National And International News Roundup – 11th May 2020

Six militants of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) political party have been arrested in Yaounde, Center Region of Cameroon. This was during a process to distribute hand sanitisers, face masks and other protective equipment against COVID-19, according to the party. The CRM Says the items offered to the population were from the Survi Cameroon Survival Initiative. Some of the militants include; Martin Paul Samba of Briqueterie, Frederick Wamba, Benoît Tientcheu, Kouemo Jean Claude. Bibiane Boyom- the Coordinator of the Survi Cameroon Survival initiative in Yaounde 1 and II and Raoul Aimé Tchapock. They are detained at the gendarmerie unit.

A brutal confrontation has ensued between members of a family and forces of law and order at the Bali neighbourhood of Douala over the corpse of a COVID-19 patient. The family members who refused to believe medical reports that their father died of COVID-19 forced his corpse out of the private hospital and took on the run over 25km, before being intercepted by gendarmerie elements. A forceful attempt to get the dead body back to the hospital lead to a brutal confrontation. Family members say they were duped by the doctors who collected over a million francs from them.

Lawyers defending jailed separatist leaders, Ayuk Tabe and Co. say there is need for government to revise conditions under which their clients and other detainees are detained. Accusing the superintendent of the prison for employing harsh measures to hush their clients every time they raise these genuine concerns, they say the prison administration began the distribution of chloroquine and some antibiotics without name tag to patients after suspicion of possible COVID-19 infections. “We dread the worse for our clients if the pandemic visits that prison where three patients only can be admitted at a time…” The say.

There are contrasting figures on the number of people that have died of coronavirus in Cameroon. While government’s figures show less than 120, other sources talk of 350 deaths. Observers say the number does not really matter as much as the need to intensify COVID-19 preventive measures.

Over 80 Cameroonians from some Central African countries have arrived Yaounde this evening. Received by the Governor of the Center Region- Paul Naseri Bea, those people who tested positive of coronavirus have been taken for treatment. They make up some of those repatriated during the second phase of government’s plan to bring home Cameroonians stranded abroad due to COVID-19. Hundreds of Cameroonians repatriated to the country since last weekend as a result of coronavirus decry government’s long delay that exposed them to hardship in their host countries.

There is fear in Mamfe Council- South West Region of Cameroon on what will become of Councilors and the running of the Council as separatist fighters engage in a ruthless move of eliminating Council executives. After the killing of Mayor Ojong Prisley yesterday, Ambazonian leaders in the diaspora have been threatening other Councillors.

Illaria Alegrozzi- Director of Human Right Watch in Central Africa has condemned the assassination of the Mayor of Mamfe Council in the South West Region of Cameroon. Besides her, Bar Agbor Felix Bala – founding President of the Centre of Human Rights and Democracy in Africa has equally condemned the act, describing it as barbaric.

Nicky Love Maptue Fotso replaces her father, Victor Fotso as the Mayor of Bandjoun Council in the West Region of Cameroon. She was elected today in an extraordinary Council session while David Kengne is the 1st deputy Mayor. Another candidate for the post Emmanuel Chatue withdrew his candidature few hours to the election.

Some 17 alleged separatist fighters in Muambong, Kupe Muenenguba Division of the South West Region of Cameroon say unemployment, bad roads, poverty and marginalisation pushed them to pick up arms against the state of Cameroon. Speaking at the SDO’s office in Bangem, the alleged former separatists say they have dropped their arms with the hope that promises of good life made by the SDO will be fulfilled.

Traders in the Mabanda Market in Bonaberi, Douala have expressed discontentment following the decision of the market supervisor and Mayor for traders to operate in shifts. Condemning what they say is a move in total violation of the relief measure by the government of Cameroon. The traders say they have been asked to operate only between 10 AM and 4 PM, even when the government gave a go ahead for markets to open beyond 6 PM.

The SDO for Ndian Division in the South West Region of Cameroon says it has been abandoned by the ministry of public health, and will become a graveyard if coronavirus strikes. Sending a distress call to the government through Senator Ankie Effiong of Ndian, the SDO- Forwang Lawrence said Ndian division has only four medical doctors. Outlining that some Divisions do not even have a medical officer, he said the main district hospital in Mudemba has just one medical doctor and four nurses.

Some members of the Cameroon armed forces are receiving medical aid after they were injured in a road accident in Meiganga, Adamawa Region. The accident happened when a vehicle of the National Gendarmerie collided with a truck. There are speculations that some may have lost their lives.

Locked up at the Kondengui prison in Yaounde for his work, Journalist, Awah Thomas Jr has not been in good health for a long time now. A video released on social media today showing the pressman looking frail and lean reignited calls for his release. Awah Thomas is one of the seven journalists jailed in Cameroon for doing their work, a signal of the country’s crackdown on freedom of speech.

A separatist fighter in Cameroon’s North West Region lost his life in an explosion in Guzang village, Batibo Sub Division yesterday. A source has told Mimi Mefo Info that the fighter was killed as he tried to implant the locally made explosive along the road to target the military. The use of locally made bombs has been on the rise as the war of restoration persists in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions.

Combatants engaged in Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis now have access to information on International humanitarian law in times of conflict. The information was made available by the Buea-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA. Produced in pidgin, English and French languages, and available for free online, CHRDA says it aims to sensitise combatants to these illegal acts, and thus diminish the human rights violations they commit.

The authorities in Nigeria’s southern Rivers state have demolished two hotels for allegedly violating lockdown rules introduced to curb the spread of coronavirus. Governor Nyesom Wike looked on as the Prodest Home and Etemeteh were demolished on Sunday. Both hotel managers have been arrested, but the brother of the manager of Prodest Home has told the BBC that the hotel was following the lockdown rules. Despite criticism on social media, Governor Wike defended the decision, saying they had found positive cases in hotels across the state.

Nigeria’s northern Bauchi state has put three areas that border Kano state under a 10-day total lockdown after a spike in Covid-19 cases. The state governor, Bala Mohammed, said the lockdown was necessary to curb rapid community transmission. He said the measure will allow for effective contact tracing and testing. Governor Mohammed said movement within and out of the local government areas is prohibited so as to allow health officials to work without interference.

The record water levels in Lake Victoria forced authorities in Uganda to ration power over the weekend until Monday. The lake is the source of water for the country’s four big hydropower plants, along the River Nile and following heavy rains the water level has risen to its highest since 1964. The authorities have been releasing water from the dams, to ease pressure. On Friday water levels on Lake Victoria rose to more than 13.4m, setting a new record. The high water has caused flooding, with homes and hotels close to the shore affected.

Sudan has sent 300 military vehicles to South Darfur state following ethnic clashes which have killed dozens of people. The deputy commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Major General Abdel-Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, is leading the force. He said his troops had recovered more than 10,000 head of livestock stolen during the clashes. The fighting between the Arab al-Raziqat and African al-Falata was sparked by a dispute over livestock.

A foreign student at Burundi’s Université Espoir d’Afrique died in a Sunday night explosion at a bar in the main city of Bujumbura, her colleagues say. Laurene Muzaliwa from Democratic Republic of Congo had just joined her family members in the bar north of the city when the blast went off. Her uncle and several others were also injured, according to Vital Cirhuza, leader of Congolese students association in Burundi, who also said it was a grenade attack.

Kenya has released 7,000 inmates in a bid to decongest prisons since coronavirus pandemic hit the country, Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i has told Senators. The minister told the Senate’s Corvid-19 committee that two cases were detected in a prison in the capital, Nairobi. The health ministry has started conducting mass testing in prisons across the country, the local Citizen TV reports. Kenya has so far confirmed 672 coronavirus cases in total and 32 deaths.

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Democratic Republic of Congo have passed the 1,000 mark with the capital, Kinshasa, being the hot spot of infections. The virus has now spread to seven out of the country’s 26 provinces.

(Foreign news: BBC)