Society

Clandestine transportation is still a pain in the neck in big cities like Douala. As a result numerous transporter syndicates, who are at the losing end threatened to go on strike, arguing that illegal transporters have invaded the sector. One of the grievances they presented to the Minister of Labour and Social Security in the presence of the Delegate General for National Security was the fight against clandestine transportation.

To respect their side of the deal that called off the impending strike action, authorities intensified the fight in Douala following instructions from the Senior Divisional Officer. Last week, some 238 vehicles were impounded by law enforcement officers in collaboration with administrative and municipal authorities. Most of the vehicles lacked documents like badges, road worthiness certificate, CEMAC number plate, driver’s license, and windscreen license among others. Some of the vehicles were also impounded for overloading, while others were not painted yellow.

The impounded vehicles are placed in different Municipal Impoundment Centres in Bonamoussadi, Youpwe, PK 12 and Ndogbong among others. For each offence, car owners pay FCFA 25,000 plus FCFA 15,000 impoundment charges. Additional FCFA15,000 is added each day an impounded car spends the night in the centre. Thought the measures to fight clandestine transportation are good, a Taxi Driver, Lowa Jean Calvin, who paid FCFA 40,000 for overloading, regretted that the documents for which the cars are impounded for are not presented upon retrieving the vehicles. Paying the fines is all the Impoundment Centres care for, he said.

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Dec.2015

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Two individuals from  Kumbo North West Region were recently arrested for allegedly selling off women as sex slaves to people in Kuwait at FCFA 1.2 million each.

Demia Burinyuy Mbon and Rene Fonyuy, both tailors in Kumbo, Bui Division of the North West Region, were recently arrested by men from the Public Security Police Station in Kumbo on charges of human trafficking. They were nabbed following a complaint to the Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese by a former victim, Claudette Kemoka. The complaint was forwarded to the police for investigations.

One Kadija, a paternal aunt to Demia Burinyuy Mbon, who is married to someone living in Kuwait, sent Demia Burinyuy’s wife, Bongnke Sidonie and the sister, Marie Claire, to work in Kuwait. Rene Fonyuy, another tailor, having learned of the opportunity and assisted by Demia Burinyuy, sent his wife, Ngong Hostencia to Kuwait. Thereafter, Demia and Rene Fonyuy started acting as facilitators in Kumbo for those intending to travel to Kuwait.

The cost for each woman was said to have been FCFA 1.2 million, while that for men stood at FCFA 1.3 million. People simply referred to as Prosper, Christopher and Emma, said to be a policeman, were agents, while Mrs. Kadija is said to have been the coordinator in Kuwait.

The matter came to the lime light when Claudette Kemoka, who had travelled to Kuwait to work as an English teacher, was given the job of a house help. Given the ordeal she underwent in the hands of one Emer Abdulai and wife, she turned down the job and decided to return home. Emer’s wife reportedly told Claudette she was bought from Demia at FCFA 1.2 million and if she wanted to go back to Cameroon, she should repay the money. Since Demia did not send her return ticket, she was taken to ‘Kadama,’ a slave market.

She finally managed to get in touch with people back home and FCFA 400,000 was sent for her return ticket. Claudette Kemoka was repatriated to Cameroon on August 25, 2015. She later lodged a complaint against Demia for having sold her to a couple in Kuwait, claiming FCFA 400,000, being the cost of her return ticket. On the other hand, one Wirba Hassan approached Rene Fonyuy to help his younger brother, Halisu, travel to Kuwait. Fonyuy asked and received FCFA 1.3 million from Halisu, which he forwarded to one Christopher in Yaounde to process his papers.

Eventually, Halisu was assisted to travel to Dubai instead. But on arrival, he did not meet the person who was supposed to receive him. He then decided to look for a job without understanding the terms. Like Claudette Kemoka, he was eventually repatriated. When he came back to Kumbo, his older brother, Wirba Hassan, who handed over the money to Rene Fonyuy, lodged a complaint against him, asking for the refund of FCFA 1.3 million. Demia Burinyuy Mbon is said to have admitted facilitating the travel of seven girls to Kuwait. He reportedly told police that most of them were his relatives or relations of friends and business partners.

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Dec.2015

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The 2015 corruption barometer report published in Yaounde on December 9, 2015 indexes the Police and Taxation departments as most corrupt.

An international corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI) Cameroon has published a report on the “Barometer of Corruption in Cameroon” based on the opinion of citizens through a survey of 1, 182 Cameroonians conducted between January and February 2015. The report published in Yaounde on December 9, 2015 states that corruption has risen in the last 12 months. According to the report presented by TI-Cameroon Vice President, Barrister Njoh Manga, 44 per cent of individuals sampled affirmed that corruption has increased within the past one year and that 57 per cent of survey participants indicated that the government is not effective in the fight against corruption.

The 2015 corruption barometer report indexed the taxation and the police as the most corrupt sectors in the country. 48 per cent of public service users for the past year according to the TI report testified that they bribed in return for services rendered with the police and the judiciary being more susceptible to bribe.

TI also notes that denunciation mechanisms are risky and inefficient with one out of three persons indicating in the survey that whistle blowers are exposed to negative consequences. The fight against corruption according to Barrister Njoh Manga should be inclusive with all and sundry implicated. Corruption if not eradicated slows down development and economic growth reason why TI-Cameroon proposed far reaching recommendations such as the adoption of an anti-corruption law, independence of anti-corruption organs and the judiciary as well as protection of whistle blowers amongst others.

While citizens believe that corruption is the third preoccupation after unemployment and health, 56 per cent of Cameroonians according to the TI report, are ready at individual levels to fight the scourge.

(Cameroon Tribune)

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Dec.2015

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25 State agents, Senior State and Contract workers from the Ministry of Finance have been called up by the Special Criminal Court (SCC) in Yaounde for the misappropriation of public funds, complicity in the embezzlement of public fund, fraudulent use of government treasure bonds as well as falsifying government documents to collect money from the State coffers worth over FCFA 400 million. Amongst the 25 accused persons, some have been detained at Yaounde Central Prison; others are free while some have escaped trial.

During the court session of July, 2015 the Head of the penal of Judges hearing the case, Mr Justice Francis Claude Michel Moukoury, took time to identify all the accused persons present in court alongside their defence counsel. Accused persons whose lawyers were present in court were charged, the court gave lawyers to those who did not have lawyers while those whose lawyers were absent were compelled to be present so that they too can equally be charge for the matter to continue. The Legal Department equally handed its list of witnesses. The case was adjourned

Some defence counsels say some of the accused have already paid the money they are charged with. Their lawyers are expecting that in the course of the proceedings, the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals will discharge such persons of any charge so that they become free.

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Dec.2015

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Four financial hackers of Nigerian nationality are currently helping the Judicial Police with investigations after they were napped for reproducing bank card and eventually emptying victims account. Their modus-operandi is simple; they place a device beside the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) that films important information on client’s ATM card including the access code.

When the client must have left the ATM premise, they retrieve the device, reproduce the card, empty the account and transfer the booty in their various accounts back at home. Following tipoff, elements of the Judicial Police led by the Chief of Laboratory, Scientific and Technical Police Service together with agents of the Special Teams for Rapid Intervention invaded their hotel room in the Nkololoun neighbourhood and arrested them on December 2nd.

In their hotel room, the police got hold of three reproduced ATM cards, 50 virgin cards, two machines for card production, two camera pens, three Iphone of 4, 5 and 6 make, two flat screen televisions, four passports and many money transfer forms. Asibeuo Cecil, Odion Prosper, Tony Daraugo and Obiagw have robbed many of their hard-earned money.

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Ngwa Bertrand

09.Dec.2015

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The Yaoundé end of year annual festival dub Yaoundé en Fete, YAFE will be organised at the Yaoundé Promotional Trade Faire ground in Tsinga instead of the traditional May 20th Boulevard where the event has been taking place over the years.

The relocation according to council sources has been attributed construction of some buildings at the former site which has consequently resulted in a reduction of the surface area for the popular event that brings together thousands of people. Poor hygiene and sanitation at the former site and an up surge of crime have also raised concerns.

The need reduce the heavy traffic jam at the central post office Round about and other major roads around the Boulevard was another reason advanced the by Yaoundé City Council for relocating the event to a new site.
The launching date of the event was also postponed from the 19th December initially announced to 21st December 2015.

No reasons have been advanced for the change of date, but observers belief it was a necessary step allow time for business and promoters to install the stalls and products at the new site.

The new site according to council officials has the capacity to accommodate the huge crowd in a safe and secured manner without affecting the free flow of persons and goods in the nation’s capital.

(CRTV)

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Ngwa Bertrand

09.Dec.2015

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