Students in many Schools within the Bamenda area have decided to stay away from classes being offered by french speaking student teachers currently studying in the University of Bamenda Teachers Training College. Cameroon Concord’s North West region correspondent gathered that the boycott was provoked by a press release signed by the Interim president of the Union of Parent Teachers Association to parents and students of the schools were the french speaking student teachers were sent. In the communiqué, the interim president noted that the french speaking teachers were officially required to give lectures in English, a language they do not master and can hardly construct a fluent sentence. The statement urged students to stay home or either walk peacefully out of classes when the francophone teachers walked in.

The interim president called the practise of sending teachers from the francophone region to give lectures in English an academic genocide. He further stressed that the teachers can hardly say a word in English and wondered how on earth the administration expected the students to gain knowledge out of this broken language mix? In a radio interview last week, the president of the Cameroon Teachers Trade Union, Mr Tasang Wilfred wondered how the francophone student teachers succeeded in the first place to gain admission into the Higher Teachers Training College of the University of Bamenda when they do not have a mastery of the English language. It is vital to include in this report that lawyers of the North West region also recently protested against the use of the french language in courts within the region.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Mar.2015

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Senator Mbella Moki of the Fako constituency who moonlighted as mayor of the Buea municipal council has recently snubbed what he described as incessant provocation from the current mayor of Buea and kinsman, Ekema Patrick saying Mayor Ekema is a clown. Asked to comment on allegations levied by the current mayor on CRTV last week accusing him of poor management during his term as mayor of Buea Council, the much respected Senator observed that;  ”Have you not realised that I am not interested in exchanging words with him?.....I am too big to answer him. One should at a certain stage in life live above things that can derail him.....”

The current mayor of Buea, Ekema Patrick complained to a group of journalists during the March 1 edition of Cameroon Calling on state radio about the handling of the Buea water crisis by Senator Mbella Moki. He said the senator and former mayor did nothing to resolve the water crisis in Buea during his time as mayor. Mola Ekema even questioned how the former mayor who was also a member of the Board of Directors of Camwater could not use his position to solve the crisis. Water crisis has been a major issue in the Buea municipality with some parts of the city going for weeks with no running water.

Mayor Ekema also made it public during his interview on Cameroon calling that the Buea council is going through serious hardship at the moment due to debts incurred during the tenure of former mayor Mbella Moki. He revealed that the list of accumulated bills from his predecessor is very long including utility bills, taxation department bills and social insurance contributions for workers. Mayor Patrick Ekema told the world that in 2014, the council settled bills of over 50 million Fcfa to contractors owed by his predecessor. In December of 2014 alone, the council received an accumulated water bill of over 100 million Fcfa.

Some political commentators have opined that Senator Mbella Moki’s silence on these very serious allegations can only be deliberate not accidental. However, our chief correspondent in the South West region hinted at the time of writing this report that Mayor Ekema seems to be failing in his mission and is trying to divert public attention.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Mar.2015

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Cameroon police recently intercepted a couple from Nkambe, North West region with children.  Agnes Buinda and Dairu Sanda who are currently being held at the Nkambe prison were arrested at Sop in Bui division with the minors.  Our informant in Nkambe revealed that the kids between the ages of 5-15 all hail from the Nwa sub division. The couple were reportedly interrogated by law enforcement officers and during that interrogation they claimed the kids were their relatives and that they were taking the children to Yaoundé to enable them learn a trade and give them a better future, but in reality the couple run a large cocoa plantation in the Centre region and have constantly been recruiting less privileged children from the North West region to work in the plantation.

The children were placed under the custody of the Ndu council Mayor Mr Bunyui Emmanuel. Sources from the state counsel office at Ndu hinted Cameroon Concord that the parents of the children have all been summoned and interrogated by the police. All the parents are due in court in the coming weeks. Unconfirmed reports say the parents were not aware that the law forbids the practise of handing minors to go and work as house helps or in plantations. Nwa sub divison is currently the hub for child trafficking in North West Region with a high level of illiteracy and unemployment. Most of these parents are desperate and unable to fund or feed their children, so they often welcome offers from child traffickers. We of this publication are calling on the elites and members of Nwa Sub Division Diaspora to show interest in this very disturbing revelations on the plight of children in that part of the country.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Mar.2015

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A senior Cameroon police commissioner Yves-Marie Ngongang has been arrested and remanded in custody for alleged embezzlement of public funds. Commissioner Ngongang has been accused of embezzling 176 million fcfa while serving as the head of the identification unit at the Immigration Center in Yaoundé.

Authorities auditing the finances of the identification unit between 2010-2013 discovered that there were several receipts issued by the former  police boss Mr Ngongang for National Identification Cards and Passports that were falsified and also, revenue collected were not deposited into state coffers. Cameroon Concord understands that the case came up at the Yaoundé high court last week, but several of the witnesses were absent. Our Yaoundé correspondent reported earlier today that the case was adjourned to March 17, 2015.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Mar.2015

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A Tanzanian court has handed down death penalties to four people convicted of killing an albino woman. On Thursday, Tanzania’s High Court sentenced four people to death for killing 22-year-old Zawadi Mangidu in 2008 in the northwestern town of Geita. "The prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt," said High Court judge Joaquine Demello, adding that the verdict was issued in consideration of "the escalating killing of people with albinism in the country.”

The convicted people, including the victim’s husband Charles Nassoro, severed her legs and right hand with an axe and machete. The court’s ruling came despite the fact that Tanzania has called a moratorium on capital punishment for the past 20 years, casting doubts on the verdict’s practicality. According to reports, 17 other criminals are awaiting execution for a similar offence. Over 75 Albino people have been killed in Tanzania since 2000 as many people in the African country superstitiously believe that Albino body parts are endowed with magical powers, the United Nation announced.

The reports also said Albino body organs are traded in Tanzania’s market for USD 600 a piece, while the price of an entire Albino corpse amounts to USD 75,000. Currently, 200,000 albinos live in the African country. Earlier in the week, Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete (shown above) condemned the killings as embarrassing and disgraceful, vowing to increase efforts to put an end to the atrocities. "The government has long tried to do everything possible to stop the killings, we are very serious with this. But we still need to enhance our efforts to bring to an end these killings, which are disgusting and a big embarrassment to the nation," said Kikwete. “It is a false belief that if someone has the body part of a person with albinism, this will bring success in business, fishing and mining activities. This is what has been fuelling this ongoing evil,” he added. Albinism is a genetic disease which partially or completely disrupts the production of melanin in the body and thus results in the absence of pigment in the hair, eyes and skin.

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Ngwa Bertrand

06.Mar.2015

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Our source at the Special Criminal Court has revealed that the defense team for former Cameroon Airlines General Manager Yves Michel Fotso ridiculed some of the judges at the Special Criminal Court on Wednesday during the morning session. The case that involves Fotso and the liquidation of Camair saw Lawyers Dominique Inchauspé, Bénédicte Graull and Michael W. Bühler based in Düsseldorf, New York and Paris, telling the Special Criminal Court that their client has so far received a "flagrant unequal treatment" ever since the trial process started.

The first objection raised by the defense lawyers, concerned the conditions of access to their client, Michel Fotso. The lawyers noted that they were searched at the entrance of the place where they had to meet Yves Michel Fotso and even 2 books they wanted to offer him were confiscated. The defence team also added that they needed permission to communicate with their client making the whole process political than judicial.  The second objection raised by the lawyers on Wednesday was the continued detention of Michel Fotso since April 22, 2014 against Cameroonian law under tight security. The Fotso advocates said they cannot proceed with the case after haven spoken to their client for only an hour.

Yves Michel Fotso was jailed for embezzling 1 billion 750 million CFA francs. According to the settlement agreement that the magistrates at the Special Criminal Court made, the Cameroonian businessman already repaid 671 million FCFA. Fotso still has 1 billion 300 million that will be paid in accordance with the corpus delicti of the refund procedure under the legislation governing the Special Criminal Court. The case was moved to March 18, 2015.

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Ngwa Bertrand

05.Mar.2015

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