National and International News Roundup – 26th February 2020

A Cameroonian activist in the UK attempts to emulate herself in protest against silence of the UK government on killings in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. Sandy Boston of BAS UK who was immediately evacuated by an ambulance was protesting in front of the Cameroon High Commission in London Wednesday afternoon. Sandy was later allowed to go home. They were protesting against the killing of women and children on Valentine’s Day in the restive North West and South West regions of Cameroon. Information reaching MMI says the British police had been warned in writing that a protester was thinking of carrying out such a desperate act, yet they did nothing to avert it from happening.

Professor Maurice Kamto says the regime is incapable of resolving burning issues affecting Cameroon and therefore irrelevant to its people. In a crowd-pulling rally in Douala today, the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party request Cameroonians to mourn victims of Ngarbuh killings in the North West region adding that the government of Cameroon has remained insensitive to the plight of the people. Maurice Kamto called on Cameroonians at home and abroad to observe a day of mourning for the over 35 civilians massacred in Ngarbu-Ntuwbaw. He also called for an urgent Reconstruction plan for the war thorn North West and South West regions.

Christian Bassogog donates 10 million FCFA to China-based Cameroon students, calls for solidarity in coronavirus fight.  “China has a special place in my heart and that’s where I play my trade. This money is aimed at helping Cameroonian nationals living in China especially the students” the BBC quotes the 24-year-old who recently got married. In a release last week, the government revealed that of the about 300 Cameroon students living in China, close to 200 are based in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.

Roman Catholic and Presbyterian Christians have today joined their counterparts in the world in prayers to mark the lent period. The 40-day period marked by prayer is aimed at consolidating the faithful’s relationship with God. The start of the lent period is also marked by “Ash Wednesday” symbolized by the mark of a cross on the foreheads of the Roman Catholic faithful.

A greater part of Douala 1 municipality paralyzed this day following traffic congestion. Commuters spent several hours to get to their destination. This was as a result of the presence of Prof. Maurice Kamto leader of the MRC party in the city. Several Cameroonians and militants of the party gathered at the party headquarter at Grand Moulin to listen to the message of the leader.

Vanessa Tchatchou is optimistic that one day she will get her baby stolen from the gynaeco-obstetric and pediatric hospital on the 20th of August 2011. In an exclusive interview with Mimi Mefo Info today, Vanessa a final year law student in the University of Dschang says she knows who is illegally keeping her baby.

The Social Democratic Front SDF has considered the verdict of the Constitutional Council cancelling legislative election in some constituencies in the anglophone regions of Cameroon. The party’s shadow cabinet in charge of media and information Jean Robert Wafo says no free election took place in these places because of insecurity.

The Director-General of Elections Cameroon says the body is preparing to organize a rerun of election in 10 constituencies in the North West and 1 in the South West. Dr Erik Esousse says ELECAM will respect what the electoral code says in organizing fresh elections. A new election is expected in 40 days.

Some observers say the Constitutional Council remains an arm of the ruling CPDM party despite haven cancelled election in some constituencies in the North West and South West regions. To those who hold this school of thought, the verdict calling for a rerun is a window dressing arrangement aimed at giving the election some credibility.

Etchu Joseph Eyong of the CPDM party has been voted mayor of Tinto/Upper Bayang Rural Council. He beat the incumbent by a 15 to 7 vote. The election Wednesday, February 25, 2020, held under the supervision of Manyu SDO.

Former Mayor of Bangem Council in the Kupe Muenenguba Division of the South West region of Cameroon has been arrested. Simon OJIEH EKUH was taken Tuesday, February 25th 2020 by operation Sparrow Hawk, for the embezzlement of public funds to the tune of FCFA 25 million.  The accusations say he diverted the money destined for the construction of routes in Bangem Municipality during his time as mayor. He has however pleaded not guilty.

A Cholera outbreak has been confirmed in Tiko subdivision of the South West region of Cameroon. According to the South West regional delegation of public health, a male teenager died of Cholera at the Tiko district hospital Wednesday, February 26th 2020. Health Officials say the boy came in from Manoka in the littoral region

The media accreditation process for the final tournament of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020 has opened. This is according to a release from the Confederation of African Football CAF. The final tournament of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020 will be played from April 4-25 2020 in the cities of Yaounde, Douala and Limbe.

A top Kenyan university has apologized after blaming “reckless” female students for becoming victims of rape. The security memo, which was sent to all students on Tuesday, was “insensitive”, the University of Nairobi’s vice-chancellor admitted. A petition started in response to the memo questioned how women could be blamed for their own rape.

A military funeral has been held in Egypt for former President Hosni Mubarak, who died on Tuesday aged 91. The current President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, walked alongside Mubarak’s sons, Alaa and Gamal, in a procession behind his coffin as it was taken to the Field Marshal Tantawi mosque in Cairo. The government has declared three days of national mourning.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia, Berhaneyesus Demerew, was barred from leaving the main airport in neighbouring Eritrea to attend an engagement. The cardinal was stranded at the airport in the capital, Asmara, for more than 16 hours over the weekend, according to a church statement. He had arrived on Saturday but was obliged to return to Ethiopia the next afternoon after fruitless attempts to reach the crowd gathered to welcome him.

Cameroon attacker Christian Bassogog has announced he will donate 10m CFA Francs ($16,000 or £13,000) to Cameroonian students living in areas of China stricken by the deadly coronavirus. The 24-year-old, who joined the Chinese Super League club Henan Jianye in 2017, is currently in Yaounde while football is suspended in China due to the virus. Cameroon’s embassy in China says there are close to 300 Cameroonians, mainly students, living in Hubei Province, considered the epicentRE of the coronavirus epidemic.

More than 1,500 people claim asylum in the UK each year, claiming that they are persecuted for being gay. But it’s not an easy thing to prove. Angel fled Zimbabwe in fear of her life after police found her in bed with another woman five years ago. It’s taken most of the time since then for her to convince the UK authorities that she is gay and will be persecuted if she returns.

South Africa’s Commission for Gender Equality has said it will seek compensation for HIV positive women who were sterilized without their consent or were pressured to agree. The commission on Tuesday released a report following an investigation into 15 state hospitals on forced or coerced sterilization of 50 women. The report has been referred to the South African Nursing Council and the department of health.

The wife of South Sudan’s newly sworn-in Vice-President Riek Machar says her husband feels “he is a prisoner”. Angelina Teny, who is herself a former government minister, told the BBC that restrictions put in place by the regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), on her husband’s travel within and outside South Sudan were still in place. The restrictions were intended to stop the fighting and get Mr Machar to negotiate a peace deal. They also restrained him from speaking to the public or media.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $10m (£7.7m) to help fight locusts in the East African region. The contribution will be given to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which appealed for funds to fight the locust invasion that is threatening food security. Desert locusts have invaded six countries in the East African region, devouring crops. The invasion is the worst in 70 years for Kenya and the worst in 25 years for Somalia and Ethiopia. (Source Foreign News: BBC Africa).

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