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Alone, All Alone:

Mancho Bibixy Abandoned by Lawyers & Fans

The popular support that was seen from lawyers and the populations when Mancho Bibixy and others were arrested and jailed months ago has progressively disappeared. After barely one year and counting in Kondengui Prison, Mancho Bibixy and his colleagues have been abandoned to themselves. They are now left to fight it alone, all alone.

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

Mancho Bibixy has been forgotten by the many fans who used to show up at the military court in Yaounde to witness his trial  

There is a popular saying in pidgin that “any man for ye self, God for we all”. That is what is happening to Mancho Bibixy and others arrested and detained in Kondengui Prison in connection to the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West regions. Mancho and the others have been deserted by their erstwhile supporters who used to crowd the Yaounde Military Court during court sessions and also troop into Kondengui Prison to console them and provide them with the needed food, drugs, succour and more.

                Today Mancho and the others get support only from the indefatigable Senior Barrister Ben Acho Muna and perhaps some of the senior attorney’s partners of the Muna & Muna Chambers in Yaounde. Most of the other lawyers that used to be part of the powerful team of defense counsels at the start of the Mancho Bibixy case and who used to crowd the defense bench have all disappeared.

                Not even the crowds that used to be seen standing outside the court and anxiously following the progress of proceedings are seen today.

                Mancho and his colleagues in Kondengui have virtually been abandoned to themselves.

                Barrister Ben Muna and at times one or two others are the only lawyers that now seat as counsels for the defense whenever Mancho’s matter comes up in court. It is Ben Muna’s Chambers that also provides food and other basic amenities for the detainees.

                Yet, even as one can be sure that the Ben Muna and some few others can continue to guarantee legal counsel for the Anglophone detainees for as long as the trial will last, there is however, no guarantee that the Munas will be able to sustain the cost of feeding the ever increasing number of detainees in Kondengui especially if the court proceedings prolong for months unend.

                It is understood that apart from the determined and sustained support they get from the Munas, the detainees have from time to time also received support from other concerned individuals like Justice Ayah Paul and Barrister Agbor Balla. But it becomes evident with passing time that the support from these persons is not enough.

                Visiting the detainees recently, emblematic Consortium leader, Barrister Nkongho Agbor Balla, was asked by Mancho and his boys to solicit more legal and other support for them in and out of court. The detainees said they had virtually been abandoned to themselves.

                “In the course of our exchanges during my recent visit to the Kondengui Prison, the Anglophone detainees insisted on the need for more legal assistance and representation both in and out of court,” recounted Agbor Balla in a post on his facebook page.

Schools Set Ablaze as Gov’t Vows Crackdown on Separatists

• Anglophone regions hit by arson attacks on schools, market

• ‘You don’t negotiate with such people’: government spokesman says

People walk at the food market in Bamenda

Unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions intensified with arson attacks on schools and a city market as the government vowed to quash a secessionist movement whose leaders are in detention in Nigeria, saying it won’t negotiate with terrorists.

                At least three schools were torched this week in the Northwest region, one of two Anglophone areas in the majority French-speaking Central African nation, after a market in the city of Bamenda was set ablaze in an attack the government blames on the separatists. Gunmen killed one soldier and seriously injured another on Thursday as they were on patrol in a town west of Bamenda, a commander of the paramilitary police, Ewane, said by phone.

                “The government cannot and will not engage any form of dialogue with terrorists bent on amputating part of the national territory in the name of secession,’’ Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said in a phone interview late Wednesday. “You don’t negotiate anything with such people.”

                Security forces have stepped up patrols in the areas, searching houses and arresting those who can’t produce identity papers as part of “a routine operation,’’ Simon Emile Mooh, prefect for the Bui Division in the Northwest region, said by phone. “The forces of law and order are merely making sure that no weapons have been sneaked in,” he said.

Which figure should we trust?

UN Counts 10.000, But Locals Count 43.000 Cameroonian Refugees in Nigeria

Image taken from a video shot on 9 December 2017 showing Cameroonian refugees standing outside a center in Agbokim Waterfalls village, in Nigeria.

More than 43,000 Cameroonians have fled as refugees to Nigeria to escape a crackdown by the government on Anglophone separatists, local aid officials said on Thursday.

                The figure is almost three times as high as that given by the United Nations and Nigerian officials two weeks ago.

                Cameroon is a majority French-speaking country but two southwestern regions bordering Nigeria are Anglophone.

                Last October, separatists declared independence for a state they want to create called Ambazonia, sparking a military crackdown by the government of President Paul Biya.

                In Nigeria's Cross River state, which borders southwest Cameroon, more than 33,000 Cameroonians have taken refuge from violence, John Inaku, director general of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told Reuters by phone.

                In neighboring Benue state, there are 10,216 refugees, said Emmanuel Shior, director general of the regional SEMA.

                Earlier this month, the UN refugee agency had said more than 8,000 refugees were in Cross River state.

                Explaining the disparity, Inaku told Reuters the UN agency was only registering people in Cross River coming in through conventional routes.

                "This is a war situation and refugees are trooping in by the minute through the bush paths, rivers and every other unconventional routes open to them," he said.

NW and SW Regions:

Gov’t Hurled to Court Over Internet Shutdown

The Cameroonian government has been hurled before the country’s top court over the imposition of an internet blackout on the restive Anglophone regions, according to confirmed reports.

                Two internet freedom groups, ‘Access Now and Internet Sans Frontieres (ISF)” on 19 January 2018, entered a lawsuit “challenging a government-ordered shutdown on internet in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions last year.

                “We are providing expert advice on requirements under international human rights law and urging the court to end the shutdowns for good, a statement by Access Now said, adding that “Cameroon’s courts have the opportunity to set a global precedent in favor of human rights and the rule of law.”

                The two groups come under the banner of KeepItOn coalition and have been documenting the cost of internet shutdowns. They are joining two earlier actions instituted in April 2017 seeking to have judicial pronouncement on the shutdown.

                According to the suit, the Cameroon government, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and the Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL) are listed as respondents. There are five petitioners including the Global Conscience Initiative and Global Links.

                The government on 30 September 2017 placed restrictions on access to social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and whatsapp.

As security Ban Prolongs:

Mamfe Petrol Dealers Get Restive Amid Poverty

Senior Police official says the ban will continue until normalcy returns to Manyu division and until when regulatory safeguards are put in the otherwise booming and lucrative activity.

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem back from Mamfe

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mvogo Jean Marie says the importation and sale of contraband petrol in Manyu must be controlled or even stopped

The Commander of the National Rapid Intervention Police Squad, ESIR, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mvogo Jean Marie, who is presently in Mamfe with his boys to put order in the now restive town, has said that the administration has no intention to completely stop the importation and sale of contraband fuel and other products in Mamfe. Mvogo Jean Marie maintains that the activity will lie fallow for now and until when normalcy would return to the river port town.

                SSP Mvogo Jean Marie explained during a chat with this reporter that the ‘administrative tolerance’ that permitted the contraband petrol sector to thrive in Manyu was because the government was well aware that with just one fuel station in Mamfe and the whole of Manyu division the populations could not get constant supply of fuel. But the ESIR boss at once said administrative tolerance should not give room for disorder and insecurity.

                “When the government allows you to continue with an activity that is unlawful it is because she understands the realities on the ground. It is the government’s desire to make sure that all its citizens are happy wherever they are. But when such administrative tolerance is abused and actors start using the activity to create disorder and insecurity then the government has no other option than to withdraw it,” SSP Mvogo Jean Marie explained.

                “The sale of contraband petrol in Mamfe has to be controlled. It is true that for now Mamfe cannot do without contraband fuel. We also know that petrol sale is the mainstay of the people of Manyu and it is what propels the economy of the division. But the activity was posing a threat to order and security in the town,” the Police Chief said, adding that “those operating in the sector should have authorization from to operate; they should have a secured place to stock the petrol so as to prevent fire disasters. They should also pay taxes to government because it is a lucrative activity,” he underscored.

Anglophone Uprising:

Secessionists Threaten Attacks on Foreign Companies

- Spokesman for activists declines to specify nature of attacks

- Leadership of Anglophone group held in Nigeria since Jan. 6

Ambazonia defence forces are now threatening to attack foreign companies in Cameroon

A group of Cameroonian activists demanding secession from the French-speaking regions says it is considering attacks on foreign companies operating in the central African nation.

                The group, which hails from the country’s two English-speaking regions, says it wants to “target foreign companies investing in Cameroon” because their revenues sustain “incompetent officials” in President Paul Biya’s government, according to email comments from the group’s spokesman, Chris Anu, on Friday last week. He did not specify the nature of the attacks.

                Ten leaders of the separatist movement, which refers to the two Anglophone regions as the Republic of Ambazonia, have been held at an undisclosed location in neighboring Nigeria since Jan. 6, according to their Nigerian lawyer, Femi Falana. Nigeria’s State Security Service, SSS, has denied knowledge of their detention, Falana said. Nigerian authorities haven’t yet commented on the issue.

                “Abducting our leaders isn’t going to deter us, it will only spur and invigorate us the more,” Chris Anu said in the email statement.

Fresh Gun Attacks:

Two Soldiers Wounded in Eyumojock hostilities

Two BIR soldiers were wounded in an explosion at Ekok borders as a military reinforcement tried to pursue separatist fighters

Two BIR soldiers were reported wounded as Gunmen attacked the Customs and Gendarmerie posts at the border town of Ekok in Manyu Division of the Southwest region on Thursday.

                The BIR soldiers were wounded as unidentified assailants exploded their vehicle at the entrance into Ekok, said a security source who witnessed the incident. He added that the assailants launched their assault from Nigeria.

                Four security agents and a customs official also described the incident, saying the unidentified gunmen launched their attack on the Ekok border post along Cross River.

                "They came around 3 a.m. They came from Nigeria and there were many of them. They had heavy weapons. They had grenades. They were shooting everywhere," said one police source, who like the other witnesses asked not to be identified.

                Speaking from Ekok by telephone and still clearly shaken, a police officer said the shooting lasted nearly three hours and the border remained closed on Thursday morning.

                "Some of these guys came from the riverside (beneath the bridge). We don't know exactly which path they took, but all of them came from Nigeria," another security source told Reuters.

                A Nigerian military spokesman denied the assailants had crossed over from Nigeria, and the incident is likely to further damage relations between the two neighbours, strained over the rise of an Anglophone Cameroonian separatist movement.

                The witnesses said several people including two BIR soldiers had been injured in the attack, without giving details.

                Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, while acknowledging the attack, said no one had been hurt or killed.

                "The attackers used explosives to destroy two vehicles belonging to the BIR (Rapid Intervention Brigade)," he said, declining to comment on whether the gunmen had come from Nigeria.

Anglophone Crisis:

School Burnt, Teachers Chased Away in Etam near Tombel

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

A mysterious fire has ravaged Government Primary School Etam I in Tombel Sub-division of Kupe Muanenguba Division. The incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday 23 January 2018 with the villagers watching helplessly how the fire moved from one classroom to another.

It is said that, a day before the incident, a group of unidentified young men stormed the village with machetes and chased away some teachers who were on the school compound waiting for pupils to teach.

                The situation was immediately reported to the Village Chief, Kome Alobwede, who in turn reported to the administrative and security authorities in Tombel, we learned.

                Effective learning had hardly commenced in the school since the start of the academic year as teachers would come to school daily but would not find any pupils in class.

Mofako, Mbonge subdivision:

Youths Beat Up Chief Suspected of Spying for Gov’t

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

The traditional ruler of Mofako Bekondo, a village in Mbonge Sub-Division of Meme Division has been manhandled by some unidentified youths alleged to be the elements of the Ambazonia Defence Force. Reports said Chief Ekumbe Thompson was in the early hours of Tuesday 23 January 2018 smuggled out of his palace and taken to a nearby bush where he was given the beating of his life. The youths flogged the soles of his feet until he could no longer stand on his legs.

                According to reports, the Chief was suspected of spying on the villagers and reporting to the authorities. Other sources said he was suspected because he refused to fund the activities of the Ambazonia soldiers. 

                Chief Ekumbe Thompson was one of the few Chiefs who stayed in his village after the gruesome killing of the Chief of Ngongo village by unknown persons recently. Several other chiefs of villages in Mbonge sub-division had all escaped into hiding.

Interview

Too many bushpaths along Eyumojock borders

           -Nkom Julius, Mayor of Eyumojock

**Eyumojock has easily become the epicenter of hostilities in the current crisis. What is the situation in Eyumojock as we speak?

Nkom Julius, Mayor of Eyumojock

--I should say normalcy is gradually returning and some people who had escaped and taken asylum elsewhere are gradually returning. But I must say that a few months back most of the villages in Eyumojock were complete shadows of themselves; villages like Ewelle, Kembong, Otu, Nsanakang, Nsanarakati, Agborkim German, Akwen and even Eyumojock main town itself were all completely void of people. Some did not count even one person staying there. And this is because of the morbid fear our people have for military men. We had never seen such a high influx of soldiers in our villages and towns before. At times the soldiers came in several truckloads. So, when our people saw this they told themselves that war has finally been brought to them. And they had no option than to use the back door and flee into the bushes. And given the huge numbers of the military, it was very difficult for us to convince the people that the soldiers were coming instead to protect them; all they believed was that they had come to kill them. The excesses of some of these soldiers did not help matters for us. Some of them beat up just whoever they met on the streets. This only scared the villagers away. However, I must use this medium to also address a general message of condolence to all our compatriots both civilians and military, who have fallen ever since the hostilities escalated in Eyumojock. I pray that God takes control of the situation and bring things back to normalcy.

**Many people are asking why is Manyu in general and Eyumojock in particular the center of hostilities in this crisis?

--This is for obvious reasons. Almost 60 percent of the border of Manyu with Nigeria is Eyumojock. Also, along the length of this border is a river, this only makes the frontier very porous. Also Eyumojock is covered by dense forests with thousands of footpaths. So just anybody can take a footpath in the forest and cross over to the other side of the frontier. That is why I can tell you with conviction that most of the atrocities that occurred here were not committed by Eyumojock children. Our only worry is that we never got the signals so as to inform the security. But I can assure you that the atrocities were not committed by Eyumojock children. The Eyumojock man is not used to shedding blood. We are a peace-loving people. The Manyu man is someone who wakes up in the morning, sharpens his cutlass and goes to the bush to either farm, hunt or tap palm wine. When he returns from the bush he joins his friends in small groups and they drink together, and sing and even dance. That is the daily routine of the typical Manyu man. We are not a warlike people. We love ourselves and our neighbours. That is why i insist that the present hostilities are not by Manyu children. But our innocent people are now the ones suffering because the incidents took place in our area. That is why our elites have come to reassure these innocent victims that their brothers are thinking of them and that they will not be left to themselves.

Dr. Charles Namme Menyoli:

SWELA Honors Buea Business Magnate

By Boris Esono in Buea

CEO of Fakoship, Pa Charles Namme Menyoli receiving his award certificate from the Asst. SG of SWELA

Renowned business magnet Dr. Charles Namme Menyoli has been honored with an award in recognition of the huge developmental and humanitarian works he has undertaken in the region and beyond. The award was given to him last January 22 by the Meme Chapter of the South West Elites Association, SWELA.

                Receiving the award, the ailing Dr. Charles Menyoli said it was a privilege to receive such an award. He said his company will continue to develop not only Fako but other regions as well.

                To Dr. Menyoli’s son, Thomas Malelu Menyoli, who is Managing Director of his father’s businesses, his father deserves the award because he has contributed enormously in the development of society.

“My father has done a lot to our community: He has built churches, helped the less privileged, offered scholarships etc. He has now engaged in real estate to solve the growing accommodation needs in the region,” he said.

2018 Elections:

ELECAM Promise Court Action for Election Riggers

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Elecam envoy to SW, Tambe Tiku Christopher

ELECAM officials in the southwest region have revealed that they will work in close collaboration with the judiciary during the 2018 elections to make sure that any persons found guilty of election fraud are tried and punished accordingly.

                ELECAM Board members Tambe Tiku Christopher and Governor Ejake Thomas Mbonda accompanied by the SW Delegate of ELECAM, Mukete Eveline, made the disclosure on 22 January 2018, during a meeting in Kumba to evaluate voter registration.           The meeting brought together mixed commission members, ELECAM stakeholders in the division and representatives of political parties alongside other officials.

                Tambe Tiku told stakeholders that they must work towards correcting the shortcomings observed in the last elections they conducted.

                “We are going to exploit the weaknesses we noticed in 2013 and see how we can improve on those weaknesses. What is clear this time is that, we are going to make use of the penal provisions of the electoral code,” Tambe Tiku stated.

                He added that any person who will be found wanting as far as elections in the region is concerned should consider his or herself a prisoner.

                ”We mean what we are saying and we are going to impose and enforce that,” Tambe warned, reminding his hearers that it has happened before in the Northwest Region where some people were jailed for electoral fraud.

                “This time, it is important for people to know that we are going to work closely with the judiciary to enforce all the penal provisions,” the human rights advocate warned further.

                He noted that ELECAM has no interest in whoever wins an election but is more concerned with cleansing the image of the institution in the aspect of carrying out a fair and transparent election void of corruption and rigging.

Makossa Legend Pierre de Moussy Dies

It is no longer a rumor as was the case on 5th January. The once famous composer/singer of  the Makossa track “Ndolo l’amour” is no more.

                Cameroon Info.Net reported that Pierre de Moussy died on 25 January 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland where he had taken up residence.

We gathered that Makossa legend Dina Bell who was at his bedside, confirmed the news on Friday 26 January 26 to CRTV.

New Year Wishes at MINCOM:

Issa Tchiroma Renews Call for Ethical Journalism

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem in Yaounde

Issa Tchiroma, Minister of Communication

The Minister of Communication has urged Cameroonian journalists to ensure respect for ethics and deontology. Issa Tchiroma made the call in his remarks at a ceremony to receive New Year wishes from his collaborators on 26 January 2018, at the esplanade of the MINCOM building in Yaoundé.

                Issa Tchiroma underscored the importance for journalists to respect ethics mostly during conflict periods like the one Cameroon is presently going through.

                “There is the need for journalists to be more professional, promoter peace and above all work towards nation building,” the MINCOM said.

2018 Agenda:

MINFOF to Step-up Anti-Poaching Campaign

By Mercy Neba in Yaounde

The Minister of Forestry and Wildlife has announced new measures to fight illegal poaching in the country. Ngole Philip Ngwese made the announcement as he received New Year wishes from personnel of his ministry on 24 January 2018, at the conference hall of the National Red Cross in Yaounde.

                He said in the face of increasing organized poaching across the national territory and the central African sub-region, the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife has in recent times been putting up a strong and consistent riposte. The anti-poaching efforts, which are continuously beefed up, have been paying off, thwarting the threats to wildlife and biodiversity.

                On Tuesday December 12, 2017, eco-guards attached to the south branch of the Dja Wildlife Reserve intercepted some ivory traffickers in Djoum. The operation led to the seizure of 216 elephant tusks and 81 elephant tails. One of the traffickers was arrested and is presently in the custody of security officials.

                It is suspected that about 108 elephants have been killed to obtain the stock. But wildlife authorities are yet to ascertain the origin of the booty.

Restoring Economic Growth:

PM Yang Calls for Optimization of Measures

By Mercy Neba in Yaounde

PM Philemon Yang

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon YANG on Thursday 26 January 2018 chaired a Cabinet Meeting in his Office. In attendance were the Vice-Prime Minister, Ministers of State, Ministers, Ministers-Delegate and Secretaries of State.

                Three items featured on the agenda: The statement of the Minister for Finance on “the implementation of the resolutions of the Extraordinary Summit of Central African Heads of State held on 23 December 2016 on the Economic and Monetary Situation in the CEMAC zone”; The statement of the Minister for the Economy, Planning and Regional Development on “Measures for strengthening macro-economic stability in Cameroon”; The report of the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development on “Preparations for the Cameroon Agriculture Roundtable”.

                In his expose, the Minister for Finance recalled that, after the Extraordinary Summit of 23 December 2016, the Heads of State of Central Africa had adopted 21 resolutions to restore robust, sustainable and inclusive growth within the CEMAC area. These resolutions hinge on five major pillars, namely: (i) establish an appropriate budgetary policy especially by significantly cutting public spending and streamlining transfer payments; (ii) strengthen monetary policy and financial stability by maintaining the current fixed parity; (iii) strengthen international cooperation with technical and financial partners; (iv) pursue structural reforms through an integrated economic diversification strategy for CEMAC countries; (v) enhance regional integration through stronger customs union, free movement of persons and the development of integration-enhancing projects through the Regional Economic Programme.

                Alamine Ousmane indicated that the situation in the CEMAC zone requires that measures be taken internally to improve public spending quality. Apart from budgetary regulation, the measures taken in that regard concern especially ensuring strict compliance with quarterly commitment quotas, placing an upper limit on vote transfers and streamlining expenditure for routine consumption.

Water Crisis in Cities:

Gov’t Inching Towards a Lasting Solution

There is chronic water shortage in most cities in Cameroon

The minister of Energy and Water Resources Dr. Basile Atangana Kouna is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the current water crisis rocking major cities in Cameroon find a lasting solution. Atangana Kouna undertook a recent trip to North Cameroon to evaluate the situation there and seek appropriate solutions.

The Leasing and Concession Follow-up Committee for Potable Water in Urban and Peri-urban Centres also met in Yaounde recently to diagnose and make proposals for a lasting solution.

For the past one year Yaounde has witnessed infrastructural development and replacement of pipes to ensure that corners of the city are well served. Other towns and cities are undergoing similar water dev’t projects, while changes have been made at the helm of CAMWATER to ensure more proactive action.

                The management of CAMWATER says the Akomnyada Water Treatment Plant in the Nyong and So'o Division of the Centre Region is under extension, to provide an additional 35,000 cubic metres per day.

                CAMWATER's General Manager, said that all was almost ready for the plant to be functional. Many dates have been given for the take-off of the Akomnyada Water Treatment Plant, but management says the project implementation has been complex like many others.

Fighting Wildlife Crime:

Vietnamese Ivory Trafficker Arrested in Ivory Coast

Vietnamese trafficker arrested with loads of Ivory

On January 18, 2018, a Vietnamese man was arrested in Abidjan along with five other members of a criminal network that had been operating for several years in at least seven different countries. The EAGLE network and the Ivorian government began coordinating the operation "Ivory Stops in Ivory Coast", that targets this international network of ivory trafficking. The leader of the gang, a Vietnamese, was arrested along with five other members of his network and arrests led to the confiscation of 578 kg of ivory, more than half a ton of pangolin scales, some of which had already been packaged and ready for export, four illegal handguns, leopard skins and other contraband. The head of the criminal organization in Côte d'Ivoire is directly linked to two other operations that took place in Vietnam and Cambodia, in which  619 kg and 941 kg of ivory were seized by the authorities in the respective countries. The network is believed to be behind the killing of tens of thousands of elephants; killed for their ivory

                These arrests were carried out by the Ivorian law enforcement unit in charge of cross border crime known by its French acronym UCT and the Ivorian Ministry of Water and Forests, with the assistance of EAGLE Network, an international wildlife law enforcement NGO. The American government carried out a thorough investigation of the international traffic network and these arrests were the result of close collaboration between the American and Ivorian law enforcement agencies.

                The gang's modus consisted of carving hollow spaces out of timber logs, hiding ivory inside them, and filling the remaining space with wax. The logs were then reclosed with glue, mixed with normal wood, and exported in containers to Asia. The same method has been observed in additional seizures, in Kenya and Mozambique where more than two tons of ivory have been seized. At least four African countries (Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire ) and two Asian ones (Cambodia, Vietnam) are implicated, making this criminal syndicate an extremely important one in wildlife trafficking.

I Escaped Boko Haram when I was 17 and Pregnant

Patience Ibrahim witnessed beheadings and was served victims’ flesh to eat. 

Still, she survived - and gave birth to her daughter, Gift.

The savage Boko Haram terror group has menaced Nigeria and appalled the world by enslaving hundreds of young girls.

                Patience Ibrahim had a secret — she was pregnant. The 17-year-old Nigerian woman and her husband had conceived just before Boko Haram militants had raided her village in the summer of 2014, kidnapping the women and slaughtering many of the men.

                Ibrahim, a Christian, wasn’t showing yet, but it was only a matter of time. And she knew what happened to women carrying Christian babies. When another woman was discovered with a baby bump, a soldier threw her to the ground and cut the fetus out with a machete, leaving the woman to bleed to death.

                In “A Gift From Darkness: How I Escaped with My Daughter from Boko Haram,” (Other Press), out now, Ibrahim and co-writer Andrea C. Hoffmann, tell the story of her capture by the Islamic terrorist organization and her desperate struggle to keep her unborn child alive.

                In 2014, Boko Haram — which loosely translates to “Western education is forbidden” — became famous worldwide after kidnapping 276 schoolgirls from a school in northeastern Nigeria, saying it would turn them into brides and slaves, sparking Michelle Obama’s “#Bring Back Our Girls” campaign on Twitter. It wasn’t a success — most of the girls remain with the group almost four years later.

                Ibrahim had already been married twice — sold by her father both times for a goat and a cow — when Boko Haram arrived at her village, Gwoza, in July 2014. Her first husband had died at the hands of the militants the year before. When the militants came again, Ibrahim was rounded up with other women to a Boko Haram encampment, where they were ordered to convert to Islam by a man Ibrahim believes to be the supreme leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau.

                “My people and I will not rest before we have eradicated all godless people,” shouted Shekau, a machine gun and cartridges dangling around his neck. “We will have no pity on the traitors. But you have the choice. You can decide which side you want to stand on in the battle: on the side of true believers or on the side of the traitors.”

                Modal Trigger Patience Ibrahim witnessed beheadings and was served victims’ flesh to eat. Still, she survived — and gave birth to her daughter, Gift.

                Then he asked who among the captives would convert. Many did, says Ibrahim, but she never considered it. She condemned them silently for giving up their faith so easily, “but I secretly envied them, too,” she writes. “How easy it was to take your head out of the noose if you had no scruples.”

                When her captors moved her to a second camp a few days later, she witnessed their evil firsthand. Ibrahim was starving and ready to bite into what she thought was meat when another woman warned her: “That’s human flesh.” Ibrahim didn’t believe it at first, until she saw the ritual killings of soldiers deemed as traitors, accused of deliberately missing their targets in battle.

                She watched, horrified, one night as a soldier hacked off the head of another soldier with a machete. “As if through a veil I saw some fighters dragging the man’s body away. They brought it to the kitchens. Really. Then they stripped it and hacked it into pieces.”

                Ibrahim did not eat the soup, she says, instead surviving on very little by foraging for edible plants whenever she was sent to collect firewood. She says she witnessed eight such executions in the two or so months in the camp.

                One day, a soldier watched Ibrahim praying and said to her: “You’re doing exactly the right thing; do some praying for me, too.” She began talking to the soldier, who, it turned out, had also been a Christian before he converted to Islam to join Boko Haram and stave off his execution. But he didn’t fight with enough vengeance and knew that he was slated to be killed soon. On the day of his execution, he was given the job of leading a group of women to collect water at a nearby stream.

                He called to Ibrahim to join them and after they collected the water, they all kept walking out of the camp, making an escape, not stopping until they reached Gwoza, Ibrahim’s hometown. Boko Haram had recently attacked the village again, and the locals were streaming out of it into the nearby mountains.

Valence 1- 4 Real Madrid:

Zidane hails 'important result' for Real

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed an "important result" and performance after his team's much-needed 4-1 La Liga win at Valencia on Saturday afternoon, pointing out especially the "personality" the team had shown after recent setbacks.

                Two coolly converted first-half Cristiano Ronaldo penalties seemed to have set up Madrid for a comfortable afternoon, but Valencia came back through Santi Mina's header at a corner and had chances to equalise, before late goals from Marcelo and Toni Kroos ensured the three points for Zidane's side.

                Although Madrid remain in fourth spot in La Liga, two points behind Valencia and well adrift of runaway leaders Barcelona, a first away win since late November will ease the pressure on Zidane ahead of the Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Feb. 14.

                And the Los Blancos coach told the post game news conference that Madrid had suffered at times but come through strongly for a deserved victory.

                "I am very happy as it is an important result, not just the result, but we played very well," Zidane said. "We had a lot of possession in the first half and when I see my players play like that I am happy.

                "This is a difficult stadium, a team which has done fantastic in this league, were ahead of us in the table. I am very happy with how [my players] did physically, and also tactically.

                "In the second half we suffered for a bit, which is normal, and Keylor [Navas] saved us. We must admit that. But within the game as a whole we deserved the victory. Winning like this, 4-1 here, is nothing easy, we must congratulate the players."

                The former galactico said his side had shown a lot of personality by putting in such a performance following their embarrassing midweek Copa del Rey exit to neighbours Leganes.

                "The good thing in football is that when something bad happens you have another game three days later," Zidane said. "Today was a big game, and we played with a lot of personality, it was important to show that we will be in there fighting.

                "There is still a long way to go in La liga, we will do as well as possible. Then on the 14th we have a Champions League game."

Footballer-turned-president:

George Weah faces toughest challenge

An inspiration on the pitch, Liberia's new president George Weah could struggle to meet expectations off it, writes Fergal Keane.

An army band is playing on the far side of the field, the jaunty strains of ragtime float through the dead heat of the morning.

                It is Monrovia in the dry season and we are gasping, airless under the climbing sun and waiting for President-elect George Weah.

                When he arrives the former professional footballer is dressed in the red kit of the George Weah All-Stars and is preparing to lead a team of his friends against a selection from the armed forces.

When I last visited Liberia in 2003, the warlords and military men had made the country a byword for anarchy.

                Desperate civilians were piling their dead in front of the US embassy to try to force an international intervention.

                Now, at an army base in the capital, I am watching a democratically elected leader stroll out on to a football pitch to play against soldiers, who clearly hold him in awe.

                For the first time in over 70 years, Liberia is experiencing the peaceful transfer of power from one elected leader to another.

                Mr Weah made his name as a star of European football at clubs like Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Chelsea and Manchester City.

                For much of this time his home country was consumed by vicious civil war. Fourteen years after the war ended, and after a previous failed attempt, George Weah eventually triumphed in presidential elections last October.

                Halfway across the pitch I manage to intercept Mr Weah with a question. Could he ever hope to be as successful a president as he was a footballer?

                There is a note of impatience in his response.

Front Page

Kamikaze Mission to Mamfe:

Manyus Stun Detractors With Solidarity Project  
Amid death threats from ‘Ambazonia Tigers’, Manyu elite led by their patron and torch-bearer, Victor Mengot, Saturday stormed Mamfe and launched with resounding success the “Manyu Solidarity Relief Assistance Initiative for Displaced Populations”. They donated, packaged and distributed bags of food, drugs, clothes etc to Manyu sons and daughters displaced by the ongoing ‘Odeshi war’ in the SW region.
By Ojong Steven Ayuk and Ekum-Tambe Eku in Mamfe

Minister Victor Mengot and Chief Oruh handed the aid packages to the representatives of beneficiary communities

Manyu elites scored a resounding and pace-setting victory Saturday, 20 January 2018, when they successfully launched their “Manyu Solidarity Relief Initiative for Displaced Persons”, in Mamfe, amid death threats from some ‘misguided’ Ambazonia enthusiasts.

Converging on the Mamfe municipal grandstand, Manyu sons and daughters and their friends and well-wishers donated, packaged and distributed food items, drugs, clothing, cash and much more to representatives of Manyu communities displaced by the ongoing hostilities between Ambazonia Tigers and government forces in Manyu in particular and the NW and Sw regions in general.

The initiative championed by the Manyu Economic and Development World Conference, MEDWC, and ably coordinated by the MEDWC President, Chief Oruh Julius Agbor, under the watchful patronage of Manyu torch-bearer and leader, Minister of Special Duties, Victor Mengot Arrey-Nkongho, has as objective to show solidarity with, and loving care for Manyu sons and daughters who have fled their homes and sought safety in distant places because of the casualty-ridden fratricidal gun battles pitting government forces against Ambazonia separatist fighters.

For a start of the project, assistance worth over FCFA 11 million was distributed to the displaced persons. The aid package comprising notably household supplies, consisted of 375 bags of rice, 50 bags of salt, 20 cartons of soap, 10 cartons of Maggi cube, 20 cartons of tomatoes, 10 cartons of sugar, 30 basins of garri, bags of onion, cartons of matches among others.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, MEDWC President, HRH Oruh Julius Agbor, noted that Manyu division has been the hardest hit by the ongoing Anglophone crisis, with heavy loss of lives and property recorded in the division alone and with thousands of Manyu villagers having fled their homes and sought refuge in distant places.

“This very pathetic situation could not leave sons and daughters of Manyu indifferent….Reason why under the umbrella of MEDWC, and galvanized by our patron and leader, Minister Victor Mengot Arrey Nkongho, Manyu sons and daughters have made a tremendous effort and have donated generously to the relief fund created to provide humanitarian assistance in support of these displaced persons,” explained Chief Oruh Julius, who noted that household supplies notably food, drugs, clothing for distribution to some 23 affected villages and quarters were bought using the over Fcfa 11 million donated by Manyu sons and daughters.

Chief Oruh thanked all donors to the solidarity project for the “spontaneous and unprecedented response. He encouraged others who are yet to chip in to do so because much still needs to be done in support of the displaced people.

Ntufam Oruh Julius prayed the distribution committees to, with the help of the local administration ensure that the aid packages reach the affected populations. He asked the emissaries to relay to the displaced persons the message of love, solidarity, compassion, forgiveness and consolation and to plead with them to return home.

“MEDWC has applied for support from the MTN Foundation, SONARA, Limbe Urban Council, CAFECO and SOFOCAM and other partners. Hopefully we will come back with more support in the days ahead,” Ntufam Oruh pledged.

For his part, Manyu patron and leader, Minister Victor Mengot, noted with satisfaction the huge success of the initiative. He noted that the problems faced by Manyu people are many and varied and cannot be solved overnight or with a magic wand, but only through a continuous process. 

“I note with satisfaction the resounding success of this initiative. We are going to continue with the initiative, and I can assure you that the best is still to come,” Minister Mengot promised, noting that today it is food and drugs but tomorrow it may be building materials like cement and zinc.

The Minister thanked all sons and daughters of Manyu who stood up to be counted in the initiative especially those who braved the death threats and made it to Mamfe for the launching.

Interviews

Tension Still Prevails in Manyu

-Ayuk Taku-Nchung John, Mayor of Mamfe

               

**What is the security situation in Mamfe now?

                -I must say the security situation in Mamfe is very tense and the population is willing to collaborate with the administration and give vital information to the forces of law and order pertaining to those who would want to come and disrupt the peace. The public has come to know that it is of no use to mortgage the future of our populations especially the children who have been out of school for over a year now. So gradually things are returning to normalcy.

                **Do you think this solidarity initiative by the Manyu elite will help the situation on the ground?

                -In my opinion I believe it is going to do some good. At least those who are willing to change their minds will be pacified. It is true that there are some hardliners who see nothing positive in what is happening, all they want is division and hostilities. But it is a gradual process and things are slowly but sure changing for the better. I think the solidarity initiative is quite welcome.

                **What do you advise the government to do to bring back the fleeing populations?

                -The government should give a listening ear and convene honest, inclusive dialogue.

               

                **What message to the populations of Mamfe?

                --We should stand up like one person against the thrash so called Ambazonia. We should denounce their agents in our midst and denounce their destructive and divisive propaganda because it is a visionless agenda that will only lead to more loss of lives and property if allowed to prosper. We have already lost so much and we cannot afford to lose any more lives and property. We cannot continue to compromise the future f our children and our division. I call on the populations to come back to their good senses and reason maturely.

Manyu people should collaborate with  the administration

-Joseph Oum II, Manyu SDO

               

**Mr. SDO of Manyu, what is your impression after this donation of relief assistance to displaced persons by Manyu elite today?

                -It is a wonderful and very successful endevour that we are witnessing here today and like Minister Mengot said what we are witnessing today is just the beginning of much more to come in the days ahead. This initiative to assist ‘innocent’, collateral victims of the crisis that is currently shaking the NW and SW regions and Manyu division in particular cannot but be encouraged. I hail the Manyu elite and pray them to continue with this wonderful show of solidarity with their brothers and sisters. But at the same time I ask them to continue collaborating with the administration and to urge their siblings to do same because we are here to serve and protect them and not to victimize them.

                **But some of the displaced persons have expressed concerns about the heavy presence of military forces in Mamfe town and in some villages. They say with such frightful military presence they do not feel secure to come back to their homes. How do you react to this?

                -I just said a while a ago that the elite of Manyu should join hands with us and make the populations to realize that the administration and the security forces are here to protect them and not to victimize them. And the populations should learn to collaborate with the administration and the security forces. They should help us to serve them better. They should denounce trouble makers and criminals in their midst. They should denounce any persons who want to divide the country and who from time to time mingle themselves with them.

                **What message for persons who have fled their villages and are now straying in the bushes and in neighboring Nigeria?

                -Let me put the question back to you: What are these people scared of? Who are they running away from? Except maybe they are guilty of something otherwise I don’t see why people should abandon their homes to go and suffer elsewhere. I hear some are saying that the administration has a list of persons to be arrested whenever they return. I don’t know who compiled or is having that list. All I should say here is that except you are guilty of something, all persons who are straying in the bushes and in neighboring villages and countries should feel free and return home. And contrary to false information circulating around that the administration chased away the villagers, I think the villagers left their homes voluntarily. Perhaps some of the villagers knew that they actually connived with the terrorists to kill soldiers and so decided to run away. The case of Agborkem German easily comes to mind. Here the entire village escaped and emptied into Nigeria after some security officers were killed by terrorists there. There is also the case of Kembong where the villagers all took to their heels after four gendarmes were brutally killed there. So we are calling on these populations to return and to collaborate with the administration and the security forces. They are bona fide citizens of Manyu and of Cameroon; they deserve to be protected by the state; they should go about their activities normally. And we are here to protect them. I use this opportunity to hail those who have so far demonstrated civic maturity and are going to school normally. I hope that others will learn from this good example and also do the same.

                **Mr. SDO how can you describe the situation prevailing in Manyu presently?

                -I am sorry Mr. Journalist I will not answer that question now. I hope you can bear with me.

                **Thank you Mr. SDO for accepting to talk to us.

                -The pleasure was mine

Power alternation:

Opposition Envisages Single Candidate To Flush Out Biya

-But will Fru Ndi join in?

Will Fru Ndi Retain his Chairmanship of the SDF?

Presidential elections in Cameroon aren’t expected before September 2018 but the political scene is already heating up. Supporters of long-serving President Paul Biya are urging him to seek another term, as part of the country’s fractured opposition is trying to unite behind a single candidate.

                Recently, hundreds of youth sang in the streets of the capital Yaounde, urging President Biya to be their candidate in the upcoming elections. The youths argue that the 85-year-old is still healthy enough to rule for seven more years.

                Ruling CPDM party bigwig, Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, insists demonstrations of support to the sitting president are emerging naturally.

                "Our national chairman and president of the republic has created lots of educational facilities. We began with one state university, but today we have more than eight public universities and more than forty private universities. The youths have all kinds of professional educational facilities now,” Ngolle argued.

President Biya has not said if he will be a candidate or not, but it is widely believed he will run.

                Meanwhile, the country is grappling with an unprecedented number of challenges – the war against Boko Haram in the north, uprisings in the two Anglophone regions, and large numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to both Boko Haram and instability in the Central African Republic.

                About a dozen opposition parties are negotiating to back Akere Muna, a prominent lawyer who specializes in fighting corruption.

Mbonge, South West Region:

Kwakwa Villagers Flee as Soldiers Set Houses Ablaze

-DO, Mayor, Chiefs, School Principal also flee to safety

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Since Sunday 14 January 2018 that Ambazonia soldiers took over control of all the security checkpoints along the Kumba-Mbonge road, resulting to an immediate counter attack from government forces, the number of displaced persons has risen to thousands and with many casualties recorded on both sides.

                In a bid to recover the seized checkpoints at Kwa-Kwa, Bai Bakundu junction and at Kombone Bakundu from the ‘Ambazonia’ soldiers, there was heavy gunfire exchange between government forces and the separatist fighters.

                The Divisional Officer for Mbonge, Alain Serge BikieBefolo who had boasted to the population how he was a fighter and cannot be frightened by Odeshi fighters, is said to have escaped to Kumba through the bushes. He was accompanied by close to ten military officers.

                The DO is said to have escaped passing through Mboko to Muyenge before arriving Kumba. He was recently spotted in a hotel in Kumba where he is said to have sought refuge.

                The Mayor and traditional ruler of Mbonge, Daniel Matta is also reported to have run for his life. He is now running his chiefdom and council from his hideout in Kumba.

                The principal of GBHS Mbonge who was also chased away by unknown persons, was said to have lost his way in the bushes. He only later traced his way thanks to GPS technology in his mobile phone.

                The Median gathered from displaced Kwa-Kwa residents in Kumba that military officers in retaliation to the killing of their colleagues set ablaze buildings in Kwa-Kwa forcing villagers to flee to nearby bushes and distant areas for safety.

                Our sources also revealed that the military men set the houses ablaze believing that the Ambazonia fighters were hosted there.

A security source revealed to this reporter that the soldiers’ intention was to wipe out Kwa-Kwa from the Cameroon map.

Ahead of Elective Convention:

Fru Ndi Secures Support from NW SDF

SDF militants in the North West region have backed Ni John Fru Ndi’s candidacy as chairman of the party in the upcoming elections of the party. This is the outcome of a regional conference of the party that held on Saturday January 20, 2018 at the Big Mankon Metropolitan Cathedral, in Bamenda.

                During the conference chaired by Hon Njong Evaristus, regional Chairperson of the party, Atekwana Akanji Joseph from Njikwa was shortlisted as Assistant Treasure, Hon Yoyo Emmanuel from Ndop as Financial Secretary, Garga Umaru Ali Nalado from Bamenda II as Organising Secretary among 16 other offices for the National Executive Committee.

                These 16 candidates will compete with others from the different regions during the National convention  billed for February.

Ambazonia Threats Force Meme Chiefs to Postpone Elections

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Traditional rulers in Meme Division of the Southwest region have indefinitely suspended their elective general assembly that was slated to take place over the weekend on Friday January 19, 2018.

                The indefinite suspension we learned from one of the chiefs is as a result of continuous rise in insecurity in the division caused by the constant gun exchange between the Ambazonia fighters and government forces.

                Our source indicated that the meeting that was scheduled to hold at the Kumba City Council was canceled indefinitely because of the constant death threats that have been made on their colleagues especially those in Mbonge Sub-Division by unknown gun men.

                He added the postponement is also as a result of the fact that many of their colleagues in Mbonge are on the run as a result of the constant threats, while others are trap in their chiefdoms with fear not to travel to Kumba as a result of the constant gun battle along Kwa-Kwa, Kombone, Nake, Bole villages.

                Quizzed on how they were informed of the postponement, our interlocutor who preferred to be anonymous revealed they were informed through text messages they receive from the secretary general, EsemeMbonji. It should recall that in the early weeks of December 2017, the elective general assembly was also suspended after the chiefs failed to procure a written autorisation from the Meme administration.

Gov’t Officials Adopt Roadmap for ATT Domestication

- This was at a two-day workshop on 18 and 19 January 2018, in Mbalmayo near Yaounde.

By Mercy Neba in Mbalmayo

MINREX  representative, Mrs Anne Chantal Namah making her opening remarks

At a two day workshop that drilled more than 25 national administrations on the domestication of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), senior government officials committed themselves to implement the process. The workshop on January 18thand 19th, at Hotel Saint Andre Relais, in Mbalmayo near Yaounde, articulated the need for key government ministries to fully engage in the domestication and implementation of the ATT process.

                During the workshop, the government officials expressed satisfaction as to the progress made so far by the Ministry of External Relations (MINREX) and CAMYOSFOP. Amongst the participants present at the workshop were various stakeholders from the Ministry of Defence, Secretary of State at the Gendarmerie, Secretary General of National Security and representatives from customs just to name few.

                One of the presentations focused on the implication of law no 2016/015 of 14 December 2016 on arms and ammunition for the establishment of a national system of transfer of weapons and the control of weapons. The presentation laid emphasis on the general regime of arms and ammunition in Cameroon and the setting up of a national commission for the management and control of arms.

                Synchronized under the theme “the role of national administrations on the domestication of the ATT” the workshop aimed at mobilizing key government ministries towards understanding the treaty and facilitating the ATT process. A number of ministries are to be put in place to have a successful implementation process with every expert in the process to understand the rules and other conventions of the ATT.

Looming Humanitarian Crisis:

UN Expresses Growing Concern for Cameroonian Refugees in Nigeria 

Women and children represent about 80 per cent of the approximately 10,000 refugees registered so far in Nigeria’s Cross River state. Thousands more are among the population of unregistered Cameroonians in neighbouring states.

                Some of these are boys and girls who fled to Nigeria alone. Unaccompanied and separated children are particularly affected by difficult access to food and the lack of subsistence opportunities.

                UNHCR says it has received numerous reports that children have to work or beg to survive or to help their families. Many children are unable to attend school, as they lack both the time and funds for education. Although schooling in Nigeria is free, there are still some basic costs, such as those for school materials.

                UNHCR is working with the Nigerian authorities to assist with the reunification of separated children with their families, to provide unaccompanied children with protection services and to restore the basic right of all children to education. Some children arriving to Nigeria reported to UNHCR that they had been out of school in Cameroon for the whole of the past academic year.

                For women, the lack of work combined with the over-stretched reception facilities, creates a higher risk of sexual and gender-based violence, particularly from survival sex. So far, only a limited number of such cases have been recorded, mainly in the Amana community of Cross River state. However, UNHCR is concerned that many more incidents go unreported or are referred only to community elders. Incidents of domestic violence, as well as cases of teenage pregnancies involving girls as young as 14, have also been reported.

Growing Transborder Trade:

Gov’t Should Create ‘Dry Port’ in B’da

 -Gov’t Delegate appeals

By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda

Family picture of some of the officials after the event Growing Transborder Trade

In prelude to the International Customs Day celebrated every January 26 worldwide, the Director General of Customs, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga took the events to launch activities to mark the day in Cameroon to Bamenda.

                The colorful ceremony at the Esplanade of the Mezam SDO’s Office on Monday 14 January 2018 was chaired by North West Governor, Adolf Lele Lafrique. This year’s commemoration will be guided by the theme: “A secure business environment for economic development.”

                In his launching speech, Edwin Fongod Nuvaga called on the population of the North West region to collaborate with forces of Law and order and customs officials in the fight against illicit trade in the region.

                The DG regretted that the long and porous border between Nigeria and Cameroon and the pockets of insecurity in the region have triggered illicit trade which he said is negatively affecting the customs department.

                But the news behind the news of the event was the plea to government from the Bamenda government Delegate. In his welcome address Vincent Nji Ndumu commended the DG for choosing Bamenda to host the launching observing that the North West region’s land boundary with Nigeria makes the region a hub for custom activities.

Njinikom Catholic Hospital Resumes Activities at Last

By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda

Sis Jethro Supervising an Operation

After weeks of inactivity, St. Martin de Porres Catholic General Hospital in Njinikom has reopened its doors to the public with even more improved and quality services. For over two weeks in the Month of December 2017, the Hospital was plagued by a crisis that saw the suspension of activities at the hospital.

                Speaking to The Median, the new Administrator of the Hospital, Sister Jethro Nkenglefac who is the 10th administrator of the hospital since it was created in 1963 revealed that the “zeal to serve” has brought them back.

“Behind every dark cloud there is a silver lining. Njinikom had crisis but it is normalizing. We want to tell the world that we have restarted and all services that were operating before the crisis have come back” she revealed adding that by the end of the “month of December, 2017, we saw more than 1000 patients and we have decided at the level of the staff, at the level of the community to give ourselves new hope”. 

                In a tour to ascertain whether the hospital had effectively opened its doors, The Median accosted a female patient who was recovering from a fatal road accident that saw the death of her sister and the driver. She showered praises to the hospital for the quality services they render and for reopening their doors to the public.

                This reporter also visited the surgical department of the hospital where a team of doctors were conducting an operation on a patient to correct a disjointed wrist. It was the second operation of the day after another successful one earlier that day. 

                A visit to all the departments in the hospital led by the Administrator was testimony of a hospital that had not only reopened its doors but one that was committed to render even more improved quality services to its patients and caregivers. 

Two Big Wildlife Cases At The Bonanjo Court

Three traffickers at the wildlife office in Douala

Two trials involving wildlife traffickers arrested with pangolin scales and ivory shall hold at the Bonanjo court of first instance on January 22 and 26. The first case is against three wildlife traffickers arrested in Douala on November 21, 2017 with 128 kg of pangolin scales The three were arrested red-handed while they attempted to sell the pangolin scales.

                The suspects aged 42, 41 and 33 operated a ring of pangolin scales traffickers according to sources close to the matter that requested to speak anonymously. The ring operated in the East Region, principally in Doume were two of the three were based, and in Douala. The two who were based in Doume bought pangolin scales from other smaller traffickers, in the small town and villages around, putting together hundreds of kilogrammes of scales and would travel to the Douala to hook up with the third trafficker who did the marketing, searching for clients, negotiating the prices and selling the products. This was done from his home and it was during this transaction that police and wildlife officials made an incursion and arrested them red-handed.

                Five bags of pangolins scales weighing 128kg were recovered from the scene.  Our sources told us that the illegal business had been going on at this premises for some time and ivory was one of the major products that was trafficked by the gang. Prior investigations had equally established that the gang was deeply involved in ivory trafficking.