Int’l Recognition: Samuel Eto’o Appointed Roving Ambassador in Chad

 Cameroon football icon and former striker of FC Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o Fils has been honored with appointment as Roving Ambassador by the President of Chad, Idriss Deby Itno.
  

Samuel Eto’o Fils

 The appointment of Samuel Eto’o was confirmed in a post published on Facebook via the official page of the Chadian Secretariat General of Government, SGG, on Friday 22 October 2020.
    The appointment comes barely days after the Chadian president received Samuel Eto’o in audience at the Presidential Palace.
    Eto’o was received in N’djamena on 18 October and held lengthy talks with the Chadian president on the development and promotion of football in the dessert nation.
    Eto’o later revealed that 15 Chadian kids would accompany him to Cameroon to study football at his alma mater, the famous Kadji Sports Academy in Douala. The academy has over the years cemented its reputation as a breeding ground for young talents.

End Anglophone Crisis: Celebrities Support Anti-Anglophone Conflict Campaign

 Many celebrities in Cameroon are using their platforms to speak out against the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon.
    Online campaigns began few days ago after critics condemned their silence over happenings in the North West and South West regions of the country.
    

Blanche, Daphne and Muriel

One of those who reacted is Blanche Bailly, a renowned Cameroonian singer. She took on her social media to explain how she has also been a victim of the armed conflict,  which began four years ago. “I do want peace more than you can ever imagine, the artists are not your enemies,  we lived the bullet…,” she explained on her Facebook page.
    Bailly said artists have never been silent. “I understand that you are my fans and you want me to be verbal about things plaguing our society. Thanks for that trust. However, When the #anglophoneCrisis started, Artists came together under one voice and did a song, I was part of that project but you, same FANS attacked us and made us to Discontinue the project,” she went on.
    Popular actress and producer, Muriel also expressed worries about happenings in the English-speaking regions while Daphne warned against a replication of the prevailing war in Nigeria.
    After domestic and international pressure failed to mount pressure on the Biya regime to end the war, can something happen this time?

Management of Artistes’ Rights: SONACAM Adopts General Statutes, Internal Rules An Ordinary Session of the Cameroon National Society of Musical Arts, SONACAM, has on Saturday 24 October 2020 held in Yaounde.

 By Mercy Neba in Yaounde
The Cameroon National Society of Musical Arts, SONACAM, now has its general statutes and internal rules and regulations. The documents were examined and adopted on Saturday 24 October in Yaounde.
  

SONACAM protem boss, Sam Fan Thomas

 Over 1000 musical artistes took part in the Ordinary General Assembly that was convened at the behest of the Minister of Arts and Culture, and which had as guiding theme: “Saving SONACAM.”
    The artistes also examined and adopted an electoral code and created an electoral board to conduct General elections on 3 November 2020.
    Opening the OGA, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Pierre Ismael Bidoung Mkpatt, underscored the need to “help SONACAM find efficient and definite solutions that will enable it to operate with regulatory texts developed, examined and adopted by its members.”
    Bidoung Mkpatt hailed the presence in the hall of international and national music icons, saying that it was a demonstration of their commitment and resolve to contribute to the professionalization of musical arts in Cameroon.
    He saluted the collaboration that now animates relations between the Audit Commission for Collective Management, CCOGC, and SONACAM, noting that the good working relationhas helped in the drafting of the statutes, internal rules and the electoral code.
    Bidoung Mkpatt reiterated government’s determination to put order in the musical arts sector by providing consensus instruments to regulate the functioning of authors’ rights bodies.
    The OGA provided occasion for the minister to enjoin the artistes to pay homage to the departed colleagues including notably Manu Dibango, Nguea Laroute, Claude Ndam, Ntoumba Minka, Charles Lembe, Nyangwe Peter, Boma Sylvester etc.

Amidst Surging COVID-19 Cases:

Olympic Committee Envisages Start of New Season

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde 

Officials of the National Olympic and Sports Committee, CNOSC have brainstormed on possibilities of launching a new season amidst surging COVID-19 cases. This was during their first annual session that held Wednesday 5 August 2020.
   

 Sports minister and officials of Olympic committee 

Speaking while presiding over the session, Sports and Physical Education Minister, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi promised government’s support to the Olympic committee to continue to uphold Olympic values, fight deviant behaviours in sports federations and ensure the growth of sports in the country
    Discussions during the session focused on the management of the health crisis and conditions that would be put in place for efficient resumption of national sports activities.
    Hamad Kalkaba Malboum, President of the National Olympic and Sports Committee, disclosed during the meeting that funds that was allocated for the postponed sporting events will be diverted to rehabilitate and construct sports infrastructure in Bamenda ahead of the next National Games of Cameroon, DIXIADES.
    The meeting also had in attendance erstwhile CAF President who doubles as Board Chair of ANAFOOT, Issa Hayatou, FECAFOOT President, Seidou Mbmbo Njoya and many other not notch sport personalities. 

Curbing campus malpractices:

Y’de II University Adopts Ethics, Deontology Reference Book

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Officials of the University of Yaounde II, Soa and other higher institutions of learning affiliated to it have adopted a code of ethics and deontology reference book to help check malpractices including fraud, corruption and indiscipline within the institution.
    The reference document was adopted Tuesday 4 August 2020 during a meeting chaired by the Rector, Prof. Adolf Minkoa She.
    The Rector in the course of the ceremony to adopt the document said the code book will enable the higher institution to go back to its fundamental principles of liberty, integrity and responsibility. He promised an imminent procurement of a software to check the strict implementation of the guidelines by both officials and students.  
    The ethics book consist four chapters subdivided into 45 sections. It tackles the fundamental principles of ethics and deontology, the rights and duties of all actors in the University milieu, the rules and regulations in force and the action plan to implement.
    “It is very important to lay ground rules for a given community like ours…we are now going to have deontological and ethical rules that will guide us in the way we conduct our day-to-day business, be it in academic field, relationship between teachers and students,” said the Vice Rector, Prof. Edmond Biloa. He added that the document will play a fundamental role in restoring order in the institution.
    The adoption of the code book comes on the heels of a recent circular from the Minister of Higher Education, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo in which he ordered all universities in the country to respect the rules of ethics, administrative and academic deontology. It follows the breaching of certain codes ethics and deontology within the universities milieu which has led to corruption, promiscuity, plagiarism, fraud and other vices.
 

Coronavirus:

B’da city mayor, Paul Achombong talks with the press

B’da City Mayor Suspends Market Rents, Tolls
By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde
Traders in Markets in Bamenda have been exonerated from paying market tolls and other incidental taxes for a period of two months. This is in a bid to accompany them to adhere to the measures prescribed by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
    The decision was announced recently by the City Mayor of Bamenda, Paul Achobong Tambeng, as he went out sensitizing the population on the incidence of the virus, and measures prescribed by government to check its spread in the country.
  
    Business persons operating at the Bamenda main market, the Nkwen Market, Ntarikon Market and the Food Market are those to benefit the mayor’s largesse. 
    The Mayor said traders who have already paid their rents for the period concerned will equally be looked into so that everybody benefits equally.
    “The petty traders who come to sell one thing or the other and pay 100 frs will equally be exempted from paying that amount for a period of two months,” Achobong instructed.
    He enjoined traders and business persons to observe proper hygiene around their vicinities in order to remain safe from the deadly virus. He prescribed respect for basic hygiene rules to all traders and their customers as recommended by the World Health Orgnisation and the government so as to prevent the markets from becoming breeding grounds for the virus. 
    In yet another outing, Achobong outlined additional measures to be observed by Bamenda inhabitants in public places as a means to bar the virus infesting the region. 
    The Mayor, who puts the wellbeing of his population at the top of his agenda, has made hand washing around all markets and public places compulsory.
    The Covid-19 measures only add to the city council’s operation clean city campaign which has witnessed the clearing of garbage from all major quarters in Bamenda. 

After Election of City Mayor:

Committees Created To Fast-Track Kba’s Dev’t

By Ekoko Willies in Kumba

Five committees have been created at the Kumba City Council with a motive to speedily transform the town into a modern city. The Committees were put in place during a council session Thursday 10 March 2020. The committees were created with the support of the 75 Grand Councils that make up the deliberative arm of the council. Committee heads and members were designated following proposals from the three Councils.

International Women’s Day:

Protests & Celebrations Mark Events Worldwide

Tensions marked some events, with demonstrators arrested in Kyrgyzstan and a bomb detonated at a ceremony in Cameroon.

People around the world have marked International Women’s Day with calls to end exploitation and increase equality.

                Tensions marred some celebrations on Sunday, with police arresting demonstrators at a rally in Kyrgyzstan and separatists detonating a bomb during a ceremony in Cameroon.

No-one was hurt in the attack.

                “In many different ways or forms, women are being exploited and taken advantage of,” Arlene Brosas, the representative of a Filipino advocacy group said during a rally that drew hundreds to the area near the presidential palace.

                Protesters called for higher pay and job security, and demanded Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte respect women’s rights.

                In Pakistan, women rallied in cities across the country despite petitions filed in court seeking to stop them.

                The opposition was stirred in part by controversy over a slogan used in last year’s march: “My body, my choice.”

                Some conservative groups had threatened to stop this year’s marches by force but Pakistani officials pledged to protect the marchers.

                The rallies are notable in a conservative country where women often do not feel safe in public places because of open harassment.

                The main Islamic political party, Jamaat-e-Islami, organised its own rallies to counter the march.

Women’s Day:

Bomb Blast Kills One, Injures Eight in B’da

Security sources have revealed that eight persons were wounded in the Women’s Day attack in Bamenda, North West region of Cameroon.

Fire erupted after a bomb exploded in B’da on women’s day

                The victims, the sources reveal, were 5 soldiers, 2 policemen and 1 civilian. One has been reported dead in the hours after the incident.

                An internal memo discloses that the incident happened close to the grandstand. The bomb, it explains, was “remotely controlled by individuals on a motorbike”.

CDU Chairman, Ndam Njoya, Dies at 78

The news of the passing of the CDU founding father and Mayor of Foumban spread like wildfire on social media. It was later confirmed by relatives who indicated that the corpse has been taken to Foumban in the Noun Division of the West region in line with his Muslim religion.

                The political figure has been Mayor of Foumban since 1996 died this Saturday, March 7, 2020 from an illness.

              

Ndam Njoya is no more

  His death comes just days after his wife, Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya, was elected to take over from him as Mayor of Foumban.

Political career

                The late statesman founded the Cameroon Democratic Union, CDU; an opposition political in 1991 following the reintroduction of multi-party politics in the country.

                He ran presidential elections in 1992, 2004, 2011 and 2020.

Professional carreer

                Dr Adamou Ndam Njoya, was the pioneer Director of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon, IRIC from 1972 – 1975; a prestigious institution that trains Cameroonian diplomats.

More Women in Politics:

Parliament to Welcome More Women in March

Kah Walla has been advocating for more women in politics

57 women will be among the 169 new MPs that would be welcome at the Glass Palace in Ngoa-Ekelle when the National Assembly is eventually convened anytime soon for the first (March) ordinary session of the 10 legislature.

                                According to the results of the 9 February legislative validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council on Friday, 57 women are among 169 parliamentary hopefuls whose victories were validated.

                                This gives a percentage composition of women of slightly above the bottom mark of 30%.

Corpses of Missing Kids Found In Abandoned Car

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

The lifeless bodies of two kids have been discovered in an abandoned car in a hospital premise in Bepanda, Douala. The kids were discovered three days after reported missing by family members. The kids, aged six and three, were discovered early Monday, 24 February 2020 under unclear circumstances.

                Family members say they were found in the car where earlier search had been done during their disappearance. The two kids went missing while visiting grandmother who operates a business in the hospital. All search efforts conducted by the hospital security, family members and others were futile.

                “I left the two kids under the tree playing and went to change money for customers. We saw the corpses on the same spot where I started the search after I noticed they were missing. I remember there was this same old car in which we saw their bodies, but I didn’t find them anywhere around it…They could not have been in the car by the time of the search…” said the grandmother said in tears.

Man, His Two Kids Die After Eating Poisoned Food

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

A woman is now battling between life and death after losing her husband and two kids. The three members of the same family died after consuming food prepared in their house.

                The family is said to have consumed ‘corn-chaf’ at their Mboko Plage neighbourhood residence in the Douala III Subdivision.

                Local media reports indicates that the family members were transported to the hospital after neighbours were alerted on their situation by the lone child who did not consume the meal. The father and the three kids died after arriving the hospital while the mother is under intensive care, battling for survival.

Nlongkak-Yaoundé:

Bloody Accident Kills Magistrate, His Wife, Kid & Father-in-Law

Magistrate Dingha Alain Kanmi and four members of his family have died in a ghastly accident.

                The accident occurred at 3 am on Friday 24 January at the Nlongkak Crossroad in Yaounde.

              

Magistrate Dingha Alain Kanmi and his family all perished

  The five victims include Magistrate Dingha, his pregnant wife, their two-year-old son and the Magistrate’s father-in-law.

                The family was returning from the wake of Magistrate Dingha’s paternal grandfather who died on Thursday, 30 January.

Upon arrival at the Nlongkak crossroad from Bastos, their Toyota Yaris was crushed by an speeding truck.

Truck Accident Kills 7, Injures Over 20 in Massak

By a correspondent in Douala

Seven persons have been confirmed dead and over 20 others severely injured following a truck accident at Nyiel in Massak Sub-Division, Sanaga Maritime Division in the Littoral Region.

                The accident Sunday 19 January 2020 occurred as a wooden bridge in the area succumbed under the weight of a truck transporting over 30 persons and bags of maize. 

                Informed of the incident, the SDO of Sanaga Maritime, Yvan Cyrille, led a rescue mission to the area to assist the victims. The administrator revealed that 7 of the passengers died on the spot while 20 were severely injured.

2020 Twin Elections:

Amba Fighters Launch War on SDF Candidates

-Homes of two Mayors, MP burnt, councilors kidnapped

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Yaounde

Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam

Gunmen suspected to be Amba fighters have been accused of setting ablaze the residence of SDF Member of Parliament, Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam, in Batibo in Momo Division of the Northwest Region. The incident occurred on the night of Sunday breaking Monday.

                The incident on the residence of Vice President of the National Assembly comes after the publication of the list of candidates for the twin elections. The list indicated that the lawmaker was seeking another mandate as MP of the SDF. The attack on his home has received widespread condemned by a good number of English speaking Cameroonians.

                To recall is the fact that an angry mob stormed his Batibo residence in 2017 and mounted pressure on him to resign from Parliament and join the ongoing crisis, a decision he reluctantly took in front of the mob but never tabled his resignation too Parliament.

                Reports say gunmen had threatened the MP to step down from Parliament and not run for next year's election. The incident at the MP’s residence comes after the kidnap of an SDF Mayor in Bamenda and some councilors by suspected armed separatists for daring into the list of next year's election.

Bamenda, NW Region:

RuWCED Schools Stakeholders on Dangers of Abortion

By Njodzefe Nestor in B’da

Participants at RuWCED seminar on dangers of abortion

The NGO, Rural Women Center for Education and Development, RuWCED, has schooled medical doctors, nurses, peer educators, journalists, school counselors and religious youth leaders on the dangers of abortion.

                This was during a series of seminars organized from November 13 to 15, at the MINEPAT conference hall, in Bamenda. The over 80 participants were also drilled on the national and international laws on abortion, the consequences of unsafe abortion and the right approach on post abortion care likewise different methods of contraception and their implications.

                According to Samuel Leboh, RuWCED staff, the seminar was organised within the backdrop of the high occurrence of unsafe abortions and related consequences including ignorance about the law on abortion in Cameroon.

                Speaking to participants at the workshop on unsafe abortion, a Reproductive Health Expert, Anota Grace said unsafe abortion can pose dangers like bleeding, anaemia, sepsis, infertility or death. She laid emphasis on Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) and family planning, as a way to help prevent unwanted pregnancies, which influences women and girls to abort at all cost, safely or unsafely.

                Day one of the training on November 14 was with medical doctors from different district hospitals in Ngoketunjia Division, NW region. They shared their experiences on Post-Abortion Care (PAC), their challenges, and acquired new information on how they can provide better care to their patients. They were also schooled on family planning, post-abortion complications and management. With some demonstrations, facilitators ensured that trainees learn and practice appropriately.

                On the second day of training, close to forty (40) nurses from the North West Region were trained on Post- Abortion Care clinical skills. Participants were drilled by facilitators on abortion laws in Cameroon, some essentials of PAC, Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVAs) etc, with intensive practical’s. They had the opportunity to interact with each other, pose numerous questions, share challenges and advance suggestions on how their situations can be improved.

Capacity Building:

Religious Leaders Trained On Humanitarian Actions

By Boris Esono in Buea

Participants at the LUKMEF workshop in Buea

Some 100 community level religious authorities from different denominations in the South West region have received a two-day training on humanitarian actions, GBV, Child protection response services and UNICEF specific interventions.

                Organized by LUKMEF and UNICEF, the training falls within the framework of the UNICEF project “Strengthening community-based mechanisms for the prevention of and response to child protection and sexual Gender-Based violence risk for children and adolescents at risk in the South west and North west regions of Cameroon.”

                Aimed at getting religious leaders properly informed and fully involved in humanitarian response, participants shared ideas on how to spread the message to their Christians and worshippers so as to contribute in finding long lasting solutions to the present socio-political tension in the SW and NW.

                According to the CEO and founder of the Martin Luther Memorial Foundation, LUKMEF, Tanyi Christian, the purpose for disseminating this relevant information and training to the religious leaders is timely as it is geared toward enabling them put an end to the crisis by preaching and carrying out humanitarian actions in their various Churches and communities as a whole.

                “We are in a humanitarian crisis with humanitarian response and since religious leaders are found in almost every community and going by the principle of accountability to affected population, it requires that those affected by the crisis towards whom we are providing humanitarian assistance as a humanitarian community should be involved in program designing, implementation and evaluation,”  Tanyi Christian noted.

16 Days of Activism:

Campaign Against GBV Underway in B’da

By Wifah Jennyhans in B’da

Sensitization on GBV intensifies in B’da

As this year’s campaign on 16 days activism against Gender Based Violence, GBV enters the second week under the theme “Orange the World: Generation Equality,” Community of Practice, CoP members with Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, CBCHS have not relented efforts to animate the social media platform.

                Trending hash tags as #orangetheworld, #gender_DiDCoP, #CBCHS have been pressing hard the campaign on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsAppfora. The ultimate goal is that this message reaches the ends of the earth, transform communities as stipulated in SDG 5.

                Prior to this campaign engagement, members of CoP constituting over 50 humanitarian organisations assembled on CBC Center, Nkwen to launch their activities during which members shared their success stories not leaving out challenges in their efforts to curb Gender Based Violence in the North West Region of Cameroon.

                Activities such as sketches, artistic performances geared towards highlighting the need to strike a balance between the male and female folks, stamping out GBV of any sought animated the day and message delivered.

After Months of Intermittent Blackout:

B'da Gets Regular Electricity Supply At Last
By Suh Lambert, UB Student on internship
The population of the North West region has started enjoying regular electricity supply after the National Electricity Transmission Cooperation (SONATREL) successfully completed works on the damaged the 90 KV python supplying energy to the region. The belated repair works that ended on August 4, 2019 brought constant energy flow much to the satisfaction of energy users.
    The region had virtually been plunged in to darkness since May 20, 2019 as unidentified gunmen destroyed the pylon around Mbatu in Mezam division that carry the 90 KV main feeder supply line from Douala through Bafoussam to Bamenda.