National And International News Roundup – 13th July 2020

The weekend was not an exciting one for English Speaking Cameroonians. Multiple military raids in different villages in the North West and South West regions saw two civilians killed and others arrested. Initially searching for separatist fighters, the soldiers are said to have taken out their frustration on the population after failing to find the ‘enemy’.

In Babanki, still in the North West region, three persons are responding to treatment after being allegedly shot by soldiers on Saturday. A source says soldiers opened fore on separatist fighters and later on burnt two houses before shooting the three persons. One of the persons shot a source adds is a separatist fighter.

Separatist fighters have murdered another humanitarian worker in one of the two English speaking regions. Felix Mba who works for Doctors Without Borders was found dead on Friday, days after he was kidnapped by the separatist fighters and accused of collaborating with the military.

Dozens of civilians have been abducted by gunmen in Alou, a Sub Division in Lebialem, South West region of Cameroon. No group has claimed responsibility for the act but accusing fingers point at separatist fighters who have often made similar abductions in the past.

Two workers of the Nguti Council in the South West Region of Cameroon are still in the hands of suspected separatist fighters several days after their abduction. The sanitation workers were kidnapped as they turned out to clean the council  premises ahead of a council session last weekend. No information has so far filted on their whereabout.

After staying away from his village for close to two years, the Fon of Balikumbat, Doh Gahyamyin lll who doubles as the Mayor of the Balikumbat council visited the palace and Bali over the weekend.  Palace sources say Fon Doh  went to pour libations and called for unity,  peace in Balikumbat after a series of unrests, killings and abductions.

The Popular Action Party says it will not run for any election in Cameroon organised by “…the CPDM-Biya regime with the current electoral code and electoral body. The party has also called for a ceasefire in the North West and South West regions, stating that it should be followed by an unconditional revisit of the 1961 constitution in a roundtable discussion.

Ayah Abine, head of the Ayah Foundation has been interrogated by security agents for the third time in less than six months. After a three-hour interrogation at the National Gendarmerie headquarters, SED in Yaounde today, he said the accusations against him are no longer about buying arms for separatist fighters in the Anglophone regions. “The accusations/suspicions keep changing at every interrogation” he wrote on Facebook.

Barrister David Namange, the Mayor of Buea today led a team that sealed some shops in the municipality. Acting in collaboration with Defense and Security Forces, Mayor Namange says the action is geared towards encouraging business owners in Buea to desist from closing their shops on Mondays which are ghost town days. He promised to continue in the same vein till the town returns to normal.

A 4 year old boy was devoured by a dog this weekend in Bomon in the Moungo Division, Littoral Region. The dog is of the popular German shepherd breed and many people believe the situation is a mystical one rather than physical. The incident comes barely one week after a 2 months old baby was eaten by a pig in the West Region.

A man has died in Makot village in the Messondo District, Nyong and Kelle Division during a well cleaning exercise. The deceased was suffocated by gas from the 15 metre well he entered. The body of the 35-year-old has been extracted and kept at the mortuary while the well has been placed sealed by the authorities.

Cameroon has refused to host the finals of the African Football league. In a press conference today, the President of the Cameroon Football Federation, Seidou Mbombo Njoya blamed the situation on the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents of Kousseri in Cameroon’s Far North region have gone for days without electricity. This was due to floods caused by heavy rains. The predicament of some residents of the town has been worsened by a tornado that blew off rooftops yesterday.

The Garoua III Municipality has a new Mayor. Abdourrahmane Maikanti was elected during an extraordinary session of the Municipal council. He was the only candidate for the position and had a 100 percent win from the councillors. He replaces Hamidu Laimani who died on May 11 due to an illness.

Villagers of Bessi- Awum have been challenged to respect barrier measures to flatten the covid-19 curve so that focus can be directed towards insecurity in the Batibo Sub Division and the village. This was during a ceremony to celebrate the first anniversary of the late Fon of the village. It should be recalled that the late fon ruled for 82 years, standing as longest serving in the history of the village.

SDF Wouri East member of parliament Jean Mitchell Nintcheu has raised an alarm over what he called a massive embezzlement scandal by a group of persons in the ministry of public health.  On his official social media page, Hon Jean Mitchell Nintcheu outlined a shocking  series of financial mismanagement of public funds by officials in the ministry under the guise to fight COVID-19.

As the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus keep increasing in the South West region, its has been revealed that most people in the community are yet to accept that coronavirus is real. The revelation was made in Buea during a workshop to train health leaders on how to better sensitise their followers.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has eulogised Zindzi Mandela as a “fearless political activist who was a leader in her own right”. “Zindzi Mandela was a household name nationally and internationally, who during our years of struggle brought home the inhumanity of the apartheid system and the unshakeable resolve of our fight for freedom,” Mr Ramaphosa said in a statement. She was the youngest daughter of South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela. She died in a Johannesburg hospital in the early hours of Monday morning, public broadcaster SABC said.

Somalia’s army chief has survived a suspected suicide car bomb targeting his convoy in Mogadishu. An attacker detonated a device after the convoy of the army boss fired at him when he tried to get near them. The attack happened near Gordon military camp on Monday.

Doctors in Nigeria’s Lagos state have started a three-day strike over safety fears during the coronavirus pandemic. Chairman of the Medical Guild Dr Oluwajimi Sodipo told the BBC that doctors on the front line dealing with patients infected with Covid-19 are at risk and the government needs to act quickly to address their safety fears. They are asking for adequate personal protective equipment, insurance and prompt testing of health workers.

Morocco has brought in a full-scale lockdown in Tangier after new clusters of coronavirus infections emerged in the port. Road and rail transport in and out of Tangier is being suspended, while residents are being asked to stay at home – only leaving in cases of extreme necessity. Moving within the area in and around Tangier will require authorisation from the local authorities, while a special travel permit will be required to leave the city.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has complained about neighbouring nations Kenya and Uganda causing delays to imported goods because of the requirement to test truck drivers for Covid-19. The Rwandan leader’s comments are prompted by long delays for road cargo, as drivers are tested at the border by the Kenyan and Ugandan authorities.

A younger brother of Tottenham player Serge Aurier has been shot dead in the French city of Toulouse, reportedly after attending a night club. Christopher Aurier died in hospital after emergency services found him shot in the stomach in an industrial zone on the city’s outskirts, French media say. His suspected killer escaped the scene, a source close to the inquiry said.

A Kenyan military helicopter on a training flight crashed on Monday in Kithyoko area, about 150km (93 miles) east of the capital, Nairobi. Two pilots on board were evacuated from the crash site, according to Kenya Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Zipporah Kioko. But local media quoting eyewitnesses report that there were fatalities.

The UN and the African Union have condemned the government of Mali for what they called its use of lethal force on protesters who are calling for the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. The protests, which started last month, turned violent on Friday with police reportedly firing gunshots towards demonstrators – some of whom had occupied government buildings in the capital, Bamako.

Foreign news: BBC