The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Cameroon

  • AMI flays attacks on journalists in Cameroon, Sudan, Egypt, others

    African Media Initiative (AMI) has expressed great concern over the growing curtailment of media freedom in many African countries, including Cameroon, Sudan, Egypt and Tanzania.

    It said governments in Africa have a duty to refrain from undue interference with the right to media freedom and must promote and protect citizens’ rights of access to information.

    In a statement yesterday, the media group said in the last four weeks in Cameroon, eight journalists – Joseph Olinga, Michel BiemTong, Gustave Flaubert Kengne, Michel Kalabassou, Mimi Mefo, Josiane Kouagheu, Akumbom McCarthy, and Mathias Mouende – have been intimidated, arrested or tried before military courts across the country over allegations of ‘propagating false information’ or ‘undermining the safety of the state’ under the anti-terror law.

    Cameroon has seen, over the years, an accelerated shrinking of the democratic space where both journalists and citizens are having to adapt to a difficult environment.

    In Egypt, a law enacted last month has been widely criticised as tantamount to extortion of media houses as it requires hefty registration amounts for licences with websites being forced to pay more than $30,000 to register and up to five times that amount for non-compliance. The law is viewed as an attempt by the government to silence the remaining independent media.

    AMI added that on 29 October, the Press Court in Khartoum sentenced Zine El Abeen Al-A’jab, a former editor of Al Mustagila newspaper, to one and a half months in prison or a fine of 5,000 pounds ($104) over alleged “dissemination of false information” among other charges.

    Overall, according to Amnesty International, at least 15 journalists have been arrested and detained between January and October 2018 by the government’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISS).

    In addition, the entire print run of 10 newspapers was confiscated on at least 27 occasions. Al Jareeda, one of the last independent newspapers, has been confiscated at least 13 times this year.

    The statement said on 7 November in Tanzania, South African journalist Angela Quintal, Africa programme coordinator for press freedom group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and her Kenyan colleague Muthoki Mumo were arrested from their hotel in Dar-es-Salaam and detained by authorities for 24 hours.

    Rights groups and media advocates have recently expressed concerns about the freedom of expression in the country since election three years ago of Tanzania’s President, John Magufuli, whose regime has cracked down on independent media and close down critical newspapers.

    Earlier in 2018, the government approved a new law regulating online content that gives them the right to revoke the permit if a website publishes content “that leads to public disorder” and “threatens national security”, according to media report.

    In view of the above, AMI reiterated that intimidation of journalists, harassment, arbitrary detentions, closures, internet cuts, media closure, censorship, and trials of journalists before military courts over crimes allegedly committed while discharging their duties contravene international treaties and covenants protecting the freedom of the press and the public’s right of access to information .

    It called on African governments to create a conducive environment for a free exercise of the media profession .

    The group demanded the immediate release of journalists arrested.

  • UN angry over kidnap of students in Cameroon

    The United Nations is angry over the kidnap of students and staff of a secondary school in Bmenda, North-West of Cameroon and warned that there could be no justification for crimes against civilians, particularly minors.

    United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, condemned the Monday’s reported kidnap and called for their immediate release and return to their homes and families.

    No fewer than 79 students were reportedly abducted on Monday morning with their teacher, the principal and a driver.

    Read also: Cameroon Court hears calls for ‘irregular’ election to be annulled

    The abduction has prompted a massive search operation involving the Cameroonian army.

    One student who hid under a bed said that events unfolded quickly as the kidnappers threatened to shoot, rounding up the older boys and leaving the smaller ones behind.

    While no group has taken responsibility for the kidnappings, some journalists report that separatists complain that the Cameroon school system suppresses the English-speaking system inherited from the British.

    The spokesperson of the UN, Stéphane Dujarric, quoted Secretary-General that there was the need for a peaceful solution to the crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon through an inclusive dialogue process.

    According to him, the UN stands ready to assist in this regard. (NAN)

  • Boko Haram kills 13 in fresh Borno attack

    Boko Haram insurgents have killed 13 people and sacked two villages overnight in the restive town of Konduga in Borno.

    Brigadier-General Bulama Biu, the Acting General Officer Commanding of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, confirmed the attack on Thursday in Maiduguri.

    Biu said, however, that troops had risen to the occasion and had repelled the invaders, who had repeatedly attacked communities in the Konduga Local Government Area over the years.

    He disclosed that he had visited the attacked communities, Bularin and Kofa, including camps in the communities, housing thousands of displaced people.

    “I was there. We recovered one dead body and saw burnt houses. Troops have been following up on the attackers,” said Biu.

    Alfred Audu, a member of a militia, known as Civilian Joint Task Force, who claimed he was on duty at the time of the attack, said the insurgents engaged troops in a bid to force their way into the communities.

    Audu said the insurgents were pushed back when fighter planes were deployed to confront the invaders.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: Army receives large cargo of arms

    Another eye-witness, who gave his name simply as Alhaji Modu, said that hundreds of the insurgents on trucks with mounted guns and motorcycles, attacked the communities at about 7:45 p.m.

    Modu said the insurgents launched rocket attacks and forced their way into the IDP camps and also attacked homes with ferocious fire.

    He said that nine people were killed at Bularin IDP Camp and three others in the Kofa IDP Camp.

    “An Islamic cleric together with his wife and three children were burnt to death when the insurgents sacked their home at Bularin IDP Camp.

    “They burnt down the village market, shops, houses, animals and vehicles. Many people died in the attack while others are still missing.

    “Bularin village was razed and several tents in the camp destroyed. Many people were displaced in the attack,” Modu said.

    Boko Haram, which also operates in Cameroon, Chad and Niger has persistently attacked communities in northern Nigeria, especially the country’s vast northeast.

    The Federal Government has however, said that the insurgents have been decimated, although the group has been packing deadly punches over the years.

    Boko Haram launched its deadly campaign in 2009, vowing to enthrone a strict Islamic code in Africa’s most populous nation.

  • INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY (NOVEMBER16.): Brazil to play Cameroon in MK Stadium

    Brazil has named a 23-man squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Cameroon – the latter of which is to be played at MK Dons’ ground, Stadium MK.

    Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino have all been named in Tite’s side ahead of the November international break. Gabriel Jesus, Willian, Fabinho, Richarlison, Alisson and Ederson also feature.

    Brazil meets Uruguay at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on November 16 before heading north of London to Milton Keynes four days later.

    The 30,500-seater stadium that usually plays host to League Two football but will welcome the World Cup quarter-finalists for their match against Cameroon.

    MK Dons chairman Pete Winkelman said: ‘It is a real privilege for the community of Milton Keynes to welcome Brazil, one of the greatest national football teams of all time, and reigning African Cup of Nations champions Cameroon to Stadium MK.

    ‘We are all looking forward to hosting this magnificent sporting event here in November.’

    Brazil were defeated 2-1 by Belgium at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup last summer but Tite remained in his role as manager.

    They have won all four of their games following the tournament in Russia, against USA (2-0), El Salvador (5-0), Saudi Arabia (2-0) and Argentina (1-0) in Saudi Arabia, where they were awarded the Superclasico Cup.

  • Nigeria, Cameroon military partner on counter insurgency

    The Nigerian Army and its Cameroonian counterpart have agreed to work closely to fight Boko Haram insurgents in their borders, the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Texas Chukwu, said yesterday.

    Chukwu said in a statement in Maiduguri that the move was aimed at sustaining joint military operations to end insurgency in their borders.

    He quoted the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division, Brig.Gen. Abdulmalik Biu, as saying in Wulgo, a border community in Borno State, that the two armies have to collaborate with a view to neutralising Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal activities.

    A battalion of the Cameroonian Defence Forces (CDF) is currently deployed in the area.

    Biu asked the troops to be decisive and to keep denying Boko Haram insurgents freedom of action as the dry season approaches.

    Robert Bokwe, the Commander of the CDF Battalion, commended Biu over the visit.

    Bokwe noted that the two armies had successfully conducted Operation Deep Punch and ALMINIFACAT, to rout Boko Haram insurgents in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad region.

    He reiterated the commitment of the CDF to supporting the Nigerian Army in the counter-insurgency campaign.

    Biu was accompanied on the visit by Brig-Gen Jonh Ochai, the Commander, 22 Brigade, Dikwa; Customs Area Comptroller, Borno/Yobe Command, Mr Abdullahi Aliyu and principal staff officers of the 7 Division.

  • Biya, 85 wins Cameroon’s presidential election again

    Eighty-five-year-old Paul Biya has been declared winner of the October 7 presidential election by the Cameroon’s Constitutional Council.

    Biya won the poll with 71.28% of the votes cast beating eight other candidates to extend his 36-year rule of the Central African country to 2025.

    Opposition leader, Prof Maurice Kamto who had earlier declared himself winner of the polls came second with 14.23% of the total votes.

    Cabral Libii, one of the youngest candidates at the election emerged third with 6.28% of the votes while Joshua Osih, a candidate for the leading opposition party, Social Democratic Front (SDF) come in the fourth with 3.35% — the worst tally the party has ever registered at a presidential vote since 1992.

    It was the first time the party fielded a different candidate for a presidential seat other than the party’s chair.

    The other candidates individually scored less than 2% in an election marred by low voter turnout in the country’s two predominantly English-speaking regions.

    “The election was free, fair, credible and transparent in spite of the security challenges in the Northwest and Southwest regions”, said Justice Clement Atangana, the President of Constitutional Council.

    Last week, the council rejected opposition claims that the poll had been marred by fraud and rigging.

    No appeal or other legal remedy is allowed against the verdict of the Constitutional Council, thus the president-elect will be sworn-in by November 7 according to the law.

    Biya, now to serve 7th term has been in power since 1982 and is Africa’s second longest serving leader.

     

    NAN

  • Cameroon Court hears calls for ‘irregular’ election to be annulled

    Opposition Candidates, who said that Presidential election in Cameroon was marred by fraud, had their appeals heard at the country’s Constitutional Council on Tuesday.

    President Paul Biya is widely expected to extend his 36-year rule by winning a seventh term making him one of Africa’s longest serving leaders.

    But allegations of voter intimidation, violence and ballot-stuffing have cast doubt over the Oct. 7, election and raised political tensions ahead of results expected before Sunday.

    Opposition candidate Maurice Kamto, who declared victory shortly after the vote without providing actual figures, asked the court to cancel results in seven regions of Cameroon.

    “This election was absolutely irregular,” Emmanuel Simh, the vice president of Kamto’s Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) party, said in court on Tuesday.

    Cameroon’s electoral body Elecam has defended its organisation of the poll and said over the weekend that it had not seen any proof of fraud.

    Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary has dismissed allegations of fraud.

    Candidates Joshua Osih and Cabral Libii have asked for the results to be cancelled and the election to be re-run.

    Civil society groups have called for peaceful demonstrations against the election process, but none have taken place so far.

    Opposition to another seven years of Biya rule comes amid a separatist insurgency in the English-speaking South West and North West regions where there were isolated incidents of violence on Election Day and where few went to vote.

    Crisis Group analyst Hans De Marie Heungoup estimated an average voter participation of 55 per cent in Francophone regions and five per cent in Anglophone areas.

    The major cocoa and oil producer has experienced economic growth of over 4 per cent a year since Biya was last elected in 2011, but many of its 24 million citizens still live in poverty.

    An Islamist Boko Haram insurgency in the north, which spread from neighbouring Nigeria, has killed scores over the past decade.

    The Anglophone crisis has cost hundreds of lives and forced thousands to flee their homes. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Healthcare for immigrants in 30 languages

    A pioneering program featuring cultural mediators and interpreters at Madrid’s Ramón y Cajal Hospital provides assistance to over 5,700 migrants and trains another 10,000 in TB and sex education.

    In many African countries, almost nothing related to healthcare is free.

    That’s why an offer of free medical tests and treatment upon an immigrant’s arrival in Spain can be met with skepticism.

    Recipients might wonder: will my fluids end up on the black market? Why do they need so much blood?

    When a doctor and a patient speak different languages, everything from explaining the reason for a pain to discrediting blood-trafficking rumors is a challenge.

    Salud Entre Culturas is a pioneering healthcare program that was born in 2006 within the Tropical Diseases unit of the Madrid-based Ramón y Cajal Hospital.

    Its mission is to provide healthcare to people who don’t speak Spanish, and who have limited English and French skills.

    These are mainly sub-Saharan young men, but the program is open to all nationalities. The focus is on breaking the language barrier while getting past cultural differences.

    “Many do not know what hepatitis is. You talk about malaria and some think it spreads by water, or that AIDS doesn’t exist.

    Explaining dormant tuberculosis, diagnosing a chronic disease or telling them they need blood tests every six months is a hurdle,” says director Rogelio López-Vélez, MD.

    López-Vélez leads a team of five regular professionals and several assistants. Translators participate in consultations with migrants who know only certain African languages.

    In this facility, up to 30 African languages have been spoken, as well as Romanian, Russian and Arabic.

    The immigrants’ most common countries of origin include Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Conakry, Ukraine and most recently, Syria.

    Suleiman, age 25, attended his first doctor’s appointment in Spain with two friends.

    “We were concerned about whether they would understand us and be able to come up with a diagnosis,” he says.

    “Now that we’ve been through this, we really appreciate the interpreting service. Translators are of tremendous help.

    Without them this would be extremely difficult and unreliable.” All three of them come from Guinea Conakry and say that learning Spanish is their top priority.

    The program appeared at the same time as the cayuco boat crisis, when 39,180 people landed in small “patera” boats on the coast of the Canary Islands.

    Since then, healthcare professionals have treated more than 5,700 migrants and have created specialized workshops for nearly 10,000 people, raising awareness about issues such as TB, HIV-AIDS and sex education.

    In 2017, Madrid’s Health Council made the program official, recognizing the importance of cultural mediation and interpreting services.

    Alongside López-Vélez, psychologist Anne Guionet, interpreter Bárbara Navaza and Doctor Miriam Navarro bolstered the initiative. Navarro, who no longer practices day-to-day medical care, still remembers their first steps:

    “From the very beginning, we realized the unease it caused for these people to have a heap of tests done with no one able to explain them in their own language, and all the misconceptions such a situation entailed.”

    Migrants normally come for their first medical appointments thanks to the workshops they regularly attend, organized by members of Salud Entre Culturas at NGOs, shared flats or even local bars.

    The project started with sub-Saharan Africans and progressively opened up to other nationalities. “In these meetings we run quick HIV tests and organize themed talks based on the needs of our respective organizations,” Peña says.

    The team has started analyzing the impact of these workshops. Based on data collected by Navarro, at first only 47 percent of attendees acknowledged the existence of AIDS — a figure that rose to 95 percent at the end of the workshop.

    Over the years, the project has received financing from public sources such as the National AIDS Plan and European funds, as well as from private investors and donors.

    From university and jumping the fence

    In 2008, Entre Culturas trained a group of Africans to become health and cultural mediators. This year, they were able to train four more. Serigne Fall of Senegal was part of the first group; the second one included Serge Hoys, a Cameroonian who joined in June.

    Their stories have a rather different starting point but converged in this unit. While Fall came to Spain from France, where he studied French philology, Hoys literally jumped over the fence at Melilla. They both ended up working for the organization.

    “In Cameroon, there are over 187 official dialects,” Hoys says. “Imagine what it’s like to talk to people who only speak these languages. This is not just any job; the conditions in which the sub-Saharan Africans arrive here are tough.

    Some of them have never been to a medical practice, nor have they been admitted to a hospital or had a flu shot. This is what we need to be aware of,” he stresses.

    “We’re pushing for interpreters to become part of the public health system. A doctor shouldn’t have to draw a picture for a patient.”

    Now the service’s greatest challenge is to follow up on treatments. “It’s a very unstable demographic,” López-Vélez says, “because they can only stay in foster homes in Madrid for 90 days at most…and many of them leave afterwards.

    It is important to adapt protocols.” For the time being, at least, the program has managed to remove linguistic barriers, and to convince patients that their blood is in good hands.

  • Cameroon legend Samuel Eto sets 2020 retirement date

    Former Barcelona ace and Cameroon international Samuel Etoo, has set 2020 as his retirement date from football.  The 37 year old who made 118 appearances for the Indomitable Lions scoring 56 goals between 1997 and 2014, revealed this on Monday in a chat with Radio France International (RFI).

    The four-time African footballer of the year who only recently parted ways with Turkish side Konyaspor on mutual agreement hinted however that he still hopes to have a go at two seasons of active football this time in the French Ligue 1 before finally bidding goodbye to the game that brought him fame and wealth. The Striker played for fourteen different clubs including Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Chelsea in the course of his career said he hopes to venture into something new after football.

    “Priority is to play in the first division. I want to play two more seasons, then stop my career and start a new life. “He said

    Etoo who has three Champions league trophy in his kitty, also boasts of an Olympic gold medal he won with the lions in at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

    Etoo has been to four World cups France 98, Korea/Japan 2002, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 respectively.

    The former Everton ace is expected to reveal his next club in France in due course revealing that he has received some offers that are still being studied.

    “We have offers. We’re going to see which suits me best” said Etoo who remains Indomitable Lions all time record goalscorer.

     

  • AFCON 2019: Cameroon Engage Seedorf for Lions

     

    Host of 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon have engaged former Dutch International midfielder Clarence Seedorf as coach of the Indomitable Lions to be assisted interestingly by former teammate Patrick Kluivert.

    The duo’s appointment was announced by Cameroon’s Minister of Sport and Physical Education, Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt, at a news conference on Saturday and comes after talks with former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson failed hit the rocks

    Seedorf takes over from the Belgian Hugo Broos, who led the side to a surprise victory at the 2017 African Nations Cup finals but was axed in November after failing to win a place at the World Cup in Russia.

    Cameroon will defend their Nations Cup title on home soil in June next year, a first major finals test for the new management team.

    Seedorf, 42, will take on his first national team job having had limited experience in coaching following brief spells with AC Milan, Chinese side Shenzhen and Deportivo La Coruna.

    He led those teams in a total of 52 games, but is revered for an illustrious playing career, most notably at Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid and AC Milan, winning the Champions League with each club

    He was also capped 87 times by the Netherlands between 1994 and 2008.

    Former striker Kluivert’s playing career also included Ajax, where he was a Champions League winner with Seedorf, Milan and most notably Barcelona where he spent six seasons.

    He was assistant coach to Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal between 2012 and 2014, and was later briefly in charge of Dutch Caribbean nation Curacao. One of the results that forced the exit of former coach Hugo Broos was Super Eagles 4-0 demolition of indomitable lions at the Nest of Champions in Uyo ahead of the World cup.

    Goals from Odion Ighalo, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses and Kelechi Iheanacho were all the Gernot Rohr tutored side needed to post what was dubbed their biggest win en-route to Russia where they unfortunately failed to live up to expectations.