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Barrister Agbor Balla, Dr. Fontem Neba, Mancho Bibixy and 24 other Anglophones incarcerated in the Yaounde Central Prison Kondegui, are to appear before the court today.  They are accused of propagating false information, terrorism, and vandalism among others.

Following the decision taken early this month by the Yaoundé Military Court to treat the case as one case, many fear that judgment may not be fair to everyone. 

Some onlookers express fear for what they think may be the outcome of the judgment today while critics warn the government to be careful with their verdict else it might spark a more disastrous crisis.

“I think the decision the court has taken to Judge all 27 arrested as one is a very wrong decision. The accused did not commit the same crimes as the government rightly knows which gives the reason for each case to be considered differently. In this type of arrangement, many innocent people who were not even involved actively in the strike will be punished unjustly” says an onlooker.

“Let the Government be careful not to give a judgment that will take things from where they are to a worst situation. Giving the group a severe sentence will only worsen thing in the country” says a critic. 

 

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Tawe Gije Nkfunji

27.Apr.2017

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The fifteen members of the Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism are to be commissioned on Thursday 27.04.2017.

The ceremony will take place at the Conference Centre in yaounde under the watchful of eye of Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

The fifteen-member commission was created in January 2017 by President Paul Biya as one of a series of measures to solve the current Anglophone Problem besetting the country.

The commission headed by former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge has the daunting task of ensuring equality between English and French as well as the promotion of the different cultural backgrounds that make Cameroon unique. The team was appointed by a presidential decree on March 15, 2017.

The creation of the commission was one of a host of measures meant to curb the unrest in West Cameroon.

Government has so far put in place an ad hoc committee to propose solutions to the concerns raised by Southern Cameroonians. Two billion francs CFA has equally been put in place to assist lay private schools.  A department of Common Law has equally been created in all Francophone state-owned universities. A department of French Private Law has also been created at the University of Bamenda and its sister, the University of Buea.

The creation of this commission does not seem to solve the problem as many people still believe that bilingualism is not the target. The most important thing is rather the preservation and promotion of the culture of West Cameroon.

Since reunification, the constitution of Cameroon demands equal treatment for both official languages: French and English. Yet more than sixty years later English has been relegated to the position of subject while French takes central stage as the king of the jungle.

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Tasha Seidou

26.Apr.2017

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The appointment of Chi Cornelius is contained in a presidential decree read yesterday on CRTV, the national state-run broadcaster. Dr Asafor is the pioneer secretary general of the multi-task commission placed under the unshakeable control of the Head of State.

The commission headed by former Prime Minister Peter Mafani Musonge has the daunting task of ensuring equality between English and French as well as the promotion of the different cultural backgrounds that make Cameroon unique.

This comes at a moment when the commission members are preparing for their official start of duty on Thursday.

The fifteen members of the Commission for the Promotion Bilingualism and Multiculturalism are to be commissioned on Thursday 27.04.2017.

The ceremony will take place at the Conference Centre in yaounde under the watchful of eye of Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

The fifteen-member commission was created in January 2017 by President Paul Biya as one of a series of measures to solve the current Anglophone Problem besetting the country.

The creation of the commission was one of a host of measures meant to curb the unrest in West Cameroon.

Government has so far put in place an ad hoc committee to propose solutions to the concerns raised by Southern Cameroonians. Two billion francs CFA has equally been put in place to assist lay private schools.  A department of Common Law has equally been created in all Francophone state-owned universities. A department of French Private Law has also been created at the University of Bamenda and its sister, the University of Buea.

The creation of this commission does not seem to solve the problem as many people still believe that bilingualism is not the target. The most important thing is rather the preservation and promotion of the culture of West Cameroon.

Since reunification, the constitution of Cameroon demands equal treatment for both official languages: French and English. Yet more than sixty years later English has been relegated to the position of subject while French takes central stage as the king of the jungle.

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Rita Akana

26.Apr.2017

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The US military in partnership with the Cameroon arm forces, the multinational task force of the Lake Chad basin commission, and inter-agency partners are taking part in an exercise which began yesterday at the Douala Naval Base named Unified Focus 2017 in Douala in an effort to focus on the fight against terrorism.

According to the U.S. Army Africa deputy commander, Brigadier General Moore, Unified Focus is a brand new concept.

Moore says “We brought together representatives from all of the regional militaries, non-governmental organisations, to have intellectual and academic discussions on security issues so that we may provide some solutions and move forward with the security problems and the fight against Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa”.

Cameroon Generals present also express optimism and salute the idea behind Unified Focus. According to them the exercise aims at getting best results.

“Exercise Unified Focus is an AFRICOM exercise that effectively mobilises both national and regional efforts for the best results in the fight against terrorism,” says Cameroonian Major General Sally Mohamadou, Commander of the 2nd Military Region of Cameroon.

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Rita Akana

25.Apr.2017

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A military tribunal in Yaounde has sentenced Ahmed Abba to ten years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism related offences.

Mr Abba who is the correspondent of Radio France Internationale was arrested in July 2015 and detained in the military tribunal in Yaounde awaiting trial. His case has been adjourned more than ten times.

He was accused of complicity with terrorist acts and not denouncing such acts when he was covering the Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of Cameroon.

Mr Abba says he will appeal the decision. Ahmed is the Haussa language correspondent of Rfi .

There have been recurrent calls from media groups and some important political figures for the immediate release of the journalist, who consider the allegations as unfounded

Recently, French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Marc Ayrault made his voice heard. “We are defending this journalist who was doing his job and is detained in conditions that we cannot accept,” Marc Ayrault said.

Terrorism in Cameroon is punished by a death sentence following a controversial anti-terror law passed in 2014.

Since 2014 when the president declared war against Boko Haram in France, Cameroon has been battling with the terrorist group.

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Tasha Seidou

25.Apr.2017

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Pro-European Emmanuel Macron is set to face far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in France's presidential run-off, results showed Monday, making him clear favourite to emerge as the country's youngest leader in its history.

Macron topped Sunday's first round with 23.9 percent of votes, slightly ahead of National Front (FN) leader Le Pen with 21.4 percent, according to near-final results from the interior ministry.

They will contest the run-off on May 7.

"For months and again today I've heard the doubts, the anger and the fears of the French people. Their desire for change too," 39-year-old Macron told thousands of cheering supporters in Paris.

He pledged to unite "patriots" behind his agenda to renew French politics and modernise the country against Le Pen and "the threat of nationalists".

An ex-investment banker whose marriage to his former school teacher has fascinated France, Macron said the results were a clear rejection of traditional parties.

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Rita Akana

24.Apr.2017

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