Publisher/Editor: OJONG Steven AYUKOGEM. Tel: (+237) 77 07 27 79. E-mail: themedianpaper@yahoo.com
Sunday, 27 November 2016
Despite talks with PM:
Teachers/Lawyers to continue strikes until
Y’de shows good faith
By Nestor Njodzefe in Bamenda
 |
Prime Minister Philemon Yang, crestfallen after failed outing
in Bamenda
|
Teachers Trade Unions and the Common Law
Lawyers have resolved to continue with the strike initiated on November 21 and
October 11, 2016 respectively after a meeting they had with Prime Minister,
Philemon Yang ended with no satisfactory solutions to both teachers and
lawyer’s problems.
On
Friday, November 25, PM Yang purportedly on the instructions of President Paul
Biya was in Bamenda to meet with authorities of Common Law Lawyers and
confederation if teachers trade unions and associations (SYNES,TAC, CATTU,
PEATTU, BATTUC, CEWOTU) and talk them out of the strike.
It
is also reported that he was also dispatched as a son of the region to thaw the
tense atmosphere that had reigned supreme in Bamenda after the street protests
that brought a lot of uncertainty and unrest.
Philemon
Yang who was accompanied by a strong delegation from Yaoundé and assisted by
North West Governor Adolf LeleLafrique and his closs aides also met some
traditional authorities, the clergy, the Vice Chancellor of the University of
Bamenda, Prof. Nkuo Theresa Akenji and the leader of the Social Democratic
Front, Ni John FruNdi.
Teachers resolute to continue strike until
solutions come
According
to a press release made public after the lengthy and animated discussions
between the Prime Minister and leaders of the concerned trade unions, it was
agreed amongst other things that a “new
institutional framework to look into the problems raised by the Anglophone
teachers trade unions will be put in place by Wednesday, November 30 2016.
The
new institutional framework to “meet and work in Bamenda for the convenience of
the majority of the members” according to the release “will be enlarged to
include Anglophone stakeholders” and its report is expected to indicate
timelines for implementation with resolutions arrived at expected to be
“submitted to His Excellency, the Prime Minster, Head of Government within a
week of deliberations”.
Regarding
conditions for the suspension of the strike, it was agreed that when “at least
one other request is fulfilled on or before November 30” then shall the strike
be suspended.
While
talking to The Median, Tassang Wilfred Executive Secretary General of CATTU
called on parents to keep their children at home while advising them not to
heed to manipulations from some quarters to allow their children take to
streets. He also reassured them that the dateline for the registration of the
GCE and CAPIEM exams that is expected to end soon will be extended.
Vaulting Insensitivity:
CPDM hirelings deny there’s an Anglophone
problem
Five government ministers last Thursday
turned a press conference in Yaounde into a huge joke when in their effort to
explain government’s response to recent events in “Southern Cameroons” all
denied there is an Anglophone problem in Cameroon. These New Deal lackeys gave
their listeners the impression the memory of the CPDM regime is defective; it
only chronicles convenient events, while deliberately avoiding those it finds
unpleasant, no matter how recent. But the grievances of Anglophones are
objective and legitimate, and the buck stops at President Biya’s desk!
By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde
 |
These New Deal diehards say there is no Anglophone problem in Cameroon
|
If there is one thing Cameroonians
unanimously concede to Biya it is his ability to have kept Cameroon together
and in peace in spite of the cultural and other objective diversities. But
today no one can boast of or be sure of peace and stability anymore. And the
future does not seem to promising.
Recent
happenings in the country are pointer to the very discomforting fact that the
ship of state is gradually but surely gliding into murky waters. And instead of
the authorities taking urgent measures to redirect the boat towards the right
path, they have opted to play the ostrich. (We are told that when confronted by
a prey, the ostrich buries its head in the sand believing that it is protected.
But it fails to realize that it only exposes the rest of its body and
especially its usually filthy posterior.)
It
was no wonder therefore that five government ministers shamelessly told
Cameroonians on Thursday that there is no Anglophone problem in Cameroon. And
they said so after announcing that the streets and people of Bamenda are on
fire; that courts in NW and SW are literally dysfunctional and have virtually
grounded to a halt; lawyers of the English expression have boycotted the courts
for weeks running and are being brutalized and maimed in their chambers and on
the streets by brutal, gun-totting soldiers; pupils, students and teachers of
primary, secondary and university institutions are staying at home in the
Anglophone regions while their ‘brothers’ across the Mungo are going about
their studies normally etc etc. These CPDM hatchet men find nothing wrong with
these unfortunate events in Southern Cameroons; the only reading the make of it
is simply that Anglophones want to secede.
Embarrassingly and shamelessly even Prof.
Fame Ndongo, who has made harmonization of university education his major
agenda at the Higher Education Ministry, also made bold to say in public and to
journalists for that matter that he has never talked of harmonizing academic
programs in Universities in Cameroon. In his selective amnesia, Fame Ndongo
failed to recall that in the past recent months he has convened several
meetings and granted several interviews to journalists to explain why
harmonization is imperative and inevitable for state universities in Cameroon.
That
Fame Ndongo should publicly pronounce today that he has never heralded the
harmonization of university studies and concludes that “iln’ya pas un problem
Anglophone au Cameroun” simply smacks of bad faith and intellectual dishonesty.
Somebody said the Minesup may be suffering from “ndongolaria”.
And
this is not all! That the Minister of Justice Laurent Esso so easily
transformed himself into a law professor overnight as to bully eminent and
internationally acclaimed Anglophone lawyers in public (several of the lawyers
his seniors in the law profession), under the guise of teaching them legal
procedure and practice, was intriguing; it portrayed how dialogue in Cameroon
has been transformed into a spectator sport where only one party has the onus
to talk, while the other party must stay quiet and only applaud intermittently,
if the need be.
Maybe
one could condone the Minister of Communication, IssaTchiromaBakary, who was
only playing his role as the self-acclaimed New Deal propagandist (somewhat
like Joseph Goebbels of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany or Saddam Hussein’s gulf
war propagandist, Ali Triky). IssaTchiroma used the occasion of Thursday’s
press conference to reduce the tension among the Anglophones and to explain,
even if unconvincingly, the reason for government’s vaulting insensitivity to
the plight of Anglophones in Cameroon.
Yet,
there is no gainsaying that Tchiroma’s proven ability to transform serious
issues into laughing matter and his penchant to reduce his action from the
sublime to the ridiculous, has easily made him an indispensible asset to the
CPDM regime. Even though Tchiroma’s audience hardly takes him seriously
whenever he talks, he has still succeeded to implant himself somewhat as a
veritable therapy for the frustrations of Cameroonians.
SYNES-UB:
Why we snubbed Fame Ndongo’s invitation
 |
SYNES-UB considered Fame Ndongo’s invitation as ‘fantasmagorique’
|
At a General Assembly held to discuss among
other issues the impending strike action billed to start on Monday 21 November
2016, members of the general assembly of Synes-UB chapter noted that:
1. There was a deliberate misinformation in
some quarters to make the demands of Anglophone teachers in Cameroon look like
they were designed to expel their Francophone colleagues from the University of
Buea. The GA dispelled this falsehood, pointing out that the goal of the strike
was to draw government's attention to years of neglect and distortion of
Anglophone cultural values and the grievous consequences Anglophones have
suffered. Our colleagues are only passive subjects in the ongoing abuse of
Anglophone educational values and can, therefore, not be held responsible for
what is obviously a systemic problem. The GA held that it was time to set a
transparent framework that will put an end to further abuses in the future and
restore equity, fairness and respect for excellence.
Mass arrests in B’da after street protests
 |
| Teachers and residents joined in with the lawyers' protests |
At least 100 people have been arrested
following days of protests against the use of French in courts and schools in
English-speaking parts of Cameroon.
By a Correspondence in Bamenda
At least 100 people have been arrested
following days of violent street protests in Bamenda, The Median can state. The
street protest by the populations, mainly traders and commercial motor-bike
riders in Bamenda was the fallouts of separate strikes called by Anglophone
Teachers Trade Unions and Common Law Lawyers Unions.
The
placards-carrying protesters complained about perennial bad roads in Bamenda
and very high prices of market stalls, apart from water scarcity and incessant
power outages.
Teachers
and lawyers for their part were protesting against the slow but steady erosion
of the English sub-systems of education and justice. They condemned the use of
French in courts and schools in English-speaking parts of Cameroon.
At
least one person was shot dead on the first day of the protests, while at least
10 others were admitted to hospital with four in critical condition, the BBC
reported.
Several
of the arrested persons were being treated with bullet wounds in hospital in
the NW region's main city, Bamenda, the BBC report said.
Common
Law Lawyers are opposed to the employment of court workers who do not speak or
understand English and the application of British common law.
To evaluate strike action:
Common Law Lawyers to meet in Kumba
By Johnson Batuo
Cameroon Common Law Lawyers will meet in
Kumba, Meme Division, in a forth night to evaluate their strike action, The
Median has learnt. The disclosure was made at a meeting of Meme lawyers
association, MELA, in Kumba, on 18 November 2016.
The
planned Kumba meeting of Common Law Lawyers was first slated for early 2017.
But because of new developments and the vexing insensitivity of the government,
the lawyers have resolved to meet in Kumba in a week’s time.
The
Kumba meeting is aimed to also map out new strategies for a way forward.
The
laeyers will use the meeting to discuss the outcome of two separate meetings
that their leaders held in Yaounde with Anglophone MPs and the US Ambassador to
Cameroon.
The
meeting of the Meme Lawyers Association MELA on Friday 18 November 2016 was
held despite the communiqué by the Meme SDO proscribing MELA.
After the disavowal by gov’t:
Where will AtangaNji hide his head?
The Prime Minister, Head of Government,
Philemon Yang has said that the declarations of the minister of special duties,
Paul AtangaNji, on the Anglophone problem, engage the minister alone and not
the government that he heads. Justice Minister, Laurent Esso and communication
Minister, IssaTchiromaBakary, have all disavowed AtangaNji. Even the people of
Bamenda including teachers, lawyers, the clergy, John FruNdietc have all
vomited AtangaNji.
By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde
 |
| Minister Paul AtangaNji spoke for himself and not for the government |
The minister of special duties at the
presidency, Paul AtangaNji, who doubles at permanent secretary of the National
Security Council, should certainly be ill at ease and really uncomfortable with
himself at this time, following the public disengagement of the government from
his rather misguided, ill-thought and inopportune verbal outburst over the
recent events in Anglophone Cameroon.
AtangaNji
in an interview relayed on CRTV radio on Thursday 24 November 2016, said among
other things that there is nothing like an Anglophone problem in Cameroon and
that contrary to what some people want the public to believe Anglophones enjoy
privileged treatment in Cameroon and from President Paul Biya.
Minister
AtangaNji, whose academic and other credentials are still a mystery to many
Cameroonians, said the violent protests in Bamenda were sponsored with funds
from the diaspora. The minister whose name has repeatedly been cited in the
much-talked-about Campost financial scam and whose file is reportedly jealously
kept at the special criminal court, SCC, affirmed that he has evidence of money
transfers (remittances) from abroad to some leaders of the Anglophone protests.
AtangaNji
brandished Anglophone lawyers and teachers as misguided individuals who cannot
be taken seriously by any right thinking person. He said the teachers and
lawyers are simply being manipulated by I don’t know who.
25th World Handicap persons Day:
MINAS launches activities in Yaounde
The minister of Social Affairs, Mrs Pauline
IréneNguene on Thursday 24 November 2016, made a press outing to officially
launch activities for the 25th edition of the International Day for people with
disabilities (PWDs), to be celebrated on 6 December 2016, at the Yaounde
multi-purpose sports complex
By Rachel Ntube in Yaounde
 |
| The MINAS, Mrs Pauline IréneNguene |
Making her statement to the battery of
journalists drawn from the national and international press, Minister Pauline
Irene Nguene said this year’s edition of the ‘JIPH’ will be celebrated on the
theme: “Achieving 17 sustainable development goals, for the future we want.”
She
said according to WHO statistics, people with disabilities represent about 15%
of the World’s population (about 1 billion people). “These PWDs suffer multiple
forms of discrimination and marginalization and often do not benefit adequate
education and professional training to enable them get appropriate jobs that
can guarantee their livelihood and independence, apart from a full, effective
and equal participation in society like others,” noted the Minister, who added
that the theme for the 25th edition of the JIPH was well chosen by the UNO
because it makes imperative the integration and participation of people with
disabilities in society and seeks to enable them to fully enjoy their rights as
enshrined in the 17 SDGs notably the right to good education, decent
employment, poverty eradication, access to infrastructure, industrialization
etc.
It
should be noted that Cameroon fully adheres to the dictates of the SDGs. This
is evidenced in president Paul Biya’s declaration at the rostrum of the 71st
UNO General Assembly in New York, on 22 September 2016, when he said: “The SDGs
are the first international programs to be given consideration as far as
development in all its ramifications is concerned: security, economic, social,
human and environmental.” Paul Biya continued that: “The unanimous ambition of
all governments is to eradicate poverty from all segments of society, without
leaving out anyone.”
Fallouts of Teachers strike:
Police officer molests teacher who failed
to heed strike call
By Johnson Batuo
One of the trump cards of the Biya’s
administration in the continuous marginalisation of Anglophone Cameroonians has
been the unwillingness of some Anglophones to come together and speak with one
voice.
The
Anglophone teachers’ strike which started on Monday 21 November 2016 has
revealed that though there are some Anglophone black legs who do not adhere to
the strike, the strike action has the blessing of the majority of Anglophones.
Some
principals and Directors of public Institutions in Meme division, especially in
the administrative headquarters tried to frustrate the strike action by
threatening and bullying the teachers and administrative staff under them. Some of these principals understandably did
not want to bite the finger that feeds them.
Fallouts of Lawyers/teachers’ strike:
Bike rider’s arrest ignites zenophobic
chants in K’ba
Bike riders in Kumba chanted “Francophones
must go….. “francophones must go”, following the arrest of one of their
colleagues by a gendarme officer.
By Johnson Batuo
 |
| Commercial motorbike riders are often lawless and careless |
The arrest of a commercial motorcycle rider
by a gendarme officer in Kumba Wednesday 11 November 2016 led to chants of
“francophones must go” and “Yaounde must go” by some okada-men who later
besieged the gendarme brigade at Buea road.
The
incident erupted following arrest of an okadaman around Town Green by a
gendarme officer for allegedly blocking his passage way. The median gathered that the gendarme officer
attempted overtaking when the okada man was overtaking another vehicle.
We
further gathered that after successfully overtaking the bike rider, the
gendarme officer arrested him, seized his bike and impounded it at the
station.
Fallout of Lawyers/teachers strike:
SDO bans sale of newspapers in K’ba
By Johnson Batuo
As the Anglophone teachers and common Law
Lawyers strike action gathers steam, the Meme Administration has banned the
sale of newspapers in Kumba, The Median has gathered. The decision was taken on the occasion of a
security meeting that took place on Thursday 24 November 2016.
The
move is a security measure intended to forestall mob actions in Meme division.
It should be noted that the main newspaper kiosk in Buea Road Kumba has become
the converging point for all persons seeking more information about recent
happenings in the country. Commercial motorcycle riders, taxi-cab drivers,
farmers, civil servants, security men, SCNC activists etc usually converge in
front of the kiosk to read the headlines of recent publications. It is
understood that the crowds in front of the kiosk has grown geometrically ever
since the lawyers strike began.
Teachers/Lawyers strike:
Anglophone policemen suspected of
sympathizing with strikers
By Johnson Batuo
Instead of seeking a lasting solution to
the Anglophone problem in Cameroon, created by the intransigence of the
francophone-dominated Biya regime, the government has allegedly accused
Anglophone security officers, especially the police of encouraging the teachers
and lawyers who are today championing the Anglophone course, The Median was
reliably informed.
According
to an inside source in the Meme public security, who spoke to The Median on
condition of anonymity, the security heirarchy of the South West region,
equally dominated by Francophones, has sent grim messages to Anglophone
security agents in Kumba accusing them of encouraging or fanning the flames of
the teachers and lawyers strike action and warning that severe sanctions await
any security official who is discovered to be helping the strikers.
The
source revealed that he eavesdropped a telephone conversation between the
southwest regional head and a Meme security chief in which the former bullied,
intimidated and threatened the latter.
“The
SW security boss shouted at my boss as if talking to his wife or child,” our
source told us, further noting that francophone security officers have been
assigned the task of monitoring the movement and activities of their Anglophone
counterparts.
Interview
We created SCNC for dialogue, not secession
- Says Dr. Simon Munzu, former CPDM bigwig
 |
| Dr. Simon Munzu |
Dr. Simon Munzu was a CNU/CPDM bigwig as
early as the mid 1980s up to the mid 1990s. He was former charge de mission of
the central committee of the CNU under Ahidjo and later the National Secretary
for Economic and Social Affairs in Biya’s CPDM. Munzu was one of the heroic
trio (Anyangwe-Elad-Munzu) who convened the historic All Anglophone
Conferences, AAC-1 and AAC-2, in Buea and Bamenda, in 1993 and 1994
respectively, during which two Southern Cameroons founding fathers, Foncha and
Muna, with tears dripping from their eyes, admitted publicly that they
blundered in negotiating the reunification arrangement with La Republique. Munzu was also co-founder of the Anglophone
National Council, ANC, that later became the SCNC. Because of his commitment to
the Anglophone cause he resigned from the CPDM party and from his job as
Professor of laws at the Yaounde University. In 1995 Dr. Munzu joined the UN
systems where he works until today as an international public servant. He spoke
to The Median’s syndicated columnist, Douglas A. Achingale. The interview makes
for compelling reading.
*Good
afternoon Doctor Munzu and thank you for accepting to receive us here in Limbe
at such short notice.
-Good
afternoon, Mr. Achingale. I have to admit that your request for a meeting and
press interview came to me as a surprise. It’s been a while since I returned to
Cameroon following my retirement a year ago from service with the United
Nations. I chose to settle here in Victoria (also known as Limbe), where I’m
living my life quietly, away from public view and, especially, from media
attention.
*Indeed,
not much has been heard about Dr. Simon Munzu since the holding of the famous
AAC 1 in Buea on 2 and 3 April 1993, AAC 2 in Bamenda from 29 April to 1 May
1994, and the intense national debate on constitutional reforms of that period.
But we still recall your memorable appearance and outstanding performance as
guest on CRTV’s ‘Cameroon Calling’ in the morning, ‘Dimanche Midi’ in the
afternoon and ‘ActualitéHebdo’ in the evening, all on the same day, Sunday, 23
May 1993. Many Cameroonians still remember the political shockwaves that you
sent throughout the country at the time. So, where have you been in nearly 20
years?
How
time flies!!!!! You are right. Publicly,
I have not been on the national scene in Cameroon since September 1995 when I
commenced my career as an international civil servant with the United Nations.
My first posting was as a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) with the UN Human
Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (UNHRFOR) which I subsequently headed, from
August 1997 to June 1998, as interim Chief of Mission. I worked in the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in Rwanda as Programme Manager from
July 1998 to February 2001 and, from March 2001 to September 2004, as Senior
Policy Adviser on Human Rights at UNDP headquarters in New York. I returned to
service in the field with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO),
first as Director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations Operation
in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) from September 2004 to May 2011 and then as Director
of Political Affairs in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) from May 2011 until my retirement in
August 2012.
*We
understand that you were first a member of the CPDM before you started your
fight for the secession of former Southern Cameroons. Was it out of frustration
that you did so?
-I
did not, repeat, not start a fight for the secession of Southern Cameroons.
Together with others, we started a fight for an end to discrimination against
Anglophones and for the recognition of their rights as full citizens of this
country. These are, and remain, legitimate objectives that we fought for and
would continue to fight for as long as the need to do so persists. That does
not require the secession of Southern Cameroons, and I have never, repeat,
never been an advocate of the separation or secession of the Southern
Cameroons.
In
the 20 years since Barrister Sam Elad, Professor Carlson Anyangwe and I
launched the struggle for the achievement of these objectives by convening the
first All Anglophone Conference (AAC I) in Buea in April 1993, noticeable progress
has been accomplished towards the mitigation of discrimination against
Anglophones and the recognition of their rights as full citizens of our
country, Cameroon. The efforts in this direction should continue because a
great deal more remains to be done in this regard.
*What
about your previous membership of the CPDM?
-Yes,
I was once a member of the CPDM. I joined the youth wing of the CPDM in 1969,
when the party was known as the Cameroon National Union (CNU). I was 19 years
old and a high school student in the Cameroon College of Arts, Science and
Technology (CCAST) in Bambili, which I attended from October 1968 to June 1970.
I travelled to England in January 1971 to pursue higher studies in law that
lasted from 1971 to 1981 and culminated in my graduation as a Barrister-at-Law
from the Inns of Court School of Law and call to the Bar at the Honourable
Society of the Middle Temple in London as well as my obtaining a Bachelor of
Laws (LL.B) degree and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of
London and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in law from the University of
Cambridge.
When
the CNU established a section in the United Kingdom in 1972, i was a pioneer
member of the Section and, from 1972 until I returned to Cameroon in January
1982 I held a succession of posts in the executive of both the UK Section and
the South of England Sub-section of the CNU.
In
May 1983, in his capacity as National President of the CNU, a post that he
maintained after resigning in November 1982 from the office of President of the
Republic, Mr. AhmadouAhidjo appointed me as Chargé de mission within his
political team in the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CNU,
cumulatively with my duties as lecturer in law at the University of Yaounde. I
successively served under two Political Secretaries, Mr. Felix Sabal Lecco and
Mr. François SengatKuo. In 1990/1991 President Biya who had succeeded Ahidjo as
National President of the CNU (renamed CPDM in 1985) modified the composition
of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the party. He abolished the post
of Political Secretary and established that of Secretary-General as head of the
National Secretariat, to which he appointed Professor Ebenezer
NjohMouelle. He also reshuffled the
Secretariat, promoting me to the post of National Secretary for Economic and
Social Affairs.
It
is, therefore, as National Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs in the
National Secretariat of the CPDM Central Committee and a member of the CPDM
delegation that I took part in the deliberations of the historic Tripartite
Conference convened by President Biya in Yaounde from 30 October to 18 November
1991. It is also as a representative of the CPDM that the same Tripartite
Conference selected me to join the 11-member Technical Committee made up of
seven Francophones and four Anglophones and chaired by Professor Joseph Owona,
which was charged with drafting a new constitution for Cameroon.
*That’s
amazing. So why and when did you quit the CPDM?
-Remember
that the three ‘parties’ to the ‘Tripartite Conference’ were the government,
political parties (comprising the ‘presidential majority’ and the opposition)
and so-called ‘independent personalities’. At first, the Conference decided
that political parties, including the CPDM, would have three representatives on
the Technical Committee for the Drafting of the Constitution. Initially, it was
Secretary-General Professor NjohMouelle who was designated to represent the
CPDM on this Committee. The other two members nominated by other political
parties were Francophone. This meant that all three political party
representatives were to be Francophone.
The
leaders of three opposition parties based in the South West province (now
regions) objected to this. They demanded that at least one political party
representative should be an Anglophone. To satisfy their demand, NjohMouelle
stepped down and proposed me, CPDM National Secretary for Economic and Social
Affairs and an Anglophone, to replace him as the CPDM’s representative on the Technical
Committee. This was unanimously accepted
by the Conference.
But
MolaNjohLitumbe, the Chairman of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
with headquarters in Buea, came up with yet another demand. While acknowledging
my Anglophone credentials, he asked that the Anglophone party representative
should come from the ranks of the opposition and not those of the CPDM. As a
compromise, the Conference chairperson, Prime Minister SadouHayatou, raised the
number of party representatives from three to four and asked opposition parties
to propose an additional Anglophone party representative for the Technical
Committee. Mr. Litumbe promptly nominated a member of his party, Barrister Sam
EkontangElad, to the applause of the Conference. This brought to four the
number of Anglophnoes on the 11-member Technical Committee: Minister Benjamin
Itoe representing the Government, Sam Elad and Simon Munzu representing
political parties and Carlson Anyangwe as ‘independent personality’.
During
the floor debate at the three-day Tripartite Conference, all Anglophones who
addressed the Conference, whether of North West or South West origin, elderly
or young, traditional rulers or civil servants, men or women, and whether
attending the Conference as delegates of the Government, of the ruling CPDM and
its allied parties, of opposition political parties or as the so-called
‘independent personalities’, raised the issue of the ‘marginalisation’ of
Anglophones in the conduct of public affairs and called attention to the fact
that Anglophones were treated as ‘second class citizens’ in their
Support for Lawyers / Teachers strike:
Populations envisage solidarity fund
By Johnson Batuo
As the Anglophone teachers strike gathers
steam, some concerned Anglophone parents have mooted the idea of setting up a
fund to pay the striking teachers, The Median has gathered.
We
further gathered that the fund is intended to encourage the teachers to carry
on with their strike action indefinitely.
We however could not establish when the collection would start and how
the funds would be distributed.
According
to one of the Anglophone parents championing the cause, the idea was hatched in
an in camera meeting of some concerned Anglophone parents. He further hinted
that other meetings have been scheduled by the group before selling the idea to
the public.
Three traffickers arrested with live chimp
 |
| Live chimp |
Three people were arrested in Batouri in
the East Region on November 21, 2016 for illegal possession of a live chimp
they had caged and loaded in a van for transportation to Bertoua to sell.
The
three men were arrested by wildlife officials of the Kadey Divisional
Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife in front of the home of the owner of the
chimp. They had converged to make arrangements and payments for the
transportation of the chimp. The three included the owner of the car, driver of
the car and the owner of the chimp who claimed on the spot that he had been
with the chimpanzee for twelve years.
They
were stopped and rounded up by wildlife officials working in collaboration with
the Batouri Gendarmerie Territorial Brigade in a swift move that left them
surprised.The owner of the car was visibly the more surprised of the three as
tried he to explainghy he was there.
This
did not deter the arresting officers as they quickly got them into the car they
were to use for the transport of the chimp and into another car that brought in
the gendarmes. Shortly after the arrest the Kadey Divisional Delegate of
Forestry and Wildlife, BangyaDieudonne explained that ‘It is a chimpanzee that
had been captured by someone and kept for a long time in detention and he was
preparing to go and sell the animal somewhere”. The operation was carried out
with the technical assistance of The Last Great Ape Operation (LAGA)
Ebolowa: Two ivory traffickers arrested
 |
| Ebolowa ivory traffickers arrested |
Two people were arrested in Ebolowa during
a crackdown carried out in Ebolowa by the South Regional Delegation of Forestry
and wildlife. The first suspect, a 50-year-old man was arrested as he attempted
to sell two elephant tusks that had been carved into art objects alongside
several other ivory statuettes. Investigations by law enforcement officials
continued when they realized that he was not alone in the deal. This enabled
the arrest of a second suspect, a 61-year- old man who is considered to be the
supplier of raw ivory tusks to the first trafficker who is also a carver.
The
arrests that were carried out with the gendarmerie is the fourth operation
involving traffickers of carved ivory, that has been done by wildlife officials
within two weeks in different towns including Dschang, Melong and Yaounde. The operations fall within the framework of
government’s drive to track and arrest traffickers of protected wildlife
species within the country and this is done with technical assistance from The
Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA).
The
two suspects have a long standing relationship in trafficking and have been
collaborating to successfully grow a flourishing ivory business according to
prior investigations. One of the traffickers owns a restaurant where they
receive clients including traffickers for business discussions and curiously
enough at the time of his arrest, an ivory statuette was visible in the
restaurant. This may have served as an ad slot for the traffickers or a lead to
inform potential traffickers of another
business ongoing at the restaurant. Sources contacted that spoke on condition
of anonymity were baffled at such a high level of exposure without taking
necessary concealment measures known to be of prime importance to ivory
traffickers. The relationship had been very fruitful up to their arrest the
same sources say.
They
two are presently held in custody in Ebolowa
and the first hearing of the case took place at the Court of First
Instance on November 15, 2016 with both suspects present in court. The
magistrate handling the matter adjourned to November 22, 2016. If found guilty
they both face up to 3 years imprisonment and or a fine of up to 10 million
francs. The 1994 wildlife law governing the sector stipulates that if found in
possession of a part of a protected wildlife species you are presumed to have
killed the animal. The legal department is playing a major role in the
prosecution of wildlife cases in the country and the judiciary in Ebolowa has
been collaborating in the effective arrest and prosecution of the suspected
ivory traffickers.
Acknowledgement for Best Practices:
Kumbo Council wins 2nd Feicom award in row
By Njodzefe Nestor
 |
| Mayor NjongFonyuyDonatus of Kumbo |
Kumbo Council in Bui division of the North
West region has again emerged victorious at The Special Council Support Fund
for Mutual Assistance, FEICOM, National Award for Councils’ Local Development
Best Practices.
She
won the second edition of the Regional Prize for Northwest launched in
partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT,
worth FCFA 2 million after presenting ‘The Mayor’s Day Program’ as a best
practice.
During
the maiden edition of the award in 2012, kumbo council emerged victorious with
‘The One Child-One Tree’ Project.
According to the specifications of the
award a project will be identified worth that amount, which FEICOM will
subsequently finance. It is worth mentioning that funds from the previous
edition were used by Kumbo Council to supply 60 benches, the head teacher’s
table, chair and cupboard of Government Practicing School Kiyan-Kumbo.
Buea hosts workshop on peace preservation
By Boris Esono in Buea
 |
| Officials pose with participants |
The campus of the Pan African Institute for
Development, PAID-WA, Buea on Thursday 17 November 2016, hosted a 3-day
training workshop on “Citizenship and the Preservation of Peace”. Organized by
the Yaoundé Institute of Citizenship and Politics in collaboration with the
Africa Network against Illiteracy and Human Rights Abuse, ANICHRA
Speaking
during the event, the Executive Director of ANICHRA, Dr. WilibroadDze-Ngwa
enjoined participants to be propagandists of the virtues of peace and the love
for ones country as the hallmarks of the exemplary citizen.
“The
success of this seminar cannot be determined immediately; it is only when the
participants would return to their various communities and institute what they
learned here that we would have achieved our goal,” Dr. Dze-Ngwa opined.
At
a time when Cameroon is confronted by countless number of challenges such as
the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency, it behooves every citizen to not only be a
vector of peace in their communities but should be their neighbour’s keeper.
On visit to Cameroon:
AU chairperson explains 2063 agenda to Y’de
Varsity students
By Rachel NtubeNgwese
The chairperson of the Africa union
commission NkosazanaDlaminiZuma was on an official visit to Cameroon to present
the union’s new vision for the development of the African continent known as
the agenda 2063.
The
agenda she said was adopted as a collective vision and roadmap to speed up
actions to eradicate poverty, promote growth and regional integration for the
next fifty years.
Upon
arrival, she was received at the university of Yaoundé 2 campus by the minister
of higher education, the rector of the university of Yaoundé 2 Ibrahima Adamou
and a delegation of the pan African university in Yaoundé. Professor Fame
Ndongo in his welcome message appreciated the visit and expressed the constant
political wish of Cameroon to re-enforce ties with the African union. He hailed
her female leadership under which Cameroon was granted the privilege to host
the headquarters of the pan African institute which he announced will in the
nearest future boast of a permanent campus.
Her
visit did not leave the students of the University of Yaoundé 2 indifferent.
Their enthusiasm was expressed through the numerous questions they addressed to
the chairlady with regards to the role of youths and women in the realization
of the new African dream as expressed in the new agenda.
Most
importantly, the mobility of students within African institutions was accorded
particular attention not only as a tool to foster education but as a major
challenge to regional integration.
The
chair lady frowned at frontier protectionist policies of some African states
and the in ability of students to access visas easily. she equally condemned
the inability of African states to take advantage of the vast water bodies
especially the seas and oceans which if well exploited through the development
of fleets will help foster regional integration and enable Africa better take
advantage to develop the blue economy.
The
agenda 2063 as was presented in the arts building of the University of Yaounde
2 by the chair lady of the African union commission puts together all
frameworks and new ideas that will warrant the celebration of another 50 years
of existence of the African union. The main objective is to attain a
prosperous, peaceful and integrated continent in the next fifty years.
Eto’o risks 10-year prison term
 |
|
Samuel Eto'o played for Barcelona from
2004-09
|
Spanish prosecutors are seeking a prison
term of more than 10 years for former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o for
alleged tax crimes committed when he played for the Catalan club.
In addition to a sentence of 10 years and
six months, prosecutors are also demanding a fine of $15.1 million for the four
counts of tax fraud for supposedly defrauding Spain's tax authority of almost
$4 million from 2006-09, according to court documents released Thursday.
Prosecutors
are seeking the same punishment for the player's representative at the time,
Jose Maria Mesalles Mata.
The
administrator of a company that facilitated the deals, Manuel de Jesus Lastre
Abreu, is facing more than six years in prison and a fine of $2.3 million.
Prosecutors
also want Eto'o to relinquish any possible fiscal incentives for a long period.
Eto'o
and his lawyers could not be immediately contacted for comment, but in the past
the player denied wrongdoing, saying he was not directly involved in his tax
matters.
Women’s AFCON:
South Africa & Cameroon in semi-finals
South Africa thumped Egypt on Friday to
reach the women's Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, alongside Cameroon.
BanyanaBanyana's 5-0 victory made them
runners-up to Group A winners Cameroon, who beat Zimbabwe 2-0 also on Friday.
AndisiweMgcoyi
hit the opener - South Africa's first goal of the finals - with
NothhandoVilakazi, Refiloe Jane, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Linda Motlhalo also on
target in an impressive win.
Cameroon's victory came courtesy of a brace
by Michelle HenrietteAkaba.
The
Indomitable Lionesses - hosts of the tournament - went into the game assured of
their place in the last four and were comfortable against Zimbabwe as they kept
up a 100% winning record.
In
contrast, South Africa knew only a win would take them above Egypt, who started
the match in second place with a two-point cushion over their opponents.
Banyana
totally dominated the first half in terms of possession and territory and got
their reward on 28 minutes when Mgcoyi scuffed home.
Niba Macdonald voted best defender in League1 Ontario
The Cameroonian-born centre-half, who
played a pivotal part in North Toronto Soccer Club’ s performance in the
20016-football season, was voted in the league’s best XI in his first year.
North
Toronto Soccer Club’s skipper, Niba Macdonald is the main defender in the
league’s best XI system of 3-4-3.
The
22-year-old centre-half is coming off the back of successful football season
after leading his side to appear among the top five in the League1 Ontario.
Also, as captain, he did not only lead his side to victory but scored some
vital goal to see that hi side win games.
Niba,
a former player with the University of Buea and Cinyodev FC Buea was once named
the best player in the University of Buea during the 2013-2014 season.
Speaking
to Lions4life.com on phone, Niba expressed his joy and also prays that this
will open new doors for him in other major leagues in and out of Canada.
“Giving
the fact that it’s my fist year playing this league, I’m very much satisfied
with the outcome of my performance and that of my team, North Toronto Soccer
Club. This is because it is our first-year partaking in this league.
Being
part of the XI is an awesome achievement because it’s going to serve as a
perfect opportunity for MLS, USL scouts to give me a chance in their more
competitive leagues”, Niba said hopefully.
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
21 October Eseka Train Disaster:
What Manner of Lawmakers?
Cameroonian MPs have consistently
demonstrated that they are a breed of gutless politicians, loud in empty talk
and weak in making decisions that advance the public interest. But never before
have elected officials held up our country to ridicule in this manner. Our MPs
have caused considerable embarrassment to the country. They are a disgrace to
this nation! It’s a shame.
By EkinnehAgbaw-Ebai*
 |
| EkinnehAgbaw-Ebai |
The failure of the National Assembly to
immediately accede to the demand by the SDF for a parliamentary probe of the
recent Eseka train crash that killed hundreds of Cameroonians is disappointing
and unacceptable. It is an annoying dereliction of duty by anybody’s standards
and indeed an insult to the Cameroonian people. It is completely silly; a
scandal of grand magnitude and a distressing irony of the way things work in
this country.
But
it is pertinent to ask: what is really important to our MPs? Something must be
responsible for this kind of logic-defying indecision; if there isn’t, let
someone tell us.
Our lawmakers need to be reminded that they
have been elected, some insist selected, to defend the interests of the
Cameroonian people.
All
180 parliamentarians individually earn a net salary of FCFA 871,000, in a
country where the official basic minimum wage is FCFA 37,000. MPs are also
allocated FCFA 8 million each to purchase cars; ironically called
“non-refundable car loans.”
And
that is not all; these useless bunch of money-eating hand-clappers are also
entitled to FCFA 1.2 million sitting allowance for each ordinary session.
Multiplied by the statutory three ordinary sessions per year, it amounts to a
total FCFA 3.6 million. Besides other fringe benefits like all-expenses-paid
trips at home and abroad; free hotel accommodation and subsidized medical care.
It
is even more annoying considering the fact that Bureau members and
Parliamentary Group leaders earn far higher stipends and have more juicy financial
entitlements. Adding to the advantages
reserved floor members, the House Speaker gets a non-refundable car loan of
FCFA 60 million; the deputy speaker is entitled to FCFA 50 million; the five
vice presidents each get FCFA 45 million, Questors FCFA 40 million each;
Secretaries FCFA 35 million while the Secretary General of the National
Assembly gets FCFA 40 million; all these only to buy their cars.
Eseka train crash/Lawyers’ strike:
SDF wants parliament to probe
 |
| SDF Vice Nat. Chairman, Hon. Joshua Osih |
The opposition SDF party has tabled a
petition for the National Assembly to put in place a parliamentary commission
of inquire to investigate and establish responsibility for the 21 October
2016 train accident at Eseka that killed
hundreds of Cameroonians.
SDF
filed the petition at the opening of the November session of parliament, on
Thursday 10 November 2016, through Hon. Joseph MbahNdam, who is one of the
several Vice president’s of the Assembly.
SDF
wants a parliamentary probe of the train tragedy, even after the party’s NEC
had already put in place a separate commission of inquiry during its meeting of
5 November 2016 in Bamenda. The commission comprises of SDF Senators, MPs,
jurists and members of shadow cabinet.
It
was however intriguing that the request from the SDF was not immediately supported
by the majority CPDM MPs in the National Assembly.
Expected verbal outburst:
Elimbi Lobe trims FruNdi to size, advocates
a more qualified Anglophone candidate in 2018
The resigned former SDF Wouri official says
that he stands firmly for an Anglophone to become the next president of
Cameroon, but he is not for SDF Chairman John FruNdi, who is not only
pathologically corrupt but is unfit to rule Cameroon. Elimbi Lobe made these
and other scathing remarks in a one-on-one with Vision4’s Ernest Obama on
Friday.
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
 |
| SDF Chairman FruNdi, taking jabs from erstwhile partisans |
Former assistant secretary for
communication of opposition SDF party has said that the National Chairman of
the SDF party is very corrupt and unfit to be president of Cameroon. Elimbi
Lobe, who only recently announced his resignation from the SDF, was speaking in
an exclusive interview with Vision4 Television’s Director of Information,
Ernest Obama, on Friday, 11 November 2016.
Answering
a question as to why he resigned from the SDF, Elimbi Lobe explained that the
party had diverted from its initial objective which was the pursuit of
political power in Cameroon. The firebrand and loquacious former SDF diehard
wondered aloud how a party that claims to be yearning to govern Cameroon would
field candidates in only 65 parliamentary constituencies out of the
available180.
“This
means that even if the SDF won all the 65 seats she ran for, she would still
have fallen short of the needed 90 + 1 seats needed to form a government,”
noted Elimbi Lobe, who noted that today SDF occupies only 18 seats in
parliament, down from 47 seats in 1997.
Elimbi
Lobe notes further that the performance graph of SDF’s natural candidate for
presidential elections, John FruNdi, has witnessed a frightfully steep drop in
successive elections. He recalled that in the early 1990s when FruNdi inspired
hope for change among the Cameroonian electorate he earned an encouraging 37%
of the presidential votes. But in the last presidential election in 2011,
FruNdi scored barely 10%. Elimbi
extrapolates from FruNdi’s sharply sloping political graph that the SDF Chairman
would simply drown, if ever he insists on being the SDF candidate in the 2018
presidential election.
Apart
from the SDF’s dismal showing iin Presidential and parliamentary elections,
Elimbi Lobe notes that out of 380 councils in Cameroon the SDF controls only
39, with a paltry 900 councilors out of a total 10.000 and more.
“How can a political party with such
discouraging and telling statistics claim to be pursuing power?” wondered
Elimbi Lobe.
Asked
why he continued to militate in the SDF even when the party had the bleak
picture he is painting, Elimbi said he stayed back because he thought the party
needed fresh ideas to make good the bad situation.
“Unfortunately,
a small group of very corrupt and greedy FruNdi yes-men from the North West
region have tightened their grip of the SDF and are unwilling to accept any
proposal for change. This group of unscrupulous and shameless individuals has
shoved aside the initial objective of the party and have turned the party into
a business enterprise where the share holders are only desperate for immediate
profits.
Parliament Opening:
CavayeYeguie wants social media banned
-Says social networks are not different
from terrorist organizations that are only out to destabilize society.
By Rachel Ntube in Yaounde
 |
| Cavaye Yeguie |
The President of the National Assembly has
said that social networks are not different from terrorist sects like Boko
Haram and ISS and may bring about the same kinds of sad consequences on the
country like Boko Haram. CavayeYeguie was speaking at the solemn opening of the
November session of the National Assembly on Thursday 10 November.
“How can we ignore the deplorable
activities of this new category of insidious terrorists, who have inundated and
crowded the cyberspace in Cameroon of late? I am talking here of the phenomenon
of social media,” Cavaye remarked, noting that the social networks have become
a veritable source of disinformation, intoxication and manipulation of public
opinion.
Cavaye likened postings on social networks
to missiles fired at unsuspecting populations. He called for vigilance of all
because according to him just every person can be the target of misinformation
by social networks.
Cavaye
urged the powers that be to devise mechanisms by which those using social
networks to instrumentalize public opinion can be tracked down and punished. He
said freedom of expression should have its limits otherwise it becomes
‘liberticidal’.
The outburst by the Assembly Speaker was
however taken with mixed feelings by MPs. While some say Cavaye had a point
others dismissed him as being anachronistic with the changing times.
Power vacuum:
AgborTabi’s ghost haunts Manyu CPDM
Observers say latter-day Manyu political
leaders are yet to jump for the opportunity and occupy the space created by the
death of Prof. Peter AgborTabi (RIP). And the existence of a power vacuum gets
more and more evident and disturbing by the day, especially in a Division that
was once the bastion and fortress par excellence of the CPDM party in the South
West and Cameroon.
By Essan-EkoninyamEkumtambe in Yaounde
 |
Prof. Peter AgborTabi (RIP), still greatly
missed by Manyu CPDM militants
|
After a recent parliamentary tour of Manyu
Division by Senator Chief Tabetando George Ndiep-Nso turned out to be a fiasco,
it was the turn last week in Mamfe, of the Minister of Special Duties, Victor
MengotArreyNkongho to also recieve a political slap on the forehead. Militants
of the four sections of Paul Biya’s party in Manyu literally boycotted their
new political leader, when they snubbed his invitation for them to come out in
their numbers and join him in celebrations to mark President Biya’s 34th
Anniversary on 6 November 2016. The seats that were provided under the canopies
erected in the precincts of the Mamfe grandstand, remained deserted for most
part of the anniversary event.
And
this was not before the organizers of the dual events (the All Manyu
Development Forum in Tinto, Upper Bayang on Friday, and Biya’s 34th Anniversary
in Mamfe on Sunday) had failed to put their act together and bring Roving
Ambassador, Roger Albert Milla to Manyu, as was earlier announced. It emerged
that Manyu sons and daughters could not put together the package (perdiem and
other logistics) requested by Roger Milla, if he was to make the Tinto journey.
This
was intriguing, and telling, given a Division that easily raised FCFA 75
million for voters registration some time ago. It should be recalled that few
weeks ago Roger Milla was taken to Batibo by the elite of the arguably less
endowed Momo Division and their one-year-old Minister, Justice Mrs. Rose
MbahAchaFomundam.
That
is why after the failed outings by the two Manyu political heavyweights,
political commentators in Manyu wasted no time to note that the leadership
vacuum created by the untimely demise of the “emblematic Manyu political
general,” Prof. Peter AgborTabi, has become clearly evident and even
disturbing.
“Mr.
Journalist, you can see for yourself that Manyu CPDM is still badly missing
Prof. Peter AgborTabi, many months after he quit the stage. Where are those
people who use to claim that AgborTabi was blocking them from rising to crowd
the top? AgborTabi has vacated the stage and created space for them. What is it
that is now blocking them from rising to the occasion? Why are these so called
Manyu political leaders still unable to remobilize and galvanize the people of
Manyu like AgborTabi use to do?” wondered a senior and very concerned Manyu
elite, who speculated that “it may take some time for Manyu to have another
political leader of AgborTabi’s ilk.”
Joint CPDM Section Conference:
Mbonge elite craving for separate
division
By Johnson Batuo in Mbonge
 |
| Senator Otte Andrew Mofa |
The CPDM section president for Meme II,
Mbonge has said that Mbonge sub-division is too big to be a sub-division.
Senator Otte Andrew Mofa has therefore fired an appeal to government to
consider creating a separate and fully fledged division in Mbonge. He was
speaking during the Joint Section Conference of CPDM Meme II holding in
MbongeMarumba on Saturday 5 November 2016.
Addressing
the hugely attended conference, Senator Otte boasted that Mbonge is not only
the biggest sub-division in Cameroon in terms of land mass but also has one of
the biggest populations. Besides, Mbonge has the highest number of registered
voters (32.000) of all subdivisions in Cameroon. Mbonge’s voter registration
figures only compare with that of some regions of the country, Senator Otte
noted.
With
these figures he wondered why Mbonge cannot have a division of her own.
“Mbonge
needs a separate division in Cameroon,” Senator Otte cried out.
Programmed
to coincide with the 34th Anniversary of Biya’s Ascension to power, the joint
section conference provided a rare occasion for the recently reconciled
militants of the 48 subsections in CPDM Meme II Mbonge to commune with their
hierarchy.
The Management of Diversity and the Cry of Common Law Lawyers
By AkereMuna (of Lincoln Inn London)
Barrister at Law
 |
Senior Barrister AkereMuna, a source of
inspiration to Common Law Lawyers
|
Forcing learned gentlemen of the law into
the streets robed in their wigs and gowns is something no government should
wish for. Lawyers are the defenders of those who without power, and the
watchdogs of the rule of law. Citizens, who are witnesses to such a spectacle,
will immediately feel fragile, and the existence of the rule of law in any
country immediately be questioned.
As
pictures of lawyers flooded the social media last November 8, 2016, and as I
saw lawyers in the streets of Bamenda armed only with their ideas, their
professional paraphernalia and the request for dialogue, I wondered about the
kind of denial that causes a few to think that because they shut their eyes
nothing is happening; and that because they close their ears nothing is being said.
The
fact that I can relate without any strain to the frustration of the Common Law
practitioner convinces me to conclude that, the effects of cultural diversity
in a country on the behavior of its citizens are complex and powerful.
The
time has therefore come for our nation to put into place a new paradigm for the
management of our cultural diversity. That is the price we must pay to find
true unity we seek and through it the strength for which we clamor.
From
the dawn of the federation of Cameroon, the biggest challenge that hung over it
like the “Damocles Sword”, was and has been the management of our diversity.
Passionate
Southern Cameroonians who had the vision of a United States of Africa, thought
that maybe a United Cameroon was just the place to start. They felt the
shackles that were constituted by a legacy of different cultures could not be
allowed to stand in the way of the re-unification of peoples torn apart and
dispersed by a war they did not start and had nothing to do with. A war which caused
the colonizer to suddenly discover in Africans the virtue of valuable partners
for the purpose of war but at the same time maintaining them as second class citizens for the purpose
of colonization.
The
Federation that was born guaranteed the protection of diversity. It did so
through its constitution. A Bilingual Nation, Federated States with their own
Parliaments and Governments, a President and Vice President, one from either
culture. Inherited laws, practices and customs maintained in either state of
the federation and several other guarantees.
So
the Common Law Lawyers had a Bar freely elected and independent, the civil law
jurisdiction had no bar and were under the control of the government whose
prerogative it was to appoint lawyers.
Under
the seduction of a 100% increase and even more in salaries West Cameroonians
made the chant “going federal” their mantra. Yes, salaries were doubled even
tripled, and some people moved to Yaounde. Arrears were paid on the new
salaries and people carted away tons of money.
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