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If I could, I would probably put the video of Honorable Wirba of Jakiri, West Cameroons on auto replay several times over! I would do it because his every utterance is a landmark in truth. I would do it because every precious word from his mouth felt like a razor blade cutting by a thousand pieces into the balls of the Speaker of Cameroon’s National Assembly, his colleagues, and those who have symbolized assimilation over the past five decades.

I would do so because while his bravery pales in comparison to the young men whose lives have been cut short by the barbarians of President Biya, he stands in the Lion’s den to dare it, and honor the memories of the fallen heroes. I could go on and on…

Honorable Wirba speaks with passion. He speaks with conviction. He speaks with purpose. He relates with his constituents in Jakiri, but he has the gift to draw everyone of us into his mind and as he relives the tragedy of affliction inflicted upon citizens of West Cameroon.

It would be recalled that in 1961, two former UN Trust Territories (French administered La Republique du Cameroon and English administered British Southern Cameroons) came together in what has been documented as a monumentally flawed UN experiment of federalism.

After five decades of witnessing the erosion of constitutional guarantees for a bilingual, bi-jural, and bi-cultural country, teachers joined a call by lawyers for a peaceful demonstration. Their manhandling by paramilitary and police forces became fuel for a popular uprising that has so far seen the deaths and torture of several innocent citizens.

The emergence of Honorable Wirba was so desperately awaited by Southern Cameroonians. We have desperately waited for one who can articulate our grief, yet remain a gentleman and Statesman to the end. Thankfully, Wirba has come along. Our Moses is here, unapologetic about our struggles and informed about our future as a free people. Accept our feeble “thank you”, Wirba, for even those who are six-feet below now know their deaths are not in vain!

or now, one more thing we can do is share this video again and again on social media. Let us make it truly viral and the most watched video in our history.

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Innocent Chia | Twitter: @InnoChia

15.Dec.2016

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“...When we talk of vandals that are destroying things, I saw that the gendarmes and the police are more vandals than anybody else in this country.”
John Fru Ndi, National Chairman of the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) party was speaking in Bamenda, Saturday, December 10, 2016 at the end of the National Executive Committee, NEC meeting – the last for 2016.
After reviewing the recent happenings in Bamenda and Buea, Fru Ndi said the SDF strongly condemns “the killing of our children by members of the armed forces”.
Justifying why he thinks some elements of the police and gendarmerie are more vandals, the SDF Chairman said “the police and gendarmes went to Buea, broke into girls’ hostels, raped some of them, destroyed their doors, brought them out, and rubbed them sewage. I don’t think that any normal human being will want to see their child treated that way”.

He said it is very unfortunate for our country that when children protest that they don’t have teachers to teach them; the answer is that they should be shot and killed.
“We call on Mr. Biya and his government to listen to the cries of the people – teachers and the lawyers. If this thing stretches out to next year, it might be a little too dangerous for our country,” Fru Ndi said.
The SDF Chairman said when the youths first took to the streets, they were adamant to his calls for them to be peaceful.

“They told me, Mr. Chairman we know you, don’t bring your messages of peace to us again. We are fed up,” Fru Ndi said of the protesting youths in Bamenda.
He adds that: “We cannot be preaching peace to hungry stomachs. With all these, I feel very worried. And if Mr. Biya does not do something and do it fast, he will have himself to blame.”
Fru Ndi said matters were further compounded by utterances made by Minister Paul Atanga Nji (though he did not call names) on the Anglophone problem.
“Instead of listening to the people, Mr. Biya’s minister insulted Bamenda people and told them that he was coming to march in Bamenda and will see which dog will bark. So Bamenda people have become dogs that are barking. But he came, saw the children and they drove him. He went running. It is unfortunate,” Fru Ndi said.

He regretted that SDF parliamentarians were blocked from staging a peaceful march in solidarity with common law lawyers and Anglophone teachers in Buea.
“When we got to Buea, they brought thugs and recruits from the police college. They came and blocked our parliamentarians at the Parliamentarian Flats Hotel. This was really painful,” Fru Ndi said, regretting that for 26 years, the Biya regime is still blocking opposing voices.
Hear Fru Ndi: “When the prime minister was out here trying to resolve the issues of the lawyers and teachers, his ministers were in Yaoundé saying it at the top of their voices that there was no Anglophone problem. The other day (December 8), they came to march and say there is no Anglophone problem. Anyway, I'm happy that the children showed them that there is an Anglophone problem.”

Fru Ndi addressed a rally in Buea on December 5 where he said he and the SDF support the Teachers’ and Common aw Lawyers’ strike. He particularly said the SDF has since demanded a return to a two-state federation, which demand is now being re-echoed.
It was in the wake of police/gendarme brutality meted out on innocent students in Buea that the SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, led his party’s Senators, MPs and Mayors to condemn this inhuman treatment of students and to ask for their release.
The legislators in a meeting with South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai demanded the release of those arrested and warned against the use of force to suppress peaceful protests.

The Sun Newspaper

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Rita Akana

15.Dec.2016

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Communication Minister and Government Spokesman, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has revealed that “Forces of law and order who showcase courage, self-denial, patriotism and the sense of sacrifice have received encouragements from the Head of State for their action in order to restore public order and security in Bamenda.”

The revelation was made last December 10 during a press conference he granted in Yaounde to reiterate government’s position on the insurgency. President Biya’s encouragement is coming at the time many people are still wondering aloud how Forces of Law and Order who ought to protect its population could allegedly open fire on unarmed protesters in a democratic republic like Cameroon.

Minister Tchiroma explained that “in the management of this situation, the Security Forces were effectively deployed with a constant aim of restoring peace and order in the city of Bamenda and its surroundings by preserving human lives - including those of troublemakers - and by ensuring the safety and tranquility of populations.”

As usual, the government was quick at seeing a hidden hand behind the insurgency “the persistence of these acts of violence has become incomprehensible and hide the maneuvers of some people who are fun of shady dealings, refractory to dialogue and consultation, and who cheerfully manipulate the populations and especially the youths, in support of a hidden agenda.”

He promised that the regime bring “the perpetrators of the acts of protesterism on December 8 in Bamenda to book as they will have to face the rigors of the law and will receive, if need be, the rightly deserved punishment for the abuses for which their guilt will have been established.”

Quizzed to know if CPDM authorities who wanted to organize the meeting at the grand stand as well as the Divisional Officer who granted them the permission to hold the meeting will go unpunished by the regime for causing public disorder given that the population interpreted it as a provocation, Minister Tchiroma in a rather elusive tone said that they were not gods to have foreseen that something could happen as such.

The Minister concluded with a piece of advice that “On behalf of the Government, I am calling on our young compatriots, prey to the illusions sold to them by the sponsors of this violence, to be more vigilant and lucid enough in order to avoid being drawn into these paths which are pathways to perdition and self destruction. The Government strongly warns those who undertake to use the communication advantages of social media to misinform public opinion, misrepresent facts and incite hatred, disorder and violence, that the State will do everything in its power and with the support of friendly countries, to track them, search them out, arrest them and take them to court.”

While insisting that the regime will never call the SCNC over for dialogue until they form a political party, Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said that “the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA, hereby addresses to families of our compatriots whose lives were claimed during these sad events his most heartfelt condolences and wishes the wounded, quick recovery.”

The Sun Newspaper

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The Sun

14.Dec.2016

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Bernard Okalia Bilai,South West Governor has asked Buddih Adams,Kum Leonard and Atia Tilarious to dissolve a recently created consortium to fight for rights of English Speaking Journalists and preserve the bilingual nature of the country.

He threatened them with arrest today at Governors office after intimidating them with his Eta Major,the Press men were later received by Communication Delegate who in front of them received a call from Communication minister Issa Tchiroma asking for a report of the incident to be sent to Yaounde.

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Prince Nfor Hanson Nchanji

14.Dec.2016

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Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled by the draconian sanctions that Cameroon's media regulator, the National Communication Council (CNC), has imposed on 22 media outlets. They include the permanent closure of two newspapers, whose publishers are now banned for life from working as journalists.

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Peter Nsoesie

13.Dec.2016

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The African Union is calling on Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to accept the results of the presidential election earlier this month as he said he would.

AU Commission Chairperson Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma said, "The chairperson of the commission strongly urges President Yahya Jammeh to facilitate a peaceful and orderly transition and transfer of power to the new president of The Gambia."

Jammeh had conceded defeat after the December 1 poll, but issued a statement Friday saying "unacceptable errors" were found by election officials and he is no longer conceding to opposition candidate Adama Barrow.

Dlamini-Zuma said said Jammeh's rejection of the results is "null and void" as he has already conceded. She said Barrow's triumph "is the true expression of the will of the people."

Jammeh has ruled Gambia for more than 22 years.

After the election results were announced, state media broadcast a phone call in which President Jammeh told Barrow that he wanted to hand over power graciously and vowed not to contest the results.

Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory" and praised the elections as "transparent" and "rig-proof." He also said, "Allah is telling me my time is up," and added he would move to his farm after leaving office in January.

Barrow, 51, represented a coalition of seven opposition parties that challenged Jammeh.

Jammeh, also 51, has ruled the tiny West African nation since taking power in a military coup in 1994. He won four subsequent elections that critics said were neither free nor fair and supported a 2002 constitutional amendment that removed presidential term limits. He once said he could rule Gambia for "a billion years."

Rights groups have often accused Jammeh of having political opponents and journalists either arrested or killed.

Amnesty International said in a statement after the election that the new administration would have an obligation to "transform the human rights situation in Gambia, freeing political prisoners, removing repressive laws and entrenching newly found freedoms."

Gambia is a former British colony that occupies a narrow sliver of land surrounded by French-speaking Senegal. About 880,000 Gambians were eligible to vote in the poll, which took place under a complete communications blackout, including social media platforms.

VOA

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Rita Akana

11.Dec.2016

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