15, May 2024
Moja Moja: The Chief of Bwassa village and BIR serviceman trying to escape Biya’s bullets 0
John Ewume Eko is the pro Biya traditional ruler known as Chief Moja Moja who reportedly became a prominent member of Cameroon’s elite force the Rapid Intervention Battalion-BIR in Buea.
On May 7, 2024, Chief Moja Moja made public a video on social media and claimed that some top military barons in the nation’s capital Yaoundé had contacted him to be part of a coup against Biya.
Moja Moja was never a military tactician. He was never respected by any Cameroonian in and out of power. So, when his power deep within the Fako constituency crumbled like a pack of cards recently over a fake coup revelation on social media, the man who had killed dozens of innocent English speaking Cameroonians and was seen as a star officer and star traditional ruler of the finest Biya Francophone tradition, was arrested as he attempted to escape to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Moja Moja has now been moved from Buea to the Secretariat for Defense in Yaoundé and he will eventually face a public trial over the alleged coup plot.
Moja Moja is only 41 and described by many as a young man with a criminal mindset who never had a great career in the military but took advantage of the war in Southern Cameroons and made himself relevant to the ruling CPDM crime syndicate in Yaoundé whose policies are driven purely on incompetence.
His Royal Highness Chief Moja Moja announced a phantom coup which led to his arrest and the matter promises to be hot.
We of the Concord Group gathered that five other acolytes of Moja Moja have also been arrested.
Moja Moja has now come to understand that he was dealing with a regime headed by a man drunk on autocracy. He is now in Biya’s drag-net.
Moja Moja with the support of BIR elements reportedly carried out several raids on the Buea University Campus and in Molyko stressing that his action was in support of a one and indivisible Cameroon.
Today, the regime in Yaoundé is accusing him of being the initiator, coordinator and executor of the so-called coup.
By Rita Akana
29, May 2024
Military coups: Yaoundé hosting Francophone lawmakers 0
Francophone lawmakers from about 30 African states are meeting in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, to find a solution to the political instability in French-speaking African nations — including a string of recent coups, security threats and popular discontent. The lawmakers say among the solutions to the growing crisis are dialogue, a return to democratic principles and an end to foreign influence.
The 150 lawmakers, members of the African region of the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie, or APF, say many Francophone African countries have suffered deep political and economic instability and security threats.
Within the past four years several former French colonies in which France continued to wield political influence experienced military coups or takeovers, including Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Gabon and Chad.
The group says besides military takeovers French-speaking African states also have a record of long serving leaders.
Cameroon President Paul Biya has ruled for 41 years. Theodoro Obiang Nguema from neighboring Equatorial Guinea has been in power for about 45 years and Denis Sassou Nguesso has ruled the Republic of Congo for 38 years. Nguesso first came to power in 1979 and served until the 1992 election when he finished third. He took power again as a militia leader after a four-month civil war in 1997 and has been president since then.
Canada-born Francis Drouin is the president of the Parliamentary Association of the Francophonie.
Speaking in Yaounde on Wednesday, Drouin said young people in French-speaking African countries complain that political instability remains high, and civilians are disgruntled because their freedoms are suffocated by long serving leaders and military governments. He said poverty, the absence of democracy and security threats plunge civilians into suffering and misery.
Drouin says the region’s youths yearn for the freedom to participate in decision-making.
Lawmakers attending the conference said Senegal distinguishes itself as an example of democracy after the country’s March 24 presidential elections, in which incumbent President Macky Sall was defeated by 40-year-old Bassirou Faye, whom the lawmakers say is a young man with new perspectives.
The lawmakers say France’s influence on its former African colonies is a source of concern among young leaders who want to take control of their national issues.
Djelassem Donangmbaye Felix is a political analyst and coordinator of A New Day, one of Chad’s opposition political parties. He is critical of the presence of French troops in former French colonies. He spoke to VOA via a messaging app from Chad’s capital N’djamena Wednesday.
Djelassem said French troops present in Africa either protect leaders loyal to France or destabilize governments that stand against France’s overbearing influence. He said that is the reason Chad’s opposition and civil society in December 2023 asked France to immediately withdraw troops who arrived in the central African state after being ordered to depart neighboring Niger by that country’s military junta.
Niger officials accuse France of failing to resolve the security crisis that has killed thousands and displaced millions across Niger.
Djelassem said French troops stationed in Chad have never assisted Chad’s government to fight armed groups and rebels destabilizing the central African state.
France has not responded to the accusation. But in March, Jean-Marie Bockel, French President Emmanuel Macron’s envoy for Africa, said after a meeting with Chad’s President that France will keep its troops in Chad. He said the troops will assist in fighting jihadists in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Angola and Sao Tome and Principe are attending the conference as observers. The lawmakers say permanent dialogue with military leaders and long serving rulers can pave the way for improved political, economic, social and cultural lives in French- speaking African countries.
Source: VOA