News

24, April 2017

Francophone trial of Moderator Fonki Samuel Forba postponed until June 5th ⁰

Initially scheduled for today Monday the 24^th of April 2017 at the Buea Court of First Instance in the Southwest region, the trial of the Right Reverend Fonki Samuel Forba, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon has been postponed to Monday, June 5th.

In a communiqué dated 21 April 2017 and signed by Beatrice Nambangi, the President of the Buea Court of First Instance, the magistrate indicated that Reverend Fonki Samuel of the Presbyterian Churche in Cameroon should not appear in court as earlier announced. Beatrice Nambangi did not give any reason for the adjournment.

As a reminder, the Moderator including the Roman Catholic Bishops of the Bamenda ecclesiastical province have been accused by a group calling itself the Consortium of Parents of having cashed the tuition fees for the 2016/17 School year that is drawing to a close without dispensing classes and keeping the doors of their institutions closed thus encouraged the crisis that has paralyzed the English-speaking regions since November 2016.

Moreover, retired Colonel Tamambang Nche, one of the parents mentioned in the direct citation as authors of the complaint, denied his involvement. He observed that it may be a confusion of identity or a usurpation of title.

By Sama Ernest

Cameroon Concord News

24, April 2017

US cites piracy in Somalia for new focus on Africa ⁰

The commander of the US Africa Command cites fight with Somalia’s piracy during a visit by the Pentagon chief. US Marine General Thomas Waldhauser made the remarks alongside Defense Secretary Jim Mattis during a press conference in Djibouti, a tiny African country at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, which makes it ideal for US military operations in Somalia as well as Yemen.

Waldhauser made the comments amid reports of an increase in piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia, considered an international threat since the early 2000s. “The bottom line is there have been a half dozen or so (incidents),” Waldhauser.”We’re not ready to say there is a trend there yet but we’ll continue to watch.”

US Defense Secretary James Mattis (2ndL) and US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Mark Boulware (C) are greeted by US Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser (2ndR) as they arrive at Camp Lemonnier in Ambouli, Djibouti, on April 23, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Two ships have been captured this month and a third rescued by Indian and Chinese forces. The attacks peaked to 237 in 2011 but decreased afterwards. Famine and drought in the region is behind the alleged new rise in the attacks, according to the US Africa Command chief.

Over 20 million people from Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are at risk of death from starvation, according to UN World Food Program. The Pentagon chief said, however, that he did not expect the US forces to respond to piracy rise off the coast of Somalia.

Source: Presstv

23, April 2017

French Cameroun: CPDM-style scandal rocks the Ministry of Scientific Research ⁰

Another CPDM-style scandal has rocked the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. In this new Francophone scandal, two lists were released and reportedly signed by the Minister. The first list was published on the 18^th of January 2017 and the second on the 10^th of April. Both lists have different names of successful candidates recruited to join the work force of the ministry.

On April 10, 2017 Madeleine Tchuente, the Minister of Scientific Research made public a list of 220 researchers recruited in her ministerial department for the fiscal year 2016. The Francophone Minister said her department no longer recognized the first list she herself had published on the 18^th of January 2017 by joint decree MINFOPRA (Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform ed.) and the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation, MINRESI, for the same purpose.

Cameroon Concord News understands that Madeleine Tchuente’s new list contains twelve new names while thirteen others were removed from the first list. The names of Hassan Mahamat, Tchoudjin Gertrude Loveline and Wanko Kebebou Jean Olivier that appeared in the first of 39 recruits from the Agricultural Research Institute for Development (IRAD) have disappeared from the second. In addition, the names of Ngo Béa Cornelie Raphaëlle and Yebga Matip Guy Albert appeared on the waiting list when they were not listed in the first document published on the 18^th of January.

Some of the new names on the new list have contradictory information on their diplomas and other documents of identification. In many of the cases, the ages had exceeded the required limit by the Cameroon public service law. Our Yaounde city reporter, who contributed to this report, hinted that the first list was jointly signed by the Minister of Scientific Research and the Minister of Public Service while the second list carried only the signature of the Minister of Scientific Research.

The head of the communication cell at the Ministry of Research blatantly refused to comment on the matter. Paul Zébazé told newsmen to go directly to the minister. However, another official of the same ministerial department revealed that Minister Madeleine Tchuente was simply implementing the policy of regional balance.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Cameroon Concord News Group

22, April 2017

One million displaced in DR Congo’s Kasai due to violence ⁰

Deadly violence between government forces and tribal militias in DR Congo’s central Kasai region has forced more than a million people from their homes over the past eight months, the UN said Friday. The fighting erupted after government troops last August killed tribal chief Jean Pierre Mpandi, also known as Kamwina Nsapu, who had launched an uprising against President Joseph Kabila.

Yvon Edoumou of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had registered 1.09 million internally displaced people in the region as of April 1. Violence in other areas of the country, including the North and South Kivu provinces, has forced an additional two million to flee their homes, he told AFP.

“These people are mainly fleeing clashes between the FARDC (DR Congo’s armed forces) and armed groups, or between armed groups,” he said, adding that about 40 local and international aid groups were helping to cope with the crisis.

The UN has accused the Nsapu rebellion of using child soldiers and committing several atrocities, while also denouncing the disproportionate use of force by the military. The UN has reported finding 40 mass graves in the Kasai region, and the bodies of two UN researchers investigating the violence were found in a grave 16 days after they were abducted last month.

Presstv

22, April 2017

Southern Cameroons: UN Special Representative calls on Biya to promote dialogue and appeasement ⁰

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General has reacted to the Biya decision to order the restoration of internet in Southern Cameroons. A statement from the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) said Mr. François Louncény Fall, has learnt of the decision by the 84 year old dictator instructing that internet services be fully restored in West Cameroon.

The Special Representative welcomed the measure and hope that the decision will go a long way to help reduce tension and to create conditions conducive for the resolution of the Anglophone crisis.

The Head of UNOCA called on the Biya Francophone government to continue to promote appeasement and dialogue, and to take all other appropriate measures for a speedy and lasting resolution of the crisis in order to strengthen unity, stability and prosperity in the region.

By Fru James

Cameroon Concord News Group

21, April 2017

Southern Cameroons: Biya will release Agbor Balla, Neba Fontem soon ⁰

President Paul Biya has ordered the restoration of internet services to the crisis-hit North West and South West regions in a move widely seen as a step towards unlocking the Anglophone crisis deadlock.

The presidential instructions given on Thursday April 20, 2017 come 93 days after the regions were deprived of what the U.N. calls an important tool for development, communication and collective development. The government ordered the disconnection of internet services to the region in January protests by the minority English speakers over alleged marginalisation by majority French speaking Yaounde regime.

Besides the internet freeze, the government arrested leaders of the now outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) which has been coordinating the teachers and lawyers’ strike that spiraled into violence. CACSC president, Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla and secretary-general, Dr Fontem Neba as well as Mancho Bibixy are now facing a death sentence at the Yaounde military court on charges of terrorism.

About 100 other detainees including opposition political leaders and journalists arrested in relation to the crisis are yet to be charged. The government has been under heavy pressure from the national and international community to restore the internet and release all detainees of the crisis for dialogue to take its course. During a four-day official visit to the country recently, the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General for Central Africa, François Louncény Fall urged government to restore the internet and release all detainees of the crisis.

The U.N envoy told a press conference in Yaounde last week that he had “fruitful and hopeful” exchanges with all the stakeholders in the crisis. He said he met with Government officials, members of civil society, opposition leaders, members of the diplomatic corps and the UN system as well as people arrested and detained in connection with the situation in the North West and South West, including Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla and radio broadcaster Mancho Bibixy. Like the restoration of the internet, observers say President Biya could also order the release of all detainees of the crisis in the coming days.

Source: Cameroun Info.Net

21, April 2017

Biya’s King of the Castle: Inside Antoine Félix Samba ⁰

The images of the home of Antoine Félix Samba have been buzzing on the web for several days now. Internet users think the luxury of his castle is outrageous for a Cameroonian civil servant with 27 years experience. A lot of tongues have been wagging about illicit enrichment, because until March 2017, Antoine Félix Samba was the Director General of the Budget at the Ministry of Finance.

Currently, he holds the position of Inspector General in the same ministry. According to his biography published by the Ministry of Finance, in 1999, he was appointed Director of General Affairs at the Ministry of Transport. Four years later, he was promoted to Technical Adviser n ° 2 in 2005 within the same ministry. He later became Director of Corporate Affairs at the Ministry of Mines and Mayor of Minta before assuming his current duties. Antoine Félix Samba is Knight of the National Order of Valor.

Antoine Félix Samba was born in 1961 and is a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC). He has had quite an ordinary public service career, which does not permit him to own such an expensive castle. Prior to joining the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), at the age of 24, he was head of the accounting office of the Cameroon Press and Publishing Company (SOPECAM) Then Chief Financial Officer and Accountant.

He held his first post as an official in the Ministry of Public Service upon graduating from ENAM in 1989 devoted to the processing of integration files in the personnel sub-directorate. In 1990, he was assigned to the Secretariat of State for Internal Security, currently General Delegation for National Security (DGSN). His kinsmen now say he has also been an entrepreneur with the agricultural fiber, which help him to develop large farms in Minta, his home town in the department of the Upper Sanaga, Central region.

By Sama Ernest

Cameroon Concord News

21, April 2017

What effects did internet sanctions have on Southern Cameroons ⁰

The Biya Francophone regime now has the record for the longest Internet shut down on the African continent. Southern Cameroonians were deprived of internet for 93 days following a decision by the Yaoundé regime on the 17^th of January 2017. The Francophone political elites wanted to prevent the circulation of images showing army and police brutality against lawyers and students in the Anglophone section of the country demonstrating since November 2016.

The 84 year old butcher of Yaoundé lifted the internet ban on Thursday the 20th of April 2017 after fingers were raised in the United Nations, Internet Without Borders including an action from the famous American computer scientist, Edward Snowden. The decision to shut down the internet demonstrated a frightful and unloving attitude towards the Anglophone community who are now seeking an independent state of Southern Cameroons.

The disconnection caused enormous disturbances and pains and will of course have far reaching political consequences for Cameroon as a nation. Anglophones clustered on the Moungo Bridge because at that point smart phones were able to connect to internet signals that came from French Cameroon. The same situation was visible at Mbounda in the West region.

Economically, the losses have been enormous and companies based in these two regions of the country have been completely and totally destroyed. “We came back to the Stone Age. In the absence of the connection, we were obliged to physically transport our data on CD or USB stick. One of the executives of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) lamented.

The banks whose servers were mostly installed in Douala and Yaoundé were the most hit. Some of them did introduce new procedures including the use of the telephone while others invested in the acquisition of V-Sat- a means of satellite communication. So many young start ups including Silicon Mountain all witnessed three months of inactivity.

The inevitable decline in business turnover has also inevitably impacted on the taxation department. These large contributors to the Yaoundé regime’s budgetary revenues had paid CFAF 617 billion of taxes and duties over the period 2010-2014. With the introduction of a new tax on telephone communications and internet services in 2016, the government was planning to increase this pool. The poor handling of the Anglophone crisis and the internet shut down is likely to thwart these expectations.

By Rita Akana and Fru James

Cameroon Concord News

20, April 2017

Cameroon to restore internet services cut off in Southern Cameroons ⁰

The 84 year Cameroonian dictator, Paul Biya has instructed the Francophone Minister of Post and Telecommunications to restore internet services to predominantly English-speaking parts of the country which were cut off in an appalling violation of Anglophone right to freedom of expression.

Biya made the decision following pressure from the United Nations and other international bodies. Cameroonians in the northwest and southwest regions, which are predominantly English speaking, have been unable to connect to the internet since 17 January amid widespread protests against the Francophone government policies which have reportedly marginalized the country’s English-speaking population.

Southern Cameroonians have long reported that they face discrimination and marginalization and are excluded from top civil service positions and public services. They also complain their access to justice is limited because the majority of legislation and judicial proceedings are in French. A network shutdown of the Southern Cameroons scale violated international law.

By Chi Prudence Asong

20, April 2017

UN investigators unearth 17 mass graves in Congo ⁰

The United Nations says its investigators have discovered 17 mass graves in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo, increasing the number to 40 documented in an area that witnessed clashes between the army and a local militia. The UN said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the graves were reportedly dug by Congolese army after fighting with Kamuina Nsapu militia in Kasai Central province in late March.

“At least 74 people, including 30 children, were reported to have been killed by soldiers as a result of these clashes,” the statement added. The government has not commented on the report, but it has previously rejected the notion that soldiers have used disproportionate force against militia fighters and claimed the militia had dug the sites.

The Kamuina Nsapu uprising has become the most serious threat to President Joseph Kabila, whose refusal to step down following a defeat in the latest polls stoked chaos in the vast central African country. Kabila’s presidential term expired on December 19, 2016, but ruling officials have effectively prolonged his mandate until 2018, claiming that the government would not be able to arrange elections before then.

The government of Kabila reportedly reached an agreement with opposition parties to end the political crisis in the country over his decision to stay in power. Under the accord struck on December 30, 2016, by political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabila will leave office following elections due to be held by the end of 2017. The fighting between Congolese troops and militia has escalated after government forces killed their chief tribal leader, Kamuina Nsapu, in late August 2016. More than 400 people have been killed since then.

Source: Presstv