News

6, June 2017

EU will give 50mn euros to fund African force in Sahel ⁰

The European Union says it plans to spend 50 million euros to finance the establishment of a joint African military force in the Sahel region with the declared aim of fighting terrorism, among other threats.

Announcing the bid in Mali’s capital of Bamako on Monday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says the bloc asserted that the funding will help pay for the troops battle illegal immigration, cross-border crime and militant activity.

“Stability and development of the Sahel region are crucial not only for Africa but also for Europe,” said the EU’s top diplomat, noting that “this contribution will arrive very quickly and I hope (it) will set out the right path to other partners of the Sahel G5.”

The military force will be made up of troops from Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Niger, known as the Sahel G-5. The group approved plans in March to build a contingent of 5,000 members made up of soldiers, police officers as well as civilians.

However, Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop stated on Monday that leaders of the five nations had decided the new force would consist of up to 10,000 soldiers and police officers and become operational by the end of the year.

“The heads of state of the Sahel G5 who met in Riyadh, [Saudi Arabia] just a few weeks ago decided to bring the number from 5,000 men to 10,000 men. This really shows their engagement because this is a vast area,” Diop declared.

Neither Mogherini nor Diop, however, elaborated on the role of the Saudi kingdom in the establishment of the African military force.

The initial decision to establish the G5 Sahel force in the semi-arid region south of the Sahara was made in November 2015, during a summit in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena.

French President Emmanuel Macron (2R) poses with French troops during his visit to the France’s Barkhane counter-terrorism operation in Africa’s Sahel region in Gao, northern Mali, on May 19, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

More than 3,000 French military forces as well as 12,000 UN troops have been engaged in Mali – a former French colony — since 2013, when al-Qaeda-linked elements and Tuareg militants waged an insurgency in the north of the country.

Although the militants were largely driven out by a French-led military operation in January 2013, they continue to wage attacks on the country’s military forces in the arid remote north.

Since 2015, the attacks have spread to the center and south of the impoverished nation, often spilling over into neighboring countries, including Burkina Faso and Niger.

Source: Presstv

5, June 2017

Bishop Jean Marie Beniot search team compensated with fufu and eru meal and a bottle of beer ⁰

The members of the fishing community who were called to help in the search for the remains of the late Bishop of Bafia, His Lordship Jean Marie Beniot Balla say they have been forgotten by the CPDM regime. To be sure, the body of the late prelate was found dead on May the 2^nd, an autopsy conducted and the corps handed over to the Roman Catholic Church and family.

To find the missing prelate on May 31, 2017, fourteen local divers were recruited by the CPDM leadership in Ebebda. Once the body was discovered, the divers in a typical CPDM pattern were abandoned by the administrative authorities, who had promised them some form of compensation.

For three days, the divers left their families to try to find the bishop and today no one is looking at them. The so-called Anglophone governor of the Central region and the political elites of Bafia have all left and the divers do not know who to confront.

For 72 hours, these men actively participated in the search for the late Man of God but promises made to them have not been kept. The mayor of Ebebda, Syrinus Awono, had assured the divers from the beginning of this story that President Biya had put everything at his disposal so that the search operation was well conducted. Unfortunately, at the end of the operation, the mayor only gave the divers a fufu and eru meal worth 500 FCFA and a bottle of beer.

By Rita Akana

Cameroon Concord News

5, June 2017

Barrister Ben Muna says Anglophones can only have federation Not independence ⁰

The lead counsel for the detained leaders of the Cameron Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, Ben Muna has said that the much talk about independence of Southern Cameroon is not realistic and cannot be achieved even after 100 years.

Barrister Bernard Muna in an exclusive interview with The Guardian Post Newspaper said independence can only be obtained if the people of former Southern Cameroon wage war against La Republique but he quickly says that cannot happen because they lack weapons, army and resources.

According to Barrister Bernard Muna, only Federalism can be achieved and can only be gotten if the testis of the Biya regime is held firmly. He also said there could be a court decision Wednesday June 7, 2017 which will see leaders of the Consortium released bu the said, “ I urge the court not to follow the logic of military prosecutor who seems to be saying that bail might be granted only to Agbor Balla and Dr Fontem. All 28 accused persons should be treated equally especially as they are being tried jointly.”

But Barrister Ben Muna said anybody who does not want the two leaders to accept conditional bail until all others are released is just using them as fodder to achieve their own ambitions.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

5, June 2017

Discontented soldiers stage revolt in Maroua ⁰

Two years after the revolt staged by a regiment of the Cameroonian army who served with the UN in the Central African Republic over unpaid bonuses, Cameroon Concord News has gathered that a regiment of the Rapid Intervention Battalion combating the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram in the Far North region started a massive anti government demonstration on Saturday 03 June 2017.

Our source in Maroua hinted that the soldiers blocked the Kousséri-Maroua road and were heard complaining about their conditions and firing shots in the air. Many people had to escape the scene. We have not been able to confirm the number of soldiers who participated in the revolt. However what we do know is that the troops barricaded the road for a little while but were brought back to the barracks by the high command.

The situation is reportedly calm and a statement is expected soon from Colonel Didier Badjeck, the Head of the Communication Division of the Ministry of Defense. The incident prompted Joseph Beti Assomo, the Minister of Defense who was out of the country to return on Sunday, June 04, 2017.

By Rita Akana

Cameroon Concord News

4, June 2017

11 killed as two bombers attack refugee camp in Cameroon ⁰

Authorities in northern Cameroon say two girl bombers have attacked a camp for those displaced by Boko Haram violence, leaving 11 people dead.

The dead included the young bombers, who detonated their explosives at the camp in Kolofata, said Gov. Midjiyawa Bakari of the Far North region. Several dozen others were wounded, the governor added.

Authorities believed the girls had entered Cameroon the night before from neighboring Nigeria, where Boko Haram has killed more than 20,000 people in its eight-year insurgency that has spread into neighboring countries.

Northern Cameroon has seen a rise in such attacks, with some towns targeted repeatedly.

In this file photo, Cameroonian soldiers stand guard at a lookout post as they take part in operations against Boko Haram near the village of Fotokol, Cameroon. (Photo by AP)

In January 2016, two female bombers attacked a mosque in Kolofata, killing at least 10 people. In September 2015, bombers killed nine people there.

Boko Haram is known for kidnapping girls and using children to carry out bomb attacks. In April, the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) said at least 117 attacks had been carried out by youth in the Lake Chad basin region since 2014, with nearly 80 percent of the bombs strapped to girls. They are sometimes drugged before missions.

The Takfiri terrorist group two years ago began attacking in neighboring countries that have supported the Nigerian military’s efforts to counter it. A multinational force is now active in the region.

In December 2016, Nigeria declared that Boko Haram had been “crushed” after the military cleared out its strongholds, but attacks have continued.

UNICEF on Friday said Cameroon had been hosting 96,000 registered Nigerian refugees since mid-May, but many were returning. More than 12,000 went back last month.

Many, however, are sleeping in the open just inside the border as “most returnees are still unable to travel onwards to their home villages, where security remains uncertain,” the agency said.

(Source: AP)

3, June 2017

Bishop of Bafia on his last journey home ⁰

The anxiety and consternation that marked the long search for the Bishop of Bafia has given way to sorrow and mourning. The Bishop’s lifeless body has been taken to the Yaoundé General Hospital Mortuary under tight security. The convoy that accompanied the deceased body from Ebebda arrived Yaoundé at about 1:11 pm amidst crowds that had assembled along the itinerary from Emana, through Etoudi, Santa Babara to the mortuary.

The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam and the Governor of the Centre Region, Naseri Paul Bea were part of the accompanying officials. The Governor said an autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death before the corpse will be handed over to the church.

The corpse of the missing Bishop was found on the third day of search operations coordinated by the National Fire Brigade. The lifeless body of the Bishop was spotted at the river bed at about 7:30 am by a Fisherman, and finally pulled out of the Sanaga River at about 11:00 am by a team of local fishermen, officers of the Navy and the National Fire Brigade that had been engaged in the research for more than 48 hours.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Mgr Piorro Pioppo led special prayers at the river banks shortly after the corpse was brought out. After the prayer session, local traditional authorities perfumed customary rites. The body was spotted about 20 kilometers from the bridge at a portion of the river which is about one meter deep.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Mgr Piorro Pioppo, the President of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, Mgr Samuel Kleda, the Archbishop of Yaoundé, Mgr Jean Mbarga, the driver of late Bishop and his security personnel all identified the corpse.

He was wearing a black shirt, a black trousers and black sandals. Officials on the scene said the body did not have any signs of physical injuries probably laying to rest hypothesis of a physical assault. Investigations are now underway to determine the cause of drowning of the 58 year old Bishop.

Source: CRTV

3, June 2017

Man discovered dead in water at The Sanaga named as Bishop Balla ⁰

Jean Fils Ntamack, the Attorney General of the Court of Appeal in the Center region has announced the creation of a special inquiry into the death of His Lordship Bishop Balla of the Bafia Diocese. The Attorney General said the investigation will be conducted jointly by the Judicial Police and the Central Investigation Department of the National Gendarmerie.

The Bishop’s remains (seen here) were discovered by a Malian fisherman at a place known as Tsang in Monatele in the Lekie Division on Friday the 2^ndof June. Under the supervision of the Attorney-General, the investigation will be carried out under the authority of state prosecutors from courts in Bafia, in the Mbam-et-Inoubou, and Monatélé in the Lékié Divisions where the body of the bishop was recovered. Mbam-et-Inoubou and Lékié are two of the ten divisions of the Center region.

The late Bishop disappeared on the night of May 30, 2017 and his body was found lifeless on June 2nd off the Sanaga River after a traditional ceremony led by the patriarch of Mbam who pleaded to his ancestors for the Bishop’s body to be made available to the living. For almost 72 hours, efforts made by sea divers from the Cameroonian Navy and local fishing community proved futile.

Many now say it was after the ritual performed by the patriarch that a Malian fisherman on his canoe saw the body. Local residents then alerted security forces, who formally identified the body as that of Jean Marie Benoit Bala, who was until Tuesday night, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bafia.

By Chi Prudence Asong

2, June 2017

Statement on Biya regime’s steps to ensure a full investigation of Bishop Balla’s death ⁰

The Attorney General of the Court of Appeal in the Center region has reportedly instructed the Directorate of the Judicial Police and the Central Investigation Department of the gendarmerie to carry out an investigation into the death of Bishop Jean Benoit Balla.

The Biya Francophone regime in a statement issued on Friday said it was treating the death as “suspicious”. The CPDM investigation will be carried out jointly by the Directorate of the Judicial Police and the Central Judicial Research Service of the National Gendarmerie. Cameroon Concord News gathered that the two services have been placed under the authority of state prosecutors in the courts in Bafia and Monatélé and will be under the direct supervision of the Attorney General of the Court of Appeal in the Center region.

The government statement was published shortly after the discovery of the body of the prelate who has been missing for more than 48 hours. Our senior political commentator said it is now evident that no one is safe in Cameroon. His Lordship Bishop Balla died at the age of 58.

By Rita Akana

Cameroon Concord News

1, June 2017

Bakweri Politics in the US: Who will emerge victorious? ⁰

All roads will lead to Houston for the next Fako America Election Convention on Saturday June 24th 2017. The event will bring together Fako elites based in the US in a traditional and cultural forum that started some three decades ago. Top on the agenda will be the election of a President and his executives to run the affairs of the well over 1000 Fako citizens resident in US.

According to one of the most talked about candidate for the post of President Mola Nathaniel Mosaso, contenders are allowed to campaign for their posts by telling the electorate their manifesto. He told Cameroon Concord News that, the post of President has to do with the concern of not only Fakos in America, but mostly developmental issues back home.

On why he is vying for such a prestigious and challenging post, Mosaso said it is because he believes he has the potentials and credibility to be the leader of Fako citizens in the US. He mentioned during our conversation with him that, he had been carrying out projects back in Cameroon precisely at Bwassa in Likombe in Buea Sub Division. More of such projects to alleviate poverty and uplift the living condition of the underprivileged Fako people are among his executives’ modus operandi, should he and his team be voted into office, Mosaso reiterated

Asked if he can be entrusted with his people’s hard earned money, Mosaso responded with confidence that his government would be as transparent as water in a glass. Another contender for an executive post is the fire spitting Mme Agnes Nduma Mbwaye who revealed recently that, the campaign has two camps as there are two contenders vying for the post of President. She disclosed that Mola Billy Esele will be contesting the elections.

Attempts at getting Mola Billy Esele one of the prominent presidential challengers to talk to us proved abortive. It is worthy to know that other contenders for various posts in the next executive include Mota Muenya, Senator Ajalah Allotey, Iya Dada Lyonga, Iya Mamua Mbua, Iya Hannah Lemeh Likambi . The outgoing President Chief Esuka Endeley has called on his kindred to exercise caution and respect for all during this period of campaign. Meanwhile tension is mounting as the electorate are brazing up for the jamboree.

By Tina Nene Nganda

31, May 2017

Bishop of Bafia commits suicide: We need to talk about Cameroonian Roman Catholic Bishops and priests ⁰

Bishop Jean-Marie Balla, has reportedly killed himself under a bridge at Ebebda some 78Km from the nation’s capital Yaoundé. The prelate’s car and a statement left by him saying “I am in the water” suggest that the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bafia would have committed suicide. Bishop Jean Marie Benoît Bala was appointed Bishop of the Bafia diocese with a Christian population of over two hundred thousand in 2003.

Jean Marie Benoît Bala was born May 1959 in Oweng Mbalmayo. He is originally from Mbankomo in the Mefou-Akono Division (Central Province). In addition to studies in philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary at Nkolbisson, he holds a diploma in Social Sciences and Management from the Catholic Institute of Yaoundé. He was ordained priest in 1987 by the late Arch Bishop Jean Zoa.

The vehicle of the Bishop of Bafia was found on the 31st of May 2017 beside a bridge at Ebebda, a small locality in the department of Lekié, Central region. According to the Senior Divisional Officer for Mban and Inoubou, Maurice Tchoffo, it is difficult at the moment to know what really happened to the Man of God. Indeed, the prelate’s personal documents were found in his vehicle, as well as a piece of paper containing the inscription “I am in the water” suggesting that he had indeed committed suicide. Bishop Benoît Balla, 58, to many around the world has committed sacrilege that will hunt the Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon forever.

The recovery of our nation from the ruling CPDM crime syndicate, if it is to happen, will require confident and reasonably clean religious leaders not priests who can’t keep their hands off teenage girls or other men’s wives, or whose bishops are unable or unwilling to deal with them. The sudden disappearance of Bishop Balla is an indication that our secular leaders have abandoned the outer defenses of our nation and civilization. Bishop Benoit Balla is among those Cameroonian priests who likely failed in the last stand at the inner defenses and was tolerated by the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy for too long.

It is hard to say at this point but the death by suicide of His Lordship Bishop Balla has stunned many people around the world. He is the first Cameroonian Roman Catholic Bishop to take his own life. Cameroonians are understandably shocked by the particular circumstances of the tragedy. But when the dust settles around the death of Bishop Balla, and his brother- Francophone Cameroun bishops and parishioners begin to pick up the pieces, it’s vital that some good can be brought out of this tragedy. We of Cameroon Intelligence Report believe and fervently too that there is a danger that when the shock dies down, we all get back to business as usual and there is no discussion about the wider questions.

We need to talk about the Cameroonian Roman Catholic Bishops and priests be they Anglophones or Francophones. This is not the suicide of one Christian whose wife dumped him for a pastor which would be statistically irrelevant. It is not even the suicide of two or three Anglophone priests which may find more correlation with the seven months old Southern Cameroon crisis. We are talking here about the suicide of a Roman Catholic Bishop in Cameroon in very shameful and disgusting circumstances.

A core Roman Catholic teaching which often emphasizes the rewards that come with good works or the punishment that comes with sin has been rubbished by Bishop Balla of the Bafia Diocese. So, God’s grace cannot be earned through good deeds if a Bishop who understands the Roman Catholic strictness of the teachings on suicide and how those teachings become internalized among Catholics could afford to end this way.

The end of Bishop Balla has also called into question the act of regularly confessing sins to a Catholic priest. It was generally thought that since suicide is the only sin that could never be confessed to a priest, a Catholic who finds confession important to avoiding Hell may be less inclined to commit suicide. (We will come back to this aspect later).

Roman Catholic teaching on suicide is clear. As set out in Blessed John Paul II’s Evangelium Vitae (#66): Suicide is always as morally objectionable as murder. The Church’s tradition has always rejected it as a gravely evil choice. Even though a certain psychological, cultural and social conditioning may induce a person to carry out an action which so radically contradicts the innate inclination to life, thus lessening or removing subjective responsibility, suicide, when viewed objectively, is a gravely immoral act. In fact, it involves the rejection of love of self and the renunciation of the obligation of justice and charity towards one’s neighbour, towards the communities to which one belongs, and towards society as a whole. In its deepest reality, suicide represents a rejection of God’s absolute sovereignty over life and death, as proclaimed in the prayer of the ancient sage of Israel: “You have power over life and death; you lead men down to the gates of Hades and back again” (Wis 16:13; cf. Tob 13:2).

Suicide is indeed a mortal sin. If it be not only ‘as morally objectionable as murder’, but ‘always’ so, it is difficult to understand how it might be forgiven before the Throne of Judgment. It is right to say that Bishop Balla of the Bafia Diocese who committed suicide may not possess an informed intellect (ie know that suicide is wrong); and he may not have given full consent of the will (ie intended to commit the action). If he killed himself out of fear or psychological imbalance or emotional stress, there cannot be full consent since these impede the exercise of the will and mitigate responsibility. The Catechism states: ‘Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide’ (#2282).

But in this Bishop Balla suicide there is something which ought to alarm the Roman Catholic Church at the very highest level-the strong ties between the Francophone Roman Catholic Bishops and the barons of the ruling CPDM government.

All suicide is tragedy. So, yes, we need to talk about Bishop Balla. But let us not do so apart from institutional systems, outdated dogma and overbearing hierarchy. The suicide may as well be an act staged by hired security agents from the state or from abroad.