Yaounde

Yaounde Military Tribunal: Ambazonia Leaders, Lawyers appeared in “Odeshi” bands

29, July 2019

Yaounde Military Tribunal: Ambazonia Leaders, Lawyers appeared in “Odeshi” bands 0

The Southern Cameroons leaders and their legal team appeared today in the Yaounde Military Tribunal with red “odeshi-like” bands on their wrists and arms in solidarity with Ambazonians killed during the 3 year old war of liberation as well as Tsi Conrad, Mancho Bibixy, Congressman, Tantoh Benji and all the other detainees at the Kondengui Central prison including Buea whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The red bands coupled with the serenity in the court premises that was also exacerbated by the news that Barrister Amungwa Tanyi assaulted recently by French Cameroun gendarmes was still hospitalized, caused a lot of stir and fright such that members of the prosecution sent some of the Southern Cameroons lawyers to plead with detainees and the lawyers to remove the bands.

Barr Shufai

When the matter was called up for hearing Batonier emeritus Eta Besong Jr informed the court that the defense team was in such bad spirit following the attack on Barrister Amungwa by two gendarmes last Saturday. He senior advocate told the court that they couldn’t go ahead with any hearing.

He however intimated that a formal complaint has been filed before the President of Cameroon Bar Association who had in turn reported the case to the French Cameroun Minister of Justice and Keeper of Seals as well as the French Cameroun Minister in charge of the Gendarmerie who had both ordered investigations to be carried out.

Neither the Prosecution nor the Counsel for Civil Party opposed the application for adjournment by the defense and so the matter was adjourned to 05/08 for hearing.

French Cameroun’s Kondengui Prison is now being emptied by Biya regime’s mass murder campaign

29, July 2019

French Cameroun’s Kondengui Prison is now being emptied by Biya regime’s mass murder campaign 0

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime is doubling down on executions of Southern Cameroons detainees in the Kondengui High Security prison in Yaoundé following a massive riot staged by the Ambazonians in the facility. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands French Cameroun military judges are presently accelerating the pace they issue life and death sentences.

A senior Francophone army officer who spoke to our Yaounde city reporter on the condition that his full names should not be disclosed out of fear for his family safety hinted that Yaounde was instituting a campaign to clear the decks of Southern Cameroons detainees in Douala New Bell prison, Baffoussam and in Kondengui. He revealed that Southern Cameroons prisoners of war are being transferred from jails in Buea and Bamenda to join death-row detainees in Yaounde and Douala.

We gathered from other prison administrators that at least one section of the Kondengui prison that harbored Ambazonian detainees is almost entirely empty. Some of the former detainees en route to Douala and Yaounde from Bamenda escaped that fate only after relatives paid hundreds of thousands of FCFA to secure their freedom.

A Roman Catholic priest in Buea described overhearing conversations between Buea prisons guards relating to the transfer of Southern Cameroons detainees to be killed. Human Rights groups say the rate of death sentences on Southern Cameroonians has sped up over the past three years as the attitudes of Francophone court officials hardened.

There is no room for leniency as almost every Southern Cameroons detainee will now face the death penalty. Many Ambazonian prisoners have died of malnutrition, medical neglect or physical abuse. The so-called Prime Minister Dion Ngute government did not respond to requests for comment for this report. The Francophone dominated Biya government has never acknowledged the execution of prisoners or released figures of Southern Cameroons detainees.  No independent figures are available even from the Ambazonian Interim Government now led by Vice President Dabney Yerima.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon: Why the panic in Etoudi?

27, July 2019

Cameroon: Why the panic in Etoudi? 0

Cameroon’s Unity Palace, the palace that hosts the country’s president, is in total confusion. The country’s president, Paul Biya, is having serious issues with his health and this is a huge concern to the president’s collaborators as they are compelled to keep everything under wraps.

Ever since Mr. Biya was repatriated from Switzerland a month ago because of the activities of the Brigade Anti Sardinard (BAS), things have not been well with the man who has presided over the country’s destiny for close to four decades.

His health is a constant concern to his closest collaborators. His failing heart and swollen prostrate are headed in the wrong direction and it is becoming hard for Mr. Biya to seek better health care abroad.

As a result of this unfortunate situation, the Yaoundé dictator on June 20, 2019, dispatched his Secretary-General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, to France for him to negotiate with the French on whether the government would provide maximum security and guarantees that he would be protected during his time in France where he is expected to have quality health care.

The Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Paris has gathered that the French are not very happy with the situation and they understand that Biya is bad business for them. They are not prepared to risk the lives of their police officers and their economy just because of an ineffective dictator whose hallmark is corruption.

They understand that there will be huge demonstrations to be organized by the African Diaspora in France that has developed the bad habit of chasing African dictators from Europe.

Mr. Biya, also known as the “monarch”, is not very happy with the manner in which the Swiss handled his case and this anger is complicating his health situation. He has become a very bitter person and most of his guests have said that he is mad at Switzerland for the humiliation he was subjected to.

In a moment of utter frustration, Mr. Biya burst out, telling a well-wisher that he never expected that the Swiss government would turn against him after all he had done for Switzerland.

He said he had more than USD 700 million in Swiss banks and the Swiss are now making it hard for him to have access to that money.

Even his wife, Chantal Biya, noted for her flaming red hair, is now displaying signs of frustration and stress. Normally friendly and smiley, Mrs. Biya who has come under enormous criticism for her flamboyant lifestyle, has now become erratic and is suffering from mood swings.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s Chairman, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, a collaborator of the first lady said that “Rudeness and discourteousness now constitute her new attitude ever since she and her husband were thrown out of Switzerland.” The pressure is on and it is real.

The pressure on Mr. Biya to go is mounting and this has been complicated by the country’s economy that has taken a nosedive. The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a demonstration has now developed into a full blown war, with more than 5,000 Cameroonians sent to an early grave.

The country’s economy has taken a blow to the liver, as Southern Cameroonian fighters have succeeded to cripple the country’s struggling economy.  Major corporations in Southern Cameroons have all gone under. CDC and PAMOL are out of business because of the political crisis that is tearing the country apart.

SONARA, the country’s lone refinery, for its part, went up in flames and this has robbed the government of a significant source of revenue. The struggling government has since been going all over the world looking for resources to rebuild the bedeviled refinery.

But noted for its corruption and inefficiency, the Biya government is being toasted from pillar to post by investors and donors. Investors and donors do not want to put their money in a black hole.  

Cameroon is noted for defaulting on its debts and has recently been ranked fourth on the list of the most corrupt countries in Africa and this is no good news for the beleaguered government.

As Mr. Biya’s health keeps sliding down the slope, his ministers are taking advantage of the situation to feather their personal nests. In three decades, Mr. Biya and his collaborators have reduced their resource-rich nation to a heavily indebted poor country under stress (HIPCUS).

It will take almost a century for Cameroon to be pulled out of the economic doldrums, that is, when the monarch would have been dead and gone.  

Cameroonians must understand that the end is near. Mr. Biya’s days are numbered. They must understand that theirs will be the kingdom of hard work and sacrifice if they really want to rebuild their country and economy.

Biya has ruined everything and the only thing that is of interest to him now is his own physical survival. He knows he is not eternal and the fear of death has enveloped his mind. When the death of Retired General Tataw James Tabe-Orock was announced to him a few days ago, he burst into tears.

But many observers said he was not really mourning the death of a man he trusted, but was simply scared that his time would be coming sooner rather than later.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde

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Ailing Biya bids farewell to Canadian High Commissioner

26, July 2019

Ailing Biya bids farewell to Canadian High Commissioner 0

Ailing President Paul BIYA reportedly met with outgoing Canadian ambassador to Cameroon, High Commissioner Nathalie O’Neil at Unity Palace on 24 July 2019. The meeting that lasted for an hour examined the Southern Cameroons crisis.

The Canadian Diplomat told a beaming Biya that she hopes Cameroon will be able to gain back its legendary hospitality status as a peace haven deep within the Sub Saharan region.

“People told me before I arrived that Cameroon is a beautiful country. I travelled in eight of the ten regions and I leave with the feeling that Cameroon is a beautiful country with beautiful people” High Commissioner Nathalie O’Neil observed.

“I was received warmly wherever I went to in Cameroon and I wish peace to the Cameroonian people,” she added.  

 Nathalie O’Neil revealed some details of her conversation with the 86 year old dictator stating that they made a review of her actions in Cameroon since her arrival in 2017 and discussed about working on bilingualism, multiculturalism and the strengthening of women’s economic empowerment, with the latter being a key policy for the Canadian Government.

She equally reiterated Canada’s commitment to support Cameroon in the resolution of the socio-political situation in Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon and Canada have longstanding bilateral ties, established in 1962. Both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF).

By Besong Esther Agbor with files

Kondengui Riot: Former Prime Minister Inoni Ephraim, ex-minister Olenguena injured

24, July 2019

Kondengui Riot: Former Prime Minister Inoni Ephraim, ex-minister Olenguena injured 0

Cameroon’s security forces put down a riot by prisoners who ransacked and burnt a jail in the capital Yaounde overnight, witnesses told AFP on Tuesday.

The rioters, many of them government opponents or supporters of an English-speaking separatist movement in the country’s west, filmed their protest and posted elements to Facebook.

Several inmates were injured, prison sources said, including former prime minister Inoni Ephraim and ex-minister Urbain Olenguena Awono who were targeted by other prisoners.

Ephraim, who was jailed for 20 years after being convicted on corruption charges in 2016, was hospitalised.

“There were shots all night. It was like fireworks,” as the security forces fought the uprising, a resident told AFP.

Local media reported that no-one was killed, and no prisoners escaped.

Amnesty International on Tuesday called on authorities to avoid “excessive force” and to conduct an investigation into the use of “firearms and live ammunition”.

In a statement, the government said “no live fire was used during the operation” at the prison.

Calm appeared to have returned to the prison by Tuesday, an AFP journalist observed, with police and soldiers erecting a cordon around the jail.

On social media, the inmates demanded their liberation and better food.

Overcrowded jail

The over-populated central prison of Yaounde, known as Kondengui, was built to accommodate 1,500 inmates but is estimated to house more than double.

It hosts numerous people arrested since an anglophone separatist uprising started in 2016. Several are serving long prison sentences, others are awaiting trial.

“The crises are accumulating. More and more prisoners in an already overcrowded jail,” said Maximilienne Ngo Mbe, executive director of rights group REDHAC.

Cameroon is in the midst of a security crisis that has pitted separatist English-speaking regions in the west against the French-speaking population elsewhere.

In the north, the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram also stages regular armed attacks.

The country is also facing political ructions, after the head of the opposition Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC), Maurice Kamto, and about 100 of the party’s supporters were arrested in January and remain in detention.

President Paul Biya has been in power for 36 years.

MRC secretary general Christopher Ndong told AFP that security forces had taken several prominent members of the separatist movement — those seen as the leaders of the revolt — from the prison to an unknown destination on Tuesday.

More than one in six people in Cameroon — 4.3 million — need humanitarian aid, an increase of 30 percent from 2018, according to UN aid officials.

Source: AFP

UN says 40,000 more flee Southern Cameroons conflict to Nigeria

23, July 2019

UN says 40,000 more flee Southern Cameroons conflict to Nigeria 0

The United Nations on Monday said nearly 40,000 more people had been forced to flee to Nigeria by worsening humanitarian situation in north-west and south-west regions of Cameroon.

Briefing UN correspondents in New York on Monday, a spokesman of the organisation, Mr Farhan Haq, said 530,000 others had been internally displaced.

No fewer than 1.3 million people are now in need of assistance, Haq said, adding that the situation “continues to be characterised by human rights and protection abuses and violations”.

The conflict started in 2016 when separatists launched an armed struggle for a breakaway state they call Ambazonia.

Government forces have responded strongly, leading to accusations of extra-judicial killings and burning of villages.

But recently, there has been a focus on abuses allegedly committed by the many separatist groups too, including kidnappings, according to the BBC.

Haq said at Monday’s briefing that 2,800 protection violation incidents had been reported in the first six months of this year.

“House destruction and child protection violations are those reported in greatest numbers.

“Meanwhile, in the far north of Cameroon, attacks by non-State armed groups against villages have intensified since the beginning of the year, leading to new displacements.

“Around 1,300 people were reportedly being displaced last week alone.

“Attacks also resulted in dozens of civilian deaths, hundreds of houses set ablaze, and widespread looting of civilian goods,” he said.

The UN spokesman said the response in Cameroon remained one of the most “critically underfunded humanitarian responses globally” in spite of increased humanitarian needs.

According to him, only 20 per cent of the 300 million dollars requested by the humanitarian community this year has been received, NAN reported.|

Source: Pmnews Nigeria

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Kondengui on fire

22, July 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Kondengui on fire 0

It is being alleged that Southern Cameroonian fighters locked up in the Yaounde Central prison have set the facility on fire after a day of chanting and challenging the government and prison guards.

However, an inside source has vehemently stated that the fire was set by francophone prisoners who are fed up with the system.

Some of them have been in jail awaiting trial for years and this could be frustrating.

Prison guards at the facility have fired shots to disperse the crowd, but the demonstrations are going on with the prisoners calling for their immediate release.

Kingsley Betek of Cameroon Concord News Group is on his way to the facility to gather more details. Stay tuned.

Biya’s Health: Panic in Yaounde

22, July 2019

Biya’s Health: Panic in Yaounde 0

There is panic in Yaounde as the disturbing news of the country’s president, Paul Biya, gradually makes its way to the public.

Mr. Biya also known as the “monarch” has been a colony of diseases for many years now. He has been suffering from a failing heart, a failed prostrate and loss of memory which makes it hard for him to carry out his duties as a head of state and this bad news is hitting his collaborators like a ton of bricks.

Recently, the country’s Secretary-General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, was given total powers to sign all documents on Mr. Biya’s behalf, an action which serves as further proof that the 87-year-old monarch, who has been in diapers over the last seven years, is incapable of performing his duties.

Over the last two months, Mr. Biya’s health has been a huge concern to his closest collaborators, but his behavior during the May 20 celebration was a clear indication that things were really falling apart. The monarch is suffering and power seems to slipping through his fingers.

The monarch, known for his epicurean taste and love of nice wines, is gradually losing his mind. For many months now, it is his wife, Chantal Biya, who is also suffering from an aggressive leukemia, who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes. Mr. Biya seems to have drunk himself into Alzheimer’s disease.

On May 20, Mr. Biya’s failing memory was put on display for all to see. He could not even wave at the crowd his ruling CPDM had hastily mobilized for the occasion. It was Mrs. Biya, noted for her flaming red hair, who had to raise his hands for him to wave to the crowd. This was a huge embarrassment to his collaborators who have been scrambling to hide the man’s numerous diseases.

Mr. Biya, the once popular president of the most corrupt nation in the world, is now having a tough fight with Alzheimer’s disease and other life threatening ailments and as his situation deteriorates, his collaborators who, are already fighting against each other, are becoming more desperate.

To them, the end of their era is in the offing. The signs are very clear. Biya is gradually exiting the world and his greatest frustration is that his fellow citizens now see him as the most corrupt and most incompetent leader Africa has ever produced.

Last month, he was hastily repatriated from Switzerland as the Brigade Anti Sardinard (BAS), a Diaspora opposition movement, put into action its plan to give the monarch a very bad name.

Demonstrations in front of the Hotel Intercontinental, the hotel Mr. Biya has literally transformed into his home, obliged the Swiss government to declare Mr. Biya persona non grata in Switzerland. This is a real bloodshot eye for a regime that is struggling to clean up its bad image abroad.

Since his repatriation to Cameroon, his family and his collaborators have been struggling to find a new country that will accept him as an inconveniencing visitor. Luxemburg appears to be his new destination and this is hurting the BAS.

However, the BAS is already at work. The opposition group has already dispatched its undercover agents to Luxemburg to find out if the beleaguered president is hiding in the little European Kingdom.

“We are going to fish him out. We are prepared to make life hard for Mr. Biya who has transformed Cameroon into a living hell. For 37 years in office, he has not been able to build a state-of-the-art hospital in Cameroon to cater to the needs of cancer patients. Under his watch, Cameroon’s health facilities have declined and most of them have been reduced to consultation clinics or mortuaries. Why must he be enjoying better health care out of the country while our parents are dying of preventable diseases back home?,” the BAS agent quipped.

Yesterday, a source at the Presidency of the Republic reliably informed the Cameroon Concord News Group that the monarch was struggling again. According to the source which elected anonymity, Mr. Biya was having serious breathing problems and that his health was failing.

The source added that a medical plane from Luxemburg had landed in Yaoundé to secretly airlift Mr. Biya to the small European kingdom of Luxemburg where it is believed he will have quality care comparable to what he has been receiving in Switzerland.

The air ambulance was secretly brought into the country by the Presidency of the Republic. Sources at the presidency have hinted that the monarch may be very seriously sick as his collaborators have decided not to say anything about his health.

“Everybody who is close to the ailing dictator has suddenly become tight-lipped. But from their appearances, it is easy to figure out that something is amiss. Biya is on his way out and this is bad news to his people who are already fighting. The knife is actually turning inwards and if care is not taken Cameroon will be plunged into chaos once Mr. Biya kicks the bucket,” our source said.

“Many of Mr. Biya’s ministers are not even aware that the monarch is out of the country. Everything is under wraps. Many government officials depend on newspapers to get information about the man they serve. The entire system is being manipulated by a few people and Mrs. Biya is actually the person pulling the strings,” he said.

He added that “she has become a puppet master and anybody who does not comply with or play by her rules gets elbowed out of the corridors of power. Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, a former cabinet minister, has been the latest victim and his arrest is generating a lot of division within the government.”

 “Cameroon is in for serious trouble. There are many scenes that will only play out when Mr. Biya will bow to the inevitable. His days are numbered, but before he leaves, he will dump the country into a pretty mess. There is no control these days. Ministers are just conducting business as they wish, especially those of Beti extraction. Something needs to be done to save this country,” our source stressed.

While Mr. Biya is battling for his life, using the country’s vast resources, the ordinary citizens are continuing to die like animals as the quality of care in the country is questionable. Mr. Biya and his family have transformed the country’s treasury into their ATM and they are doing a great job at emptying the machine as fast as they can. For them, time is running out and the anger on the streets tells them that if the population could have its way, it would address the issue in a manner that will be far from being pleasant.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde, Bamba Gaossou in Limbe and Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai at the Cameroon Concord News Group’s global headquarters in the UK