Society

Eleven people have died following the sinking of their boat on the Logone river on Thursday. Cameroon government sources say the eleven people included seven women, three of them pregnant, three men and an infant. 

Fissou Kouma, the mayor of Yagoua in the North region also observed that the boatman and the mother of a newborn survived the sinking. The cause of the tragedy has still not been made public. However, Cameroon Concord gathered the canoe was rocked by a violent storm.

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Ngwa Bertrand

12.Oct.2015

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Senator and CPDM sub-section President for Benoue 1; North Region Honourable Youssouf Daoua is dead. He died on the 10th October 2015 in Garoua after a brief illness. He was top on the list of CPDM candidates shortlisted for the first ever senatorial elections organized in Cameroon in 2013. Before becoming a Senator, Youssouf Daoua was Parliamentarian for Benoue 1 after having served the Republic of Cameroon as Divisional Officer in Benoue for several years. 

The sudden twist of event has prompted the postponement of the official launching of elections for the renewal of basic organs of the CPDM party that was initially scheduled for the 12th October 2015. The elections have been moved to Friday 16th October.

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Ngwa Bertrand

12.Oct.2015

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A double suicide attack attributed to Boko Haram has killed nearly a dozen people early this Sunday morning. The blast left several people with serious injuries in Kangaleri, a Cameroonian village not far from the border with Nigeria. To be sure, Kangaleri is located in the District of Mora,Mayo-Sava division some 85 km from Maroua capital of the Far North region. 

Today’s double suicide bombing in Kangaleri, occurred just one day after that of N'Djamena in the Lake Chad town which killed 41 people and injured 52. The Lake Chad area is experiencing a resurgence of suicide bombings and attacks attributed to Boko Haram. The Joint Multinational Force set up by the countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin is still waiting for a UN resolution to go operational.

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Ngwa Bertrand

11.Oct.2015

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A double suicide attack attributed to Boko Haram has killed nearly a dozen people early this Sunday morning. The blast left several people with serious injuries in Kangaleri, a Cameroonian village not far from the border with Nigeria. To be sure, Kangaleri is located in the District of Mora,Mayo-Sava division some 85 km from Maroua capital of the Far North region. 

Today’s double suicide bombing in Kangaleri, occurred just one day after that of N'Djamena in the Lake Chad town which killed 41 people and injured 52. The Lake Chad area is experiencing a resurgence of suicide bombings and attacks attributed to Boko Haram. The Joint Multinational Force set up by the countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin is still waiting for a UN resolution to go operational.

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Ngwa Bertrand

11.Oct.2015

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Cameroon has been praised by the Commonwealth Secretariat for attaining 30 per cent female representation rate in the National Assembly in line with the Beijing Action Platform. In effect, after the September 30, 2013 twin elections, 55 women were elected into the 180-seat Parliament. This achievement in the strive for gender equality in elected positions explains why Cameroon was chosen as one of the countries with a confirmed record of best practices in the implementation of the Commonwealth Action Platform on Gender Equality for 2005-2015. As part of the mission to evaluate gender mainstreaming and women’s empowerment, a team from the Commonwealth Secretariat, headed by Dr. Daniella De Vito, met yesterday, October 8, 2015 in Yaounde with the President of the Electoral Board of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, Dr. Samuel Fonkam Azu’u. Also in attendance were three Board members, notably, Dr. Cécile Bomba Nkolo, Pierre Roger Efandene Bekono and Prof. Pierre Titi Nwell. During the in-camera meeting, the Commonwealth official urged the institutionalisation of quotas to ensure the attainment of gender parity. 

However, as Dr Fonkam Azu’u explained to the press after the meeting, the requirement of gender equality, which is also recommended by the Africa Union, depends on Cameroon’s legislature which is yet to fix a gender equality quota for elected positions. “As at now, our legislators only require that political parties submit gender-based candidate lists. As an elections management body, we only interprete the law affirmatively, but we cannot do more than that,” he explained. His fears centred on the less enthusiasm from women during revision of voters’ lists, which to him might mar the progress already recorded. ELECAM was also described as a brainchild of the Commonwealth since the latter made its creation one of its key struggles in Cameroon.

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Oct.2015

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A DANGEROUS driver who attacked an on duty policewoman for more than 15 minutes before driving off and throwing her to the ground just inches from cars on the M3 has been jailed. Innocent Fowung launched a “prolonged and sustained” attack on PC Vikki Sharpe during which she fought desperately to stop him dragging them both into the carriageway of the M3 near Basingstoke where they could have been killed. Despite managing to handcuff him to his steering wheel and leaning into the car in a bid to stop him driving away, Fowung was able to reverse into her police car, which violently threw the officer against the car and onto the ground seriously injured. Winchester Crown Court heard how PC Sharpe, from the Roads Policing Team, pulled over the 47-year-old after she spotted him driving erratically along the M3, near Basingstoke.

She breathalysed him and when he failed that test she went on to arrest him but it was at this point that he became aggressive. She said: “I remember feeling very vulnerable straight away, the strength that he gripped my arm with when he first placed hands on me made it quite clear of his intentions.” She was then forced to struggle with Fowung at the side of the motorway for more than 15 minutes, managing to cuff one of his hands. Despite taking his keys, during the fight he manage to get them back and go back to his car in a bid to make his escape. 

PC Sharpe leaned into the car to try and get back the keys and managed to put the other cuff on his steering wheel, but he suddenly reversed into her parked car behind, flinging her against his car and onto the ground. Fortunately he was soon stopped by her colleagues further along the motorway. PC Sharpe suffered numerous injuries including a broken hand, damaged ribs, back and shoulder pain, which left her off work for three months. During the sentencing PC Vikki Sharpe told the court how the attack on June 15, last year, has affected her. She said: “I still suffer from back and shoulder pain which is helped with pain relief, my hand has not mended to a level that it was prior to the incident. My index finger is deformed, I am unable to grip and use the finger for simple tasks, such as undoing a jar or gripping a handle. “I have seriously considered resigning from my job, something that I never thought I would do. It has made me doubt myself, my abilities and why I am a police officer.” Fowung, from Coventry, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the assault and a further 10 months in prison to run consecutively for dangerous driving.

He was also given a three year driving ban. After the sentencing John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, said: “PC Sharpe displayed courage, tenacity and commitment to duty in what was a prolonged and cowardly attack by Mr Fowung. “Police officers perform a difficult and dangerous job, I hope the prison sentence handed down acts as a reminder that it is never acceptable for an officer to be assaulted.”

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Ngwa Bertrand

10.Oct.2015

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