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A Cameroonian army vehicle operating on behalf of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the fight against Boko Haram has been hit by a landmine near In Homeka, a town in the Far North region of Cameroon early this morning, according to local French daily newspaper L'Oeil du Sahel.Two casualties have been reported so far, with 5 other soldiers sustaining serious injuries.The explosion destroyed parts of the truck, according to eye witnesses.

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)  had been operating in the boarder areas with Nigeria in order to foster regional cooperation and expand partner capacity to ensure Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa do not further destabilise the region.

Boko Haram has been wreaking havoc in Cameroon since 2014, killing about 2000 civilians and at least 150 soldiers and policemen and displacing hundreds of thousands of people in a war that does not seem to go away.

Presidents Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and Paul Biya of Cameroon have vowed many times to crush the “godless, mindless” militants who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in March 2015 and have since been modelling their barbarism after the Middle East killers, but those boasts have failed to bring peace and stability to the Lake Chad Basin.

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Rita Akana

24.Apr.2017

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PCC moderator case postponed to the 5th of June, close to 6 weeks from now, nothing yet is mentioned to that of the Bishops and priests in Buea.

The second is a disturbing news that the GCE Board which the Anglophones fought so hard in the early 90s to get has been moved to Yaounde to be managed by BACC,

GCE Board is the board which organises the Anglo-Saxon exams. BACC board organised the French exams. Before the GCE Board came to life, our parents and people protested. It came with a cost. Anglophone Cameroon currently has no political power over the board. As a result of this strike action, it is now clear that GCE will not take place in Southern Cameroons. Any exams organised by the GCE Board in Southern Cameroons will lack credibility as students have been home since November 21st, 2016. Any student taking such exams is doing him or herself a disservice. Parents should caution against that.

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Rita Akana

22.Apr.2017

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Photographs of the extravagant home of Antoine Felix Samba have gone viral on social media, with several comments from a poverty-stricken people.

Mr Antoine Felix Samba is the director of administrative and budgetary services at the Ministry of Finance. His home is built on a conspicuous hill at Nkolondom in the Nkoldobo neighbourhood of Yaounde, capital of Cameroon.

The home that looks very much like the palace of a rich Saudi Billionaire comprises several domes, a swimming pool, statuettes, several structures linked by footbridges and some royal –like edifices. The castle is estimated at over $ 40 million.

In a country where people are battling with putting food on their tables, such show of wealth is very unusual, especially from a mere civil servant.

Several comments have followed the photographs. “I saw the images today on Facebook , and people were commenting on it so seriously that I thought it was the home of a different person. When I downloaded the photographs, I recognized it as the home of the DG,” recounts a student from the neigbourhood.

“Even if he were earning CFA 20 million, and had worked for eighty years already, he would still not have built such a home,” reads a post on social media.

ANTOINE FELIX SAMBA DESERVES IT

Those who know the former director general of budget say it is normal for him to have such a mighty castle.

“Mr Samba is a very nice person. I sold the land to him in 2001. He built it before me,” revealed Onana Ombili Rene, the quarter head of the area. Mr Samba had begun with a tiny strip which he later increased with time.

His former colleagues attribute his success to his longevity at strategic positions in government.

 “We must admit that Antoine Felix has been in the corridors of finance since the age of 22. He has occupied several positions within the government, moving from SOPECAM as head of the accounting bureau, and head of the finance and account department to the Ministry of Finance now. All that in under 30 years,” disclosed Jean-Paul Ngantchang, a former civil servant now on retirement.

He claims to have worked with Mr Samba when he was still young.

On his Facebook timeline, Jean Lambert Nang, erstwhile CRTV journalist,  expressed shock at the comments on social media: “Who said a civil servant must remain a poor person , working only for others to amass? Must homes like that remain the exclusive property of people from some regions?...”

The Ministry of Finance has not yet reacted.

At a time when the country is grappling with severe financial crises, people may find it hard to swallow.

Recently, teachers had staged a strike for unpaid and accumulated salaries.

There is Boko Haram in the northern part of the nation.

The Anglophone Problem has not yet ended.

And above all, unemployment is growing more and more alarming.

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Tasha Seidou

22.Apr.2017

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Cameroon's veteran Dictator Paul Biya finally yielded to pressure from home and abroad yersterday Thursday April 20, 2017 at exactly 5:00PM by ordering the immediate reinstatement of the internet in the north and south west regions of the country.

The internet which was cut off from these two regions in January had greatly crippled economic and socio cultural activities and attracted criticisms both from home and abroad.

Nevertheless, the news of internet reinstatement in these two parts of the country have greatly been applauded by some inhabitants and at the same time ridiculed by others.

A Limbe resident welcomes the internet with joy. “Welcome back internet, courage to my fellow brothers and sisters. Let’s continue from where we ended” he says.

I am waiting to see my south west chiefs to begin sending their motion of support for Paul Biya for restoring the internet in the region” mocks a South West resident.

“Popo you think you are smart, our fight was never about internet; we need our independence. Let the struggle continue” writes a Bamenda resident on her Facebook page.

Another Facebook user writes on his time line “when you were cut off internet from southern Cameroons, it was never announced. When you restore it, it becomes an Easter gift. The struggle has just begun”.

Despite the blackout, some Cameroonian startups found ways to get online by creating an “internet refugee camp.” On an even brighter note, during the shutdown, 17-year-old Nji Collins Gbah, whose hometown was cut off the internet, emerged as the first African winner in Google’s annual coding competition.

Many Southern Cameroonians have said it is a step in the right direction but they are still waiting for the unconditional release of all protesters who were illegally abducted and arrested and whisked to the Yaounde central prison; they say it is then that they can start real negotiations with the government of Cameroon.

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Rita Akana

21.Apr.2017

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After 94 days of internet blackout, internet to be restored today in English-Speaking according to official sources.

A press release on state media announced that the head of state has ordered for Internet to be restored in anglophone regions of Cameroon.

Cameroon's economy has lost nearly 3 million euros ($3.1 million) as a result of the internet blackout according to French NGO, Internet sans Frontieres (Internet without Borders). The organization said since 2015, there has been a rise in the use of internet blackouts as a means of stifling opposition by French-speaking African governments.

In January, four internet providers in Cameroon including France's Orange and South Africa's MTN told their subscribers that internet connectivity was no longer available due to "reasons outside of (our) control".

In January, protests in the English-speaking regions brought several cities to a standstill. Biya's regime responded to the demonstrations by deploying security forces, arresting some opposition leaders and shutting down the internet. Some of the protesters accused of being behind the social unrest are facing trial at a military court.

There have been reactions on the social media to this breaking news:

"...Internet restoration is not an achievement. It was/is a violation of our fundamental human rights. Mr. Biya must be condemned. Restoration of our statehood will be an achievement. All Southern Cameroonians should be ready to throw bullets to any elites or whosoever who dares to praise Biya for restoring the internet. The struggle continues...

Mark Bareta, April 20th, 2017

 

Great news for Anglophone regions of #Cameroon, but the need remains to continue highlighting wider abuses taking place in the country. https://t.co/iLSlTHx6XK

— Jeffrey Smith (@Smith_JeffreyT) April 20, 2017

#Cameroon's president has ordered Tcoms Minister to restore Internet to the two English-speaking regions after nearly 100 days suspension https://t.co/YpmrBuHV7H

— Bate Felix Tabi Tabe (@BateFelix) April 20, 2017

Hearing that internet restored in Cameroon after 94 days of shutdown and millions lost. #BringBackOurInternet #KeepitOn HT @lawyerpants

— Deji Olukotun (@dejiridoo) April 20, 2017

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Rita Akana

20.Apr.2017

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Libyan fishermen found the bodies of 28 migrants who appeared to have died of thirst and hunger after their boat broke down off the coast of Sabratha city, a ministry of interior official said on Tuesday.

Since Libya fell into chaos after Muammar Gaddafi's fall in 2011, the North African country has become the main departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe by sea. More than 150,000 have made the crossing to Italy annually over the past three years.

The 28 migrants, including four women, were found after sunset by the fishermen, who towed the vessel to shore, Interior Ministry security unit commander Ahmaida Khalifa Amsalam told Reuters. The victims were buried together in a cemetery for illegal migrants, he said.

"Their boat stopped in the middle of the water because the engine was broken," he said. He did not give details on any of the nationalities, but many illegal migrants are from sub-Saharan Africa. 

Smugglers often pack migrants in flimsy inflatable dinghies, dispatching them to sea to get picked up by rescue ships and other vessels once they reach international waters. Some are intercepted and turned back by the Libyan coastguard.

U.N. Libya envoy Martin Kobler sharply criticized conditions in Libyan refugee camps in an interview with German broadcaster Bayerischen Rundfunk.

"The camps are in terrible condition. Women are being sexually abused, people are crowded together in small buildings and are being kept like animals. These are intolerable conditions that must be changed," he said.

Kobler said it was important to improve conditions in the camps, but the biggest priority should be to address the underlying reasons for the migration flows.

The U.N. migration agency last week reported that growing numbers of African migrants passing through Libya are traded in what they call slave markets before being held for ransom, forced labour or sexual exploitation.

Libya is the main gateway for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea, with more than 150,000 people making the crossing in each of the past three years.

So far this year, an estimated 26,886 migrants have crossed to Italy, over 7,000 more than during the same period in 2016. More than 600 are known to have died at sea, while an unknown number perish during their journey north through the desert.

The German foreign ministry concluded in January that African migrants face executions, torture and other systematic rights abuses in camps in Libya, according to media reports.

Reuters

 

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Rita Akana

19.Apr.2017

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