independent state named “Ambazonia.”

 Ayaba Cho faces charges of incitement to crimes against humanity under the Norwegian Penal Code. The court found reasonable grounds for suspicion, citing his public statements that allegedly encourage attacks on those perceived as opponents of the Ambazonian independence movement.

Ayaba Cho’s statements are viewed as incitement to a “widespread or systematic attack” against civilians, including acts of murder, kidnapping, and persecution. The Norwegian judiciary referenced reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documenting attacks on civilians, teachers, and students by separatist groups.

Under the Norwegian Penal Code, Ayaba Cho could face severe penalties, including long-term imprisonment. According to Article 108 of the Penal Code, penalties for incitement to crimes against humanity can reach up to 21 years in prison.

Source: Sbbc

At least three people were killed in a landslide in West region on Tuesday, according to Governor Augustine Fonka Awa.

Heavy rains triggered a landslide at a steep hill at La Falaise locality in Dschang town of the region, blocking road access. The authorities deployed excavators to reopen the closed roads, but a subsequent landslide buried emergency workers and vehicles that were waiting for the road to be cleared, Awa told reporters Tuesday evening.

“Three passenger buses, motorcycles and vehicles that were working on the site were buried in the debris. At the moment three corpses have been extracted. Rescue workers are still searching for missing people in the rubble,” Awa said.

The highway which links the commercial hub of Douala to the West region is temporarily closed.

Source: Xinhaunet