National And International News Roundup – 25th May 2020

Six lives have been lost to COVID-19 in Cameroon today Monday 25th May. According to the Ministry of public health, 52 have been treated and 154 new cases recorded.

Cameroonians say today’s tweet by the Health Minister on the eve of school resumption indicates that the government is tasking them to fight for their very own survival amidst a deadly global pandemic. Cameroon has 4,890 infected cases this far, one of the highest in Africa. 1,865 have recovered while 165 persons have died according to latest official figures.

The Imam of the Buea Central Mosque has called for vigilance among muslim faithfuls as COVID-19 rages on in Cameroon. El Hajj Muhamed Abubakar was speaking in Buea during the feast of Ramadan on Sunday May 24th 2020.

Schools to resume in Cameroon for students and pupils of examination classes next Monday. Less than a week to the kick off, some parents of students in examination classes continue to question effective COVID-19 preventive measures put in place in both public and private schools ahead of resumption.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has appreciated armed groups in Cameroon for giving a listening ear to his plea for a ceasefire. Citing similar examples in other African states, he urged other warring parties to down their weapons.

Cameroonians have criticised the decision of the government to disburse the sum of 4,197,000,000 fcfa for the purchase of vehicles for the newly elected Members of Parliament. The decision is contained in a document from the finance ministry validating the disbursement of the money to the finance controller of the National Assembly, Mme Yoland Achemeyae.

Cameroon’s golden voice female artist has asked President Paul Biya to step down for Cameroon to prosper. Speaking on Voice of America, Charlotte DIPANDA said Cameroon deseves a new and younger President for the breath of new era. She said she has known only Paul Biya as President since she was born in the 1980s in Cameroon, and the regime is responsible for the stagnation of the country.

Youths identifying themselves as the Young Cameroon Patriots have vandalised the residence of Professor Maurice Kamto, national President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) political party Monday May 25th 2020. The information was made known by Bar. Christopher Ndong, CRM SG. The CRM leader said the individuals threatened Kamto’s life but police didn’t respond when he called for help

A pastor is on the run in Yaounde after failing to resurrect a corpse. The supposed man of God is said to have received a sick man in the church last Friday for healing prayers. After hours of prayers, the man died at the “Cameroon Youth for Jesus” house of worship at Ngoa Ekele neighbourhood. After two days with the body lying in the church, the family discovered that the pastor could not resurrect the corpse as he promised. The body has been buried by the forces of law and order.

A video on the social media shows people running away from Ngarbuh village – Donga Mantung Division in the North West Region of Cameroon. The people say they are running away from military brutality. The government recently opted to set up a military base in the area to maintain security. Military killed over a dozen innocent people in Ngarbuh in February this year.

Work will resume in Cameroon tomorrow Tuesday after a long weekend and a public holiday declared by the President. This follows the celebration of the feast of ramadan. Muslim faithfuls prayed for peace and an end to the health crisis.

The question of change of power at the helm of Cameroon has once more been raised. At the weekend, the President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Prof. Maurice Kamto in a tweet warned against any unconstitutional power hand over from Paul Biya to any one without a general election.

Seven African oil and gas companies have adopted a global campaign to ensure women are treated equally with men in the energy industry by 2030. The “Equal by 30 Campaign” urges companies and governments to advance gender equality, especially issues like equal pay, opportunities for women to advance to leadership positions and to play a role in green energy, by 2030. The campaign is a joint initiative, spearheaded by the Canadian government and the International Energy Agency, which views participation by women in the industry as crucial.

The authorities in Burundi say the ruling party’s candidate has been elected as the new president. The electoral commission said Evariste Ndayishimiye won almost 70% of the vote in last week’s poll. The retired general will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has led Burundi since 2005. The former leader is widely expected to maintain a lot of influence. The main opposition party has expressed doubt about the official results, which suggest its candidate, Agathon Rwasa, only gained a quarter of the votes – mostly in its traditional stronghold in the west.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has urged more African countries to support his call for a global ceasefire. In a statement marking Africa Day, Mr Guterres said armed groups in Cameroon, Sudan and South Sudan had declared unilateral ceasefires in response to his initiative and he appealed to others to do likewise. He also called for an end to other forms of violence, such as the abuse of women and girls.

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigerian farmers must produce enough for the country to eat, saying that the country has “no money to import” food. The comments follow concerns around food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic and rising food prices in Africa’s most populous nation. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Programme, even before the Covid-19 crisis, farmers had not been able to satisfy demand for Nigeria’s population of some 200 million.

After 28 days without any new cases of coronavirus, Mauritius recorded two cases on Sunday. The two patients are among 149 Mauritians, including three babies, who were repatriated from India on 9 May on a special Air Mauritius flight. The development comes two weeks after Health Minister Kailesh Jagutpal said that the island nation had won the battle against Covid-19, although he add that the war against the virus was still on.

Traffic police officers with pot bellies in Tanzania are to redeployed because they embarrass the police service, Interior Minister George Simbachewere said over the weekend, local media report. Mr Simbachewere ordered the police boss to reassign the officers. A human rights activist tweeted saying that the policy should not lead to discrimination.

(Foreign news: BBC)