Atanga Nji Pledges to Restore Authority of Chiefs & Fons

By Boris Esono and Yollande Mbombe in Buea

Cross section of Sw Chiefs with Nfon V.E Mukete of Kumba and Chief Etina Monono of
Great Soppo sitting prominently on the front row

The Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji has promised to restore the authority of Chiefs in the NW and SW regions whose authority has been seriously compromised during the ongoing Anglophone crisis.

            Atanga posits that traditional authorities in the Anglophone regions deserved to be respected and honored like their counterparts in the West and Northern regions.

            He was speaking in Buea last week, at the close of a two-day working visit to the South West Region during which he met with administrative and security officials; Motor taxi riders’ unions, religious authorities, economic operators and traditional authorities.

            Unveiling his message to the traditional rulers, the minister said he has come for dialogue and to seek ways of restoring the authority of traditional rulers.

            “If you go to the west region, traditional rulers who are auxiliaries of the government and the custodians of our tradition are respected. There they are not insulted and disrespected. Young people do not threaten their traditional leaders in these areas and go with it. That is why the West region is a tourist hub because people go there to visit the palaces of the traditional leaders. We will not tolerate a situation where chiefs are being disrespected and insulted to the point where some are forced to flee their palaces like is the case in some parts of NW and SW. It is my mission as minister of territorial administration to safeguard and protect the authority of traditional rulers. But these traditional rulers should also help me in this challeging task.”

Stopover in Kumba:

Atanga Nji Seals Peace Deal with Bike Riders

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Minister Atanga Nji in communion with bike riders in Kumba

The Minister of Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji, has sealed a peace accord with Meme bike riders in an effort to check the onslaught of deadly separatist squads fighting under the banner of what they refer to as the Ambazonia Defence Forces ADF. This was during a stopover he made in Kumba on 27 March 2018 whilst on a security evaluation and appeasement mission to the SW region.

The ADF have in the past several months       been storming civilian and military targets in several parts of Meme, Ndian and Kupe Muanenguba divisions, from their hideouts in the bushes and mountains. Their activities have led to heavy losses of both civilian and military lives and property. It has caused many people including mayors and chiefs especially in Mbonge subdivision to flee to safer destinations. 

            The peace accord signed between the Interior Minister and five Presidents of bike riders’ unions from five sub-divisions from Meme and Ekondo-Titi in Ndian Division was therefore in a bid to get the bike riders on the side of the government. It is believed that more often than not the ADF guys are transported to their targets on motorbikes, and that they do so with the complicity of bike riders.

            “I am happy to be with you in this brief visit thanks to the report of the Governor of the Southwest Region about the regularisation of your motorbike sector. I have come with a message of peace because I have seen your determination in peace building and I have brought you people gifts to remind you all of the fact that we are all partners in peace building because the security of the nation is in the hands of us all,’’ Atanga Nji told the riders while handing over gifts comprising five helmets and jackets to five bike riders from each of the riders’ unions. 

            The Minister said because he has been made to understand that not all the bad occurrences in the division are done with the use of bikes and because the bike riders have vowed to cooperate with the administration to track down criminals, he has decided to withdraw his ban on their activity.

Konye DO accused of Pocketing Minister’s “Envelope” to Bike Riders

By Doh Bertrand Nua in Kumba

Atanga Nji handing peace plants, helmets and jackets to Meme bike riders Epimba Blessed Ekole, DO Konye sub-division

The president of the Konye bike riders’ union has accused the Divisional Officer, DO for Konye, Epimba Blessed Ekole of confiscating the FCFA 50 000 that Minister Paul Atanga Nji handed to him for refreshment during his visit to Kumba to discuss with Meme bikers. 

            Asah Atem raised the alarm in the presence of a crowd of onlookers, shortly after the Minister’s convoy took off from the meeting venue and headed for Buea.

            Speaking at the top of his voice, Asah told reporters after escaping lynching by his peers for allegedly pocketing the refreshment money, that the DO and the Konye Mayor caught him on his shirt and collected the money on grounds that he wasn’t the true representative of the president of Konye Bikers’ union.

            Asah made his revelation to the press after he was spotted by this reporter being manhandled by other bike riders and barely minutes after his brief encounter with the DO and the Mayor.

Petition to Constitutional Council:

SDF Wants Senate Election in SW Cancelled

SDF has contested the senatorial election in SW

Cameroon’s main opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF) wants the recently held Senatorial elections cancelled in the entire South West region of the country. Reports indicate that the party has on Wednesday filed a petition at the Constitutional Court to that effect.

            The SDF tabled claims of fraud particularly in the town of Lebialem and security incidents that marred the process in Bangem.

            The South West region and North West regions that make up the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been riled by violence since October 2017 when separatists groups under the so-called Ambazonia Republic attempted to declare independence.

            The two regions have been under curfew as a result of attacks on members of the security forces. Separatists under the banner of the Ambazonia Defense Force (ADF) have killed over twenty security forces in guerilla-styled attacks.

            Security in the two regions remains a major worry especially as a series of elections have been programmed for the months ahead.

2018 Senatorial:

CPDM Accuses Elecam of ‘Miscalculation’ in NW

- Refuses To Sign Final “Procès-verbal”

Members of the regional polling commission of the CPDM in the North West for the 2018 Senatorial elections have reportedly refused to sign the final “Procès-verbal” of the elections in the region. They are contesting the victory of the Social Democratic Front, SDF who have swept all the seven senatorial seats in the region.

            According to provisional results pending confirmation from the constitutional council, the SDF is leading with 517 votes against 496 for the CPDM. The SDF have a percentage of more than 50% which guarantees them the 7 seats in the region. According to statistics from ELECAM 1037 of the 1039 councillors in the region voted giving a participation rate of 99.81 percentages with two void votes.

2018 Senatorial in the NW:

Who Planted Surveillance Camera at Mbengwi Polling Station?

A Surveillance Camera was found at Mbengwi Polling Station

On March 25, 2018 as the 134 councilors of the five sub divisions that make up Momo Division rallied at the lone polling station, at Government Nursery School Mbengwi for the senatorial elections, a video surveillance camera was discovered in the poling room in violation of the electoral code that says the elections are suppose to be secret.

            The camera lens had been carefully covered with a pink cardboard paper and a little opening made on the paper through which the lens was able to capture images and the server hidden in the ceiling.

            This was discovered thanks to the vigilance of one of the councilors after more than three quarters of the councilors had already cast their votes.

            The discovery halted the voting process for about two hours and the process only resumed when the camera and its accessories dismantled and elections stakeholders promising that investigations will be opened to bring the perpetrators to book.

            True to the promised made by the Governor of the North West region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique, while addressing the press at the polling station, those who were directly involved in the management of the polling station were questioned within the week in a move to get information from them that can led to the arrest of the perpetrators.

CSOs Trained on Defending Female Human Rights Defenders in Conflict Zones

By Boris Esono  in Buea

Participants at the end of a one day workshop in Buea on training female human rights defender in conflict zones

With the present socio-political upheavals going on in the North West and South West Regions, various human rights are being violated especially those of the female sex. The human rights situation for the last two years has become worst even in other regions due to the crisis.

            Hence, some civil society organizations have been schooled on how to defend the rights of female human rights defenders in conflict zones especially within the Anglophone regions of the country.

            This was during a one day workshop last March 27, 2018 on personal safety and networking organized by the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Foundation, LUKMEF-Cameroon.

Some of the reasons why women are being violated as indicated during the workshop involve the vulnerability of the female sex and also because we live in a society that is gender bias.

            In his discourse, the co-founder and CEO of LUKMEF-Cameroon, Christian Tanyi called on women to be more active, watchful and become more engage in the whole process of defending their rights. “Women today are more prone to various human rights violations such as rape, torture and various psychological abuses. So any threat against women should be taken in to consideration”.