National And International News Roundup – 27th January 2021

Hundreds of relatives of the Dschang road accident victims, gathered at Menoua Voyage at Bepanda- Douala to find out information about their relatives. All officials of the agency were absent and the office locked. A man fainted at the agency upon learning that his wife and children died in the accident.

Latest figures from accident scene at the Dschang hill now reveal that approximately 53 persons have died while 29 others were seriously injured. The injured victims are now receiving treatment at the Dschang District Hospital and the Bafoussam regional hospital. Authorities are however still facing challenges identifying the corpses given the nature of the burns.

The question of travelling at night in Cameroon resurfaces today following a fatal road accident in Dschang in the West Region of Cameroon. To some Cameroonians, travelling at night should be banned while others think poor state of roads, technical state of vehicles and human errors are largely responsible for road accidents in Cameroon. The Dschang accident this morning left 53 people dead and 29 seriously wounded.

In the West Region, some traders of the Marché A and Marché B have been protesting for two days running now infront of the Dschang Council. This, they say, is because of the continuous increase in rents on council stalls in these markets. The traders have closed these shops as they say the taxes levied on them are exorbitant.

Three persons have been arrested in the city of Douala for carrying out fake covid-19 tests. The had reportedly been carrying out these tests as personnel of the Laquintini Hospital, while collecting huge amounts from people ranging from 10,000 frs to 60,000frs. The director of Laquintini Hospital has urged people to come to the hospital directly for covid testing and not rely on street side practitioners.

A student of the University of Dschang is said to have committed suicide today by drinking rat poison. The girl who goes by the name Ndjoki Hannah Judith reportedly enquired from a class group what poison was strong enough to kill a person, before later taking the poison. It is still largely unknown the reason that pushed the first year student to take her own life.

Women in Cameroon say Women’s Day fabric for this year is scarce in the market. To some, CICAM; the local fabric company has not been able to produce more as in the past years because of inadequate supply of cotton by SODECOTON company in Garoua. Unconfirmed information holds that CICAM is owing the cotton producing company a huge sum of money, reason why SODECOTON has not supplied raw materials.

Inhabitants of Bamenda want perpetrators of Sunday’s killing at Meta quarter to face justice. While parading Bamenda with the body of one of the four boys killed in an uncompleted building, the mourners say military men killed the innocent students in a desperate move against separatists. The Government is yet to issue an official statement addressing the issue.

Florent Ibengue, coach of the Intermediate team of DR Congo has tested negative to COVID-19. This means the football technician will participate in the quarter final match against Cameroon this Saturday at Japoma Stadium in Douala. Coach Ibengue missed two group stage matches since he was tested positive.

There is a shortage of match tickets in Douala for the quarter final match between Cameroon and DR Congo billed for this Saturday at Japoma Stadium. Hundreds of Douala city dwellers queued at sales points to no avail. This will be the first international match Cameroon will play in the newly constructed 50.000 capacity Japoma Stadium.

MPs in the Democratic Republic of Congo have voted to remove Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilukamba from power. Mr Ilukamba, who was not present during the no-confidence vote in parliament, has been given 24 hours to resign. The lawmakers accuse Mr Ilukamba, an ally of former President Joseph Kabila, and his ministers of poor performance.

The United Nations says killings by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo more than doubled last year. The UN Joint Human Rights Office said nearly 2,500 civilians were killed, mainly in the east of the country. It said the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) carried out about a third of the killings.

Health and finance ministers from Africa are to meet the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. “I will tell them that we are doing everything that we can to accelerate the roll out of vaccines in Africa. To save lives and get their economies back on track. The rest of the world must play its part,” WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists ahead of Wednesday’s virtual meeting. It comes a day after South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also the chairperson of the Africa Union, pleaded with rich nations to share their excess vaccines doses with poorer countries.

The Eritrean government has accused Human Rights Watch (HRW) of engaging in a “defamation campaign”. Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel tweeted that HRW was “in cahoots with the defunct Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) regime”. The minister accused the watchdog of giving false information to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A Swiss mediation body says nomadic and farming communities in central Mali have agreed to stop fighting. The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue said the Fulani and Dogon people signed three peace deals after months of mediation. They agreed to allow the free movement of people and livestock, and to enable all communities to have access to markets in the Koro region. Hundreds of people have been killed in years of clashes over access to land and water.

Foreign news: BBC