Politics

17, February 2025

Why is Biya seeking re-election? ⁰

Many Cameroonians thought that after 42 years in power and following the crash of his reputation both at home and abroad, Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, will no longer run for the presidency, and especially as his health has become a cause for concern.

Biya has reigned over his country for decades and during his time in power, a lot has gone wrong with a country once considered as an earthly paradise by many. The country’s economy has collapsed, the country’s youths are frustrated and depressed, and unemployment in the country has reached record levels.

Despite Mr. Biya’s dismal performance over the last four decades, militants of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement are still pushing for their chairman to seek re-election to extend President Biya’s term after forty long and frustrating years in power.

In today’s editorial meeting in London, the Cameroon Concord News Group Paris bureau chief jokingly said that Mr. Biya needed a 7-year extension because he was looking forward to addressing a few things before leaving power at the age of 100 years.

Biya’s candidacy in the upcoming October presidential election, he said, was justified, adding that the next 7-year term would make him president for life.

The October presidential election is already shrouded in uncertainty amid restrictions on free speech imposed by the country’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, to curb the spread of anti-Biya actions.

The 92-year-old Biya said in a recent address to Cameroonian youths that he wanted the election to go ahead to guarantee his continued stay in power, advising the country’s youths to shun propaganda and misinformation that might hurt them in the long run as if they are not already hurt.

The Francophone dominated Cameroon opposition has accused the out-of-touch regime of putting political gain ahead of national progress and development in its push for Biya to contest the election.

Biya and his ruling CPDM party control everything in Cameroon including the use of condoms but are short of declaring Cameroon a kingdom.

Two prominent CPDM officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Cameroon Concord News that Cameroon as a nation was on the brink and that if appropriate measures were not taken, the country would hit rock bottom in a few months.

“Biya is running because he is ashamed and his conscience is now judging him,” one of our sources in Yaoundé said, adding that “his 42-year reign has brought untold hardship to millions of Cameroonians who once saw Biya as a youthful and effective solution to the country’s problems.”

Biya, our source added, had disappointed many and that he completely out of touch with the country’s youths who are in the majority.

“There is a massive disconnect between Biya and the youths in Cameroon. We live in a world wherein technology is being leveraged to address socio-economic issues, but Biya and his people are stuck in the past. We hope if he gets the next seven years, he will be able to correct some of the mistakes he and his government have made over the last four decades,” the source concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

12, February 2025

CPDM Crime Syndicate: at 92, Biya seeking re-election after 42 years in power ⁰

President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, turns 92 years old on Thursday after more than four decades in power but remains tight-lipped on whether he will run for another term in elections this year.

Many people including the deeply divided opposition are in little doubt that the leader, who first won election in 1982, will stand for an eighth term in the October vote.

After highly contested elections in 2018, Biya further toughened his autocratic grip on power, with dissenting opinions firmly met with repression, arrests and prison terms, human rights activists say.

“The president has already said that he will make known whether or not he is a candidate in this election at the appropriate time,” government spokesman and Communication Minister Rene Emmanuel Sadi said last month.

Biya has refrained from picking a successor and the subject of who would replace him remains taboo.

“In the current context, even if he were lying on a stretcher, candidate Biya will be re-elected,” said former minister Garga Haman Adji in an interview with the daily Mutations in July.

Concerns about Biya’s health grew last year when he disappeared from public view for several weeks.

Persistent rumours prompted authorities to release a statement saying Biya was in Switzerland, where the leader has regularly spent long periods staying at luxury holiday resorts.

The government then formally banned local media from discussing the state of his health.

Since his return to the country on October 21, Biya’s public appearances have been limited — a few official photos at the presidential palace, a regional summit in the capital Yaounde and a handful of speeches broadcast on television.

As in previous election years, voices from across society are calling on him to again stand for office.

“My determination to serve you remains intact and is strengthened on a daily basis, given the scale of the challenges we face,” Biya said in his end-of-year address, welcoming a “massive support”.

In January, traditional leaders expressed their “total and unwavering” support. On Facebook, some supporters said Biya was “still strong” and can withstand two more terms.

– ‘Cries of distress’ –

Biya and his government are regularly accused by international human rights organisations of repressing opposition.

The long-serving president was re-elected for a seventh term seven years ago after a contested vote that sparked a wave of political repression.

Few openly call for him to relinquish power.

“In recent times, the anxieties of the vast majority of Cameroonians have increasingly transformed into cries of distress in the face of the misery they are experiencing and the degradation of our beautiful country,” Catholic bishops at an episcopal conference said.

They also criticised the “corruption”, unemployment and deadly violence that plagues parts of the country.

Since 2009, the far north of Cameroon has suffered attacks from Boko Haram jihadists and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

In the west of the country, a deadly conflict has pitted armed independence groups against security forces in two English-speaking regions since 2016.

Biya, for his part, praised in his last speech “the tremendous progress seen in recent years”.

In a hoarse, wheezy voice, he hinted at “the next electoral deadline” and called on young people “not to listen to the sirens of chaos that some irresponsible people are sounding”.

The government has not been reshuffled since January 2019 and the seats of four ministers who died in office are still vacant.

More than a dozen lawmakers — out of 180 — and five of the 100 senators have also not been replaced after their death.

Source: AFP

11, February 2025

Manyu Division: We must stop being our own worst enemy ⁰

There have been calls for Manyu unity as a first and important step for Manyu Division to make giant strides towards greater and better development.

While such calls are necessary, it appears that those calls have been falling on deaf ears. Manyu people have the nasty habit of fighting each other even when they are not competing for the same position and even when they understand that unity is strength.

Many Manyu people feel diminished when others get known and this unfortunate disease has not spared the Manyu political elite. Mudslinging, backbiting and gossiping have become the stock in trade of Manyu politicians and elites.

It is the Manyu man who will celebrate the most when his brother loses a job. It is the Manyu man who will throw a party when his own brother loses a political appointment. This is wrong! This attitude has never delivered any good results.

On the contrary, this nasty situation only sows the seeds of division, making it hard for Manyu to emerge from its own ashes like proverbial phoenix.

Manyu needs a different mindset. Manyu needs people who can make the people of Manyu to dream big. Our people are strapped to poverty and the pain is excruciating. We need to forge that unity of purpose which will put smiles on the faces of our people.

The people of Manyu Division do not need to be scared of each other. They are smart but they need to build confidence to ensure that they do not feel diminished when another son of Manyu has risen to the top.

Manyu sons and daughters must stop spreading false information about their own brothers. None of us can change the destiny of another person. Our politicians and elites must learn how to work together in order to bring benefits to Manyu Division.

Ministers, senators, and parliamentarians as well as mayors and councilors must know that the more united they are, the greater will be their bargaining strength. Working together is an idea whose time has come and it will be preposterous for anyone to be divisive.

Any Manyu son who is worth his salt must not feel diminished. Whether we like it or not, our stars, which were once rising, will stagnate and later head south.

There is always a time to rise and a time to fall. When the time to fall comes, we must seek to cushion the impact of the fall and this requires humility and transparency. Only your people can douse the pain when that fall happens.

We can never change the decisions of the gods. It is a simple principle of life. It does not make sense to dislike or sabotage someone just because he or she is emerging. Lies never take us far. The truth will always stand the test of time. Mudslinging is an old trick that has lost its beauty and steam. We must abandon it to embrace new ways. A word to the wise is enough.

Manyu is entering a very critical phase of its existence. Over the next five years, the Division’s political landscape will change tremendously. The old will be yielding the floor to the new through democratic means. Over the last five years, the Division has had very young parliamentarians and all of them are doing their best with the little resources available to them to address some of the problems which are besetting our Division.

The mayors and councilors of Manyu Division are getting younger and their perspective of life is different and attractive. They believe in development and are seeking funding from all the right places so as to address the issues which are retarding the progress of our Division.

These young mayors and parliamentarians need much support, especially from the Diaspora. The Diaspora has a huge role to play in our Division’s development and with many Manyu sons and daughters in the Diaspora, a lot of things can happen in a big and good way if the Diaspora can be persuaded that the money will be used for the purpose for which it is intended.

These mayors and parliamentarians will be facing reelection next year. They have Manyu at heart but they lack the resources to help change the destiny of their Division.

The people of Manyu should vote for these mayors and MPs who are doing their best. However, while in office, the elected officials should seek to build a bridge that will enable them to work with the Diaspora. The youthfulness of these elected officials is an asset and Manyu must make the most of that asset.

This is not the time for divisive politics. Any Manyu son who is spreading false news about another son of Manyu must be despised and disrespected. People who are worth their salt will never embrace negativity. Negativity is poison which can ruin a people and rob them of a bright future.

Talking about people in negative terms is a clear sign of inferiority complex and anybody who engages in that must be shunned as he is an enemy of progress.

Let us, the sons of Manyu, start thinking in positive terms if we have to walk away from the disunity and underdevelopment which have stalked us for decades like stubborn shadows. We must stop being our own worst enemy and we must know that times have changed and we are more intelligent today than our parents were. It is easy to see through our intentions just by the words we utter. Manyu needs new ways and not senseless noise which cannot create any positive impact in Manyu.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

10, February 2025

Biya, Ngute didn’t know minister Laurent Esso had travelled to India for treatment ⁰

Not many people within the ruling CPDM party are aware that even the most powerful men and women in Cameroon are still human beings with bodies and families who sometimes need to take time off, whether for medical reasons, personal matters, or just to recharge. But the Cameroonian people who rely on them still need to know where they are.

That’s the issue at hand with Justice Minister Laurent Esso who recently disappeared from the nation’s capital Yaoundé. Mr Esso reportedly left Yaoundé for Paris and later moved to India and was placed in intensive care. But the Cameroonian people were not informed until Cameroon Intelligence Report published an update on the minister— and, even more surprisingly, neither was Mr Esso’s ultimate boss, President Paul Biya.

That is shockingly disturbing mindful of Laurent Esso’s job as Minister for Justice and Keeper of the Seals, one whose command of the Cameroonian judiciary is second only to the president.

The Minister for Justice plays a crucial role in the chain of command in Cameroon. He controls solid aspects and areas of national security on a 24/7 basis. That’s an important function in a country. Laurent Esso is an important personality in a way that even some of the other cabinet ministers are not.

Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has still not commented on the where about of his Justice Minister who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in India. There are rumours that Biya is planning to get rid of him amid continuing demands for him to be interrogated on the journalist Martinez Zogo affair.

The Biya administration is already stretched trying to manage the crisis in Southern Cameroons, the reemergence of Boko Haram in the Far North and is facing a tough reelection battle in October. Laurent Esso’s absence from the country is apparently a national security own-goal that has come at a worse time for Biya and his ruling CPDM crime syndicate.

Esso has been Minister for Justice for more than three decades without a distinguished judicial career.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

28, January 2025

Southern Cameroons: Special Status Charade and Masquerade in Royal Regalia ⁰

The Republic of Cameroon organised a perfidy in 2019 which it pompously named Major National Dialogue. The Major National Dialogue mid-wived an amorphous construct, a charade, it has been proved, called Special Status ostensibly to recognise the specific identity of the annexed territory of the Southern Cameroons which it nicknamed North West and South West Regions, otherwise called by its pseudonym under genocide, NOSO.

The Special Status was created to douse the flame of liberation which was ignited by the Southern Cameroons war of liberation. Special Status was presented as a ‘Deliberative Organ’ comprising ‘Regional Assemblies’ made up of ‘Divisional Representatives’ and House of Chiefs in the captive genocide enclave to symbolise and emphasise its distinctive enslaved identity. Corrupt organisational, institutional and structural enforcement mechanisms were dispatched to all corners of the world to sing the ‘alleluia’ and the blessings of the Special Status of Southern Cameroons in a ‘One and Indivisible Cameroon’ at long last, alleluia praise the lord of colonial rule they sang themselves hoarse. What a circus of monumental dimension it was! Clerics of all religious persuasions struggled for significance and pecuniary gain to be coopted to pray profound wounds of annexation and colonial rule into submission. According to them, Special Status was the sesame of a ‘Grandmaster Divine Seal Total Annexation’ and the state capture of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia. Again, they sang the ‘Never Asunder’ and the “I surrender ‘slave anthems of submission. Humanity, wither they conscience!

The Devil of deception, it is said, is in its details. The Conference of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon which met under the superintendence of Paul Atanga Nji yesterday January 27, 2025 to endorse the natural candidate of the CPDM 92 year Paul Biya, the Supreme Incarnate of the Constitutional Order of his country Cameroon, achieved an legitimate purpose of interest for the Southern Cameroons of significant relevance to the Southern Cameroons quest for self-determination and freedom under international law. It exposed the facetious nature of ‘Special Status, its NOSO House of Chiefs construct better known as ‘Masquerade in Royal Regalia’. Masquerade in Royal Regalia purports to derive its existence, legitimacy and special status specificity under to ‘Law no 2019/24/of 24 December 2019 to institute the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities’ pursuant to the intendment of Article 62(2) of the Constitution of Cameroon on the “specificities of certain regions with regard to their organisation and functioning”.

The Association of Traditional Chiefs of Cameroon which held its conference January 27, 2025 in Yaoundé to endorse 92 years Paul Biya as its natural candidate for another 7 year Presidential elected mandate, does not fall within this category. It exists and operates by the ministerial fiat of the Minister of Territorial Administration of Cameroon under the law of association Law No.90-53 of 19 December 1990. The Special Status Law which created NOSO House of Chiefs did not expressly or impliedly extend the special status to the Association of Traditional Chiefs of Cameroon.

It did not make ‘NOSO Masquerade in Royal Regalia’ an appendage of the Association of Traditional Chiefs of Cameroon. By its participation in the Conference of Traditional Chiefs of Cameroon, NOSO Special Status apparatus, has established that it is an appendage of the Association of Cameroon Traditional Chiefs, shares its objectives which it publicly endorsed and which are inconsistent with Southern Cameroons cultural and institutional values and its international legal identity. This defeats its so-called special status and its organisational goals stated it its enabling legislation.

The subordination of members of ‘NOSO Masquerade in Royal Regalia’ therefore, which was pompously misrepresented as a reincarnation of the Southern Cameroons House of Chiefs to deflect attention from the horrendous genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes of the past sixty-five years has been exposed in the market place of Republic of Cameroon’s Perfidy and deception. It is a charade.

The late Kenya President Mwai Kibaki once said that every market place has its mad people. The conference of Traditional Chiefs of Cameroon with the co-option of Southern Cameroons traditional chiefs, has achieved two additional purposes: State capture of the Chieftaincy institution and its transformation into a propaganda tool for the perpetuation of imperial rule and the evisceration of the perfidy of NOSO Special Status, its House of Chiefs or Masquerade in Royal Regalia. This confirms the unimpeachable fact that Special Status with its House of Chiefs is a perversion of the legitimate aspiration of the Southern Cameroons quest for self-determination which is a peremptory norm of international law, an erga omnes obligation and of the supremacy of the international rule of law.

With the masks of deception peeling off, the wheels of international justice for victims of impunity and atrocity crimes, thousands in cold unmask mass graves, many in forests competing with reptiles and wild beast for spaces of refuge and survival, indentured slave labour, sex slavery, terror military justice and barrel of the gun, battles for the soul of the living faith, abductions, transborder trafficking and refouling of victims, the legitimisation of terror, torture, egregious violations and the objectification of victims.

Will genuine Southern Cameroons Chiefs who are committed to be different from their corrupt peers and have made a choice to be genuine custodians of our cultures and traditions; liberating consciences of our humanity, our ancestral bonds of freedom, of justice for the dead, for the living, the unborn; of peace and of the sanctity of life, of the morality of spiritual values, of our individual and collective survival in a world environment at war with its soul, stand up now and be counted?

By Chief Charles A. Taku, Barrister at Law, International Lawyer Organization Lead Counsel, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Special Court for Sierra Leone, International Criminal Court, Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, 2597 AK Den Haag, Netherlands

26, January 2025

South Korean thug charged with insurrection over martial law attempt ⁰

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection after he attempted to declare martial law in December.

His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he becomes the first sitting president in South Korean history to be charged with a crime.

The indictment comes after a court in Seoul rejected a request to extend Yoon’s detention on Saturday, which meant prosecutors had to make a decision on whether to charge or release him before Monday.

“The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally,” Han Min-soo, a spokesman from the main opposition Democratic Party told a press conference.

Fear, fury and triumph: Six hours that shook South Korea

Separately, the Constitutional Court has begun deliberations on whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

The impeached president has largely refused to co-operate with the criminal investigation over the martial law declaration.

Yoon is set to stand trial along with his former defence minister and senior military commanders, who are accused of helping him plan and carry out the attempt to seize total power.

In an unprecedented televised announcement on 3 December, Yoon said he was invoking martial law to protect the country from “anti-state” forces that sympathised with North Korea.

At the time, the embattled leader was in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers were under investigation.

The military announced all parliamentary activity was suspended and sought to impose controls on media outlets.

The opposition’s Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged people to protest at the National Assembly and asked his fellow lawmakers to immediately vote to repeal the order.

Less than two hours after Yoon’s declaration, 190 lawmakers who gathered – including some from the president’s party – voted unanimously to block it.

Soldiers equipped with rifles were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows as a dramatic confrontation ensued.

Thousands of civilians gathered in front of the assembly and tried to block the soldiers.

Yoon was was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.

The affair has triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades and has polarised the country.

Many of his hard-line supporters have rallied around him. On Friday, tens of thousands gathered to protest, demanding he be released and returned to office.

If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.

The prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: BBC

24, January 2025

A new unrealistic Biya mandate would constitute a mistake ⁰

Several Cameroonian bishops have taken sides against the possibility of a new candidacy by Paul Biya in the presidential election to be held in October 2025. After 42 years of unchallenged rule, part of the Church in Cameroon wants to turn the page in a country that appears fragmented.

At 91 years old, the “sphinx” is the oldest elected leader in office and the second head of state in the world still alive in terms of longevity in power.

This adds fuel to the fire for Africans who made the ironic statement that Africa is a “young continent led by old people.” To top it all off, add to that the autocratic management of Paul Biya, which has hardened after his last highly contested election in 2018, repressing any dissenting political opinion in the country.

The worrying state of health of the current head of state might have been a intimation that the latter would finally hand over the reins. Alas, during his New Year’s wishes for 2025, Paul Biya kept his political future vague. “I have heard your calls and your encouragement, and I remain devoted to serving our beloved nation,” he declared in response to the cleverly orchestrated messages from his fervent supporters who are asking him to run for office one last time in 2025.

A new “unrealistic” mandate would constitute a “mistake” according to the terms used by the Archbishop of Douala on RFI. “People are worried, we need a peaceful transition,” added Bishop Samuel Kleda. Words little appreciated by the government.

While one of the opposition representatives – Jean-Michel Nintcheu, president of the Front for Change – praised the archbishop and called on Paul Biya to take “a well-deserved retirement,” the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs accused the prelate of having “exceeded his clerical responsibilities.”

“He sometimes feels obliged to take political positions, without analyzing all the consequences. He has therefore taken his position as a citizen, and those among his flock who want to follow him will follow him,” deplored Grégoire Owona.

But Bishop Kleda’s episcopal remarks are far from being isolated within the Cameroonian Catholic Church: on January 1, Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo, Bishop of Yagoua (North of the country) denounced, miter on head, the possible candidacy of Paul Biya. “We are not going to put up with any more, we have suffered enough as it is,” exploded the prelate in a message that quickly went viral on social networks.

“The most terrible suffering is that Cameroonians are forbidden to express their suffering. . . referring to threats by the Cameroon Minister of Territorial Administration who describes the state as a ‘blender’ that will crush anyone voicing contrary opinions to that of the government. Who are they going to govern when they have crushed all the Cameroonians? Cameroonians are asked to avoid hate speech, but from above we receive words of violence,” stated the Bishop of Yagoua.

With more restraint, Jean Mbarga, Archbishop of Yaoundé, the country’s capital, called on the State “to do everything to ensure that the voice of Cameroonians is heard,” discreetly alluding to the political transition for which a large part of the citizens are calling.

According to Thomas Atenga, professor of communication at the University of Douala interviewed by the BBC, the position of some members of the Cameroon Catholic clergy would reveal the fragmentation between “the real country and its daily sufferings, which the bishops claim to be close to, and the political class that seems disconnected from the reality experienced by Cameroonians.”

Even if the Catholic hierarchy is not unanimous in its rejection of the “sphinx,” according to the professor, the Church – an institution of importance in this African country – “has no other choice but to aspire to greater freedom. Because after 42 years in power, it is high time that Cameroonians experienced other forms of hope, of government, which allow them to think that, the world is different from the one they have known for these years.”

Source: RFI

22, January 2025

Ireland: Election of taoiseach delayed as dáil suspended amid disorder ⁰

The election of a new taoiseach has been delayed after a bitter row in the Dáil (Irish parliament), forcing the suspension of proceedings twice.

The Irish parliament returned to nominate Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin as the new taoiseach (prime minister) before he is formally appointed to the office by President Michael D Higgins.

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy called for a 15 minute suspension after Teachtaí Dála (TDs) refused to “stop shouting” at her and take their seats.

After it resumed several TDs continued to challenge her over a decision to allow independent TDs who are supporting the government to sit on the opposition benches.

They refused to take their seats and the proceedings were then suspended for 30 minutes.

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy suspended the Dáil for 15 minutes

Sinn Féin President Mary Lou said it was a “brazen” move by the government to allow this arrangement to happen.

Source: BBC

20, January 2025

US: Trump in Capitol to be sworn in as 47th US president ⁰

Donald Trump has arrived at the Capitol to be sworn in as the 47th US president.

Trump’s incoming administration indicates he will declare a “national emergency” at the US-Mexico border, along with a host of other executive actions – which will be announced later today

Ahead of Trump entering office, Biden issues pre-emptive pardons for several figures “threatened with criminal prosecutions”, including Dr Anthony Fauci and officers who testified over the Capitol riot

Earlier, Trump attended a church service alongside some of the most powerful tech moguls in the world – Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Apple’s Tim Cook

The inauguration, ceremony which is traditionally held outside the US Capitol, has been moved indoors due to a forecast of freezing temperatures with a wind chill of -13C (9F)

Source: BBC

15, January 2025

Mozambique: new president sworn in despite opposition boycott ⁰

Mozambique’s new President Daniel Chapo has been sworn in at a low-key ceremony in the capital, Maputo, more than three months after heavily disputed elections.

Most businesses in Maputo were shut after defeated presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a national strike to protest against Chapo’s inauguration.

Chapo won the election held in October with 65% of the vote, extending the 49-year-rule of the Frelimo party.

Mondlane – who contested the election as an independent – came second with 24% of the vote. He rejected the result, saying it was rigged.

Mondlane called for a strike on inauguration day “against the thieves of the people”.

Both of Mozambique’s leading opposition parties – Renamo and MDM – boycotted the swearing-in ceremony because they too do not recognise Chapo as the rightful winner.

Even those in Mozambique who do wish Chapo well openly question his legitimacy.

“Chapo is someone I admire greatly,” civil society activist Mirna Chitsungo tells the BBC.

“I worked with him for four years – I am familiar with his willingness to act, his openness to dialogue, and his readiness to follow recommendations from civil society on the ground.

“However, he is assuming an illegitimate power. This stems from a fraudulent electoral process… He is taking power in a context where the people do not accept him.”

‘He will face many enemies’

In addition to winning over a hostile public, Chapo will also have to deliver the economic turnaround and halt to corruption that he promised on the campaign trail.

“Chapo will face many enemies because it looks like Mozambique is run by cartels, including cartels of books, cartel of medicines, cartel of sugar, cartel of drugs, cartel of kidnappings, mafia groups,” says analyst and investigative journalist Luis Nhanchote.

“He needs to have a strong team of experts, willing to join him in this crusade of dismantling the groups meticulously,” he adds.

“But first, he has to calm down Mozambicans and do all in his power to restore peace in the country.”

Daniel Francisco Chapo was born on 6 January 1977 in Inhaminga, a town in Sofala province, the sixth of 10 siblings. This was during Mozambique’s civil war, and the armed conflict forced his family to move to another nearby district.

His secondary schooling in the coastal city of Beira was followed by a law degree from Eduardo Mondlane University then a master’s degree in development management from the Catholic University of Mozambique.

Now married to Gueta Sulemane Chapo, with whom he has three children, Chapo is also said to be a church-going Christian and fan of basketball and football.

Many current and former colleagues describe Chapo as humble, hard-working and a patient leader.

Source: BBC