National And International News Roundup – 24th January 2021

Days back, MMI reported how elements of the Rapid Intervention Batallion raided and arrested several business persons in Kumbo. Those apprehended are still in detention without charge, MMI has learned. “They are being detained at their barracks at Lyonga street, Tobin are being asked to pay between XAF 4.5 to 5million each, before regaining their freedom,” said a source in Kumbo.

Some 41 referees who are to officiate matches of the African Football Championship in Cameroon from January 16th, have been trained on how to be efficient. The referees and assistant referees acquired theoretical and practical skills.

Gianni Infantino; President of the International Football Federation (FIFA) is expected in Cameroon tomorrow Friday. He is to witness the opening ceremony of CHAN this Saturday in Yaoundé. In the meantime, delegations from African countries continue to arrive the country.

There are fears insecurity may perturb the African Football Championship in the South West region of Cameroon. Inhabitants of the region following the burning of some vehicles in Limbe, say security is not the best to ensure safety guards for players, match officials and spectators.

24 hours to CHAN, residents of Buea say frequent power outages have left them in diffculty. Despite the role tho town is set to play in the competition, locals say they are feeling abandoned already.

The National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms has addressed the recent upsurge of violence across the nation. In a release, the body has told residents in conflict hit areas to rely on the forces of law and order, for normalcy to be restored.

Militants of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN) in Douala have embarked on a campaign to encourage Cameroonians to register on the electoral list. They have been moving in popular junctions to encourage people.

Two suspected social media fraudsters have been presented to the press by the Bonanjo judicial police. The boys are accused of blackmailing a little girl using a nude video they lured her to produce. Police authorities have warned the public to beware of social media promises.

The chairman of Uganda’s electoral commission, Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, has hailed the fiercely contested presidential and parliamentary as a success. At a news conference in the capital Kampala, he said Ugandans had turned up in large numbers and voted peacefully in spite of the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

A senior UN official says he is concerned about “grave and distressing” allegations of human rights abuses in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, including killings, targeted abductions and the forced return of refugees to Eritrea. “These are concrete indications of major violations of international law,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi added in a statement.

A prominent Zimbabwean journalist and critic of the government, Hopewell Chin’ono, has been denied bail. The High Court in Harare upheld the state’s contention that he would commit other offences if he was released. Mr Chin’ono was arrested on Friday and charged with communicating a false story.

A typographical error by the legal team of Ghana’s defeated presidential candidate John Mahama has forced the adjournment of his court case to demand a re-run of last month’s election. Court papers asked for the re-run to be held between Mr Mahama and the election commission – rather than President Nana Akufo-Addo, who was declared the winner of the poll with 51.6% of the vote compared with Mr Mahama’s 47.4%.

A fourth United Nations peacekeeper has died of his injuries following an attack by suspected jihadists in Mali. Five others were wounded when their convoy struck an explosive device and came under fire near the town of Bambara-Maoudé in the Timbuktu region on Wednesday. Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State operate in the area and have made much of the country ungovernable.

Foreign news: BBC