National And International News Roundup -16th December 2020

One of the Fako traditional rulers, Chief Mola Molombe Smith has made a public apology to North Westerners living in the South West Region on behalf of Chief Ewo Ekome aka Moja Moja of Bwassa, for his actions geared at spreading hate towards the grasslanders. Chief Mola Molombe has expressed that Moja Moja does not speak for all South West chiefs and that the North West citizens have nothing to fear living in the South West Region.

The Centre Human Rights and Democracy in Africa has condemned xenophobic words and actions of HRM Ewome Eko John of Bwassa village against the people of the North West region of Cameroon. In a release today, the human rights office recalls that the said traditional ruler made similar pronouncements last month when a traditional ruler was killed by suspected separatists in a village in Buea Sub Division.

Teachers in Ndop, Ngohketunjia division have cried foul after being threatened with sanctions for not showing up to teach. Some of the teacher’s who featured among the over 1000 cited by secondary education Minister, Nalova Lyonga say authorities have failed to out in place adequate security against attacks from separatist fighters. Others have also alleged that some officials whose relatives are teachers have taken out their names from the list of absentee teachers to spare them from the sanctions.

Roger Chantale Tuile, a media personnel and political figure has made some claims which say Celestin Djamen was paid 50 Million FCFA to betray Maurice Kamto and the CRM party. He also states that there are further plots by the regime to lure key opposition members to the ruling party in exchange for bribes and administrative positions.

In prelude to the upcoming African Nations Football Championship (CHAN) 2020, the Yaoundé – Nsimalen Auto-Route has finally been launched by the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Celestine Ketcha Courtes today. As she chaired the ceremony, Minister Courtes expressed extreme satisfaction for the long-awaited completion of the project and said it will serve well during the CHAN 2020 games which will begin in some 30 days from now.

PM Dion Ngute affirms that stadia in Buea and Limbe are ready to host 2021 African Football Championship. He visited the pitches today, one month to the start of the championship. The exercise comes after visits to sites in Douala and Yaounde.

Mr Celestin Tawamba has been re-elected as the President of the Cameroon Interpatronal Group (GICAM). He was voted during the elective General Assembly of GICAM with a total vote of 95% as the sole candidate. Mr Tawamba has called for a greater collaboration between the private sector and the government for the advancement of the economy. The elections took place today December 16, 2020 at the GICAM headquarters just before the closure of accounts for the financial year 2019.

The purchase of a Christmas tree remains a cardinal point in the celebrations of the feast of Christmas by Christians.  Less than 10 days to the feast, Christians have been purchasing either artificial or natural Christmas trees to decorate their homes. To them, it symbolises rebirth and a new beginning in their Christian lives.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has reappointed his eldest son, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba as the head of Uganda’s Special Forces Command, an elite unit with the responsibility of guarding the president and first family. Gen Kainerugaba has had a meteoric rise through the ranks of the army, having trained at the British academy Sandhurst and other military programmes in the US, Egypt and South Africa. He also serves as presidential advisor on special operations and regains his position as head of the special forces command, after more than a decade.

On the second anniversary of mass killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo that left more than 500 people dead, Human Rights Watch has called on the government to ensure the perpetrators are finally brought to justice. The attacks in Yumbi in the north-west of the country were triggered by the burial of a Banunu customary chief on land claimed by the Batende community. The UN believes local leaders planned the violence which also destroyed the homes of about 1,500 Congolese families.

The European Union has postponed nearly €90m ($110m; £81m) in budget support payments to Ethiopia due to concerns over the crisis in the Tigray region. European Commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero-Hernandez told the BBC there were five conditions for the aid to be resumed: Granting full humanitarian access for aid workers to reach people in need in all affected areas; Allowing civilians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries; Ethnically targeted measures and hate speech must stop; Mechanisms to monitor, and investigate allegations of, human rights violations; Communication lines and media access to Tigray should be fully re-established.

The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo has announced that a curfew will be imposed from 21:00 to 05:00 after a spike in cases of coronavirus. The restriction will start on Friday. DR Congo’s Communication Minister Jolino Makelele announced this among new measures, including schools closing earlier for the Christmas holidays, a ban on ceremonies before burials and a ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people.

Namibia’s President Hage Geingob has reduced the number of people allowed to attend public gatherings from 200 to 50 for indoors and 100 for outdoors as Covid-19 cases in the country increase. Bars and restaurants in the country will now close at 22:00 local time and owners have been asked to ensure tables are two metres apart.

Four northern states in Nigeria have ordered the immediate closure of schools following the abduction of hundreds of students in Katsina State. The closure order affects schools in Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and Jigawa states. The Nigerian teachers’ union has also threatened to go on strike over insecurity in the country. It says pupils and teachers are being targeted by gunmen and kidnappers.

Foreign news: BBC