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President Idriss Deby has been sworn in for a fifth term.

Several African heads of state attended the inauguration ceremony. Deby has ruled Chad since 1990, but he's pledged to reintroduce limits on the presidential term of office.

The 63-year-old won the April elections with 61-point-6 per cent of the vote. Opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo finished a distant second with 12-point-8 per cent.

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Rita Akana

09.Aug.2016

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The former Boss of the International Bank of Cameroon for savings and loans (BICEC),Innocent Ondoa Nkou, has been arrested by authorities in Cameroon's Economic Capital of Douala.The arrest comes barely a few days after he was sacked as CEO,a position he held for about twenty years .The former Boss was detained alongside his close aides ,Ekoko Benoit, Samuel Ngando Mbongue, and Nyamsi Martin, for the alleged misappropriation of roughly 50 billions FCfa while serving at BICEC. 

Innocent Ondoa Nkou,was forced to resign as Deputy General Manager after the discovery in February 2016 of a funds misappropriation network within BICEC, using several over-billed and fictitious invoices, regularly paid to service providers “via a system outside of the procedure”, which amounted to approximately FCfa 50 billion of misappropriate money over a 12-year period.

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Rita Akana

09.Aug.2016

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Chad has banned weakened opposition rallies ahead of the swearing in of President Idriss Deby for another term. Chad's neighbors approve of his commitment to fight terrorism, at home his record is viewed less favorably.

For Chad's long time ruler, it is essentially a formality. President Idriss Deby is due to be sworn in on August 8 for a fifth term. A former commander-in-chief of the army, the autocratic Deby has been in power for 26 years. Foreign powers respect him. Chad is seen as a relatively stable country in an unruly region. This is because Chad possesses well-trained security forces, which Deby keeps on a tight rein. Deby's troops are deployed in Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon, where they are battling the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. Chad's contingent with the UN mission in Mali is larger than all the others, consisting of more than 1000 troops. European countries count on Deby to control the routes used by refugees leaving Africa. 

Deby's troops may enjoy a good reputation abroad, but back home, Chadians are growing increasingly irritated by his leadership style. He ordered the construction of a new luxury hotel for his swearing in ceremony in a country where the prisons are overcrowded and civil servants wait months for their salaries. Hopes of reform have been dashed, Vincent Hendrick from the Catholic relief agency Misereor in Chad told DW.

Social media restrictions

There are frequent demonstrations calling for Deby's resignation. Six former candidates who failed to unseat him at the last presidential elections are even planning to proclaim a separate government. "Deby's election victory was neither legal nor legitimate," one of the candidates, Saleh Kebzabo, told DW.

According to official results, Kebzabo polled 12.8 percent of the vote to Deby's 61.5 percent, making him the president's closest rival.

No date has been set for the planned parallel administration. "We will announce the counter government when we think the time is right," Kebzabo said.

Deby was reelected president on April 10. But polling took place amid a climate of repression. Opponents of the regime were jailed for organizing peaceful protests. In the meantime, the situation has deteriorated even further. Since the elections, many Chadians can no longer access social media such as Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp. "Journalists can't do stories and businesses can't communicate with their customers, many of whom are in different parts of the world," said Julie Owono, who heads the Africa department at the NGO "Internet without Borders."

The Chadian government blames technical problems for the lack of connectivity. However, communications expert Qemal Affagnon is suspicious of this explanation. The government ordered telecommunications operators to restrict access to social media back in January, he told DW. It is technically feasible and similar clampdowns have been imposed during elections in other African countries. But most them were only temporary.

No trust in the government

Ahead of Deby's swearing in ceremony, Chadians have been complaining about restrictions on civil liberties and poor living and working conditions. In the UN Human Development Index for 2015, Chad comes very close to the bottom, occupying the 185th place out of 188. Staff at the national broadcaster ONRTV went on strike recently. "We don't have any free weekends, or days off, anymore," one journalist said. Staff were promised better working conditions in 2011 but nothing has changed in the meantime.

Deby is seeking to shore up his defenses. He wanted to take the wind out of the sails of his political opponents by reforming the constitution, but this stratagem misfired. Opposition politicians suspect he wanted to use the reform to create the post of vice president so he could groom a successor, though the ruling party denies this.

Confidence in the government and the authorities generally is at a low ebb. Several dozen military personnel, who were regarded as being critical of the regime, have disappeared since the elections. The public prosecutor issued summonses to two of the unsuccessful presidential candidates, including Saleh Kebzabo, in connection with an investigation into the whereabouts of the military personnel. This made Kebzabo suspicious and he declined to attend the hearing. Through his lawyer, he inquired why he in particular had been summoned. Other people had also openly complained about the disappearances, including the French ambassador, he said.

DW

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Rita Akana

08.Aug.2016

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A United nations peacekeeper was killed and four others wounded Sunday in northeastern Mali, when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

A U.N. statement said the blast occurred in the Kidal region and that all of the victims were from Chad. 

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, stressed that attacks targeting U.N. peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law.  He also said that attacks on regional peacekeepers "will not weaken the determination of the mission to fully implement its mandate" to monitor a peace deal reached after Islamists sought to seize control of northern Mali in 2012.

A French military intervention later quelled the crisis, clearing the way for U.N. peacekeepers who deployed in July 2013.  The mission has since been regularly targeted by Islamists, with a death toll compiled by the French news agency showing 28 people killed so far this year.

The U.N. Security Council earlier this year boosted its peacekeeping force to 15,200 troops and police in the country.

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Rita Akana

08.Aug.2016

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The King of the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is billed to deliver a lecture on Africa’s democratic advances and development at the Attlee Pontius Suit of the British Houses of Parliament in London.

The August 15 lecture is reserved for 200 audiences made up of members of both Houses of the British parliament, the London diplomatic community, leading policy institutions and head of faculty of some United Kingdom (UK) universities.

The respected monarch will be speaking on the topic ’‘Africa’s Democratic Path and the Search for Economic Transformation‘’. 

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Rita Akana

08.Aug.2016

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Motion of Support to Hi Excellency Paul Biya, National Chairman of the CPDM, President of the Republic and Head of State, on the Occasion of the Joint Section Conference Holding in Ngom on the 6^th of August 2016

 

We, CPDM party officials, Elected Representatives, Traditional and Religious Authourities, Elites, Sympathizers and other active forces of the Donga Mantung V (Nwa) section, meeeting in the “Top-view Hotel Hall Sabongari” today Saturday 6^th August, 2016, on the occasion of the Joint Section Conference of the CAMEROON PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT” (CPDM): 

1. Mindful of the fact that the “CPDM” is the bedrock of National Cohesion at the service of an Emerging Cameroon;
2. Considering the brilliant performances of the CPDM in Donga Mantung V (Nwa) Section in the national elections since 2007;
3. Appreciative of the positive fall outs of our loyalty and indefatigable support to the CPDM regime and the National Chairman-Comrade Paul Biya;
4. Considering the imperative need for us to unite for greater performances;
5. Viewing with great satisfaction the resounding victory being recorded by our Defence Forces in the on-going war against the devilish terrorist sect “Boko Haram” along the boundary with Nigeria-at the Far North Region of our country;
6. Considering above all, the forthcoming Presidential, legislative, municipal and senatorial elections in Cameroon;

Here-by move our total and unflinching support to His Excellency President Paul Biya, the National Chairman of our Party, Head of State, President of the Republic and the institutions he incarnets, good health, wisdom and foresightedness in order to lead our Peaceful Fatherland, the Republic of Cameroon, with the fear of the Lord God; further pray him, more than ever before, to kindly accept our earnest call for his candidacy of the CPDM in the forthcoming Presidential elections. 

Done in Ngom on the 6th of August 2016
 

Signed

Hon. Genesis Mbucksek (Section President)

CPDM party officials

Elected Representatives,

Traditional and Religious Authorities,

Elites

The Eye Newspaper

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Rita Akana

08.Aug.2016

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