National And International News Roundup – 4th March 2021

Reports say the students of GBHS Kribi who were involved in a viral explicit video have now been expelled by the school authorities pursuant to a decision of the disciplinary council. The decision comes after the teachers of this same institution equally attacked two journalists from Vision 4 TV and DBS TV. The journalists were there to find out more on the deliberations by the disciplinary council.

The Prime Minister of Cameroon has called on all ministers to rekindle all COVID-19 prevention strategies. Joseph Dion Ngute chaired a meeting today in Yaoundé reaffirming that prevention is better than cure.

Seven communal nursery schools remain closed in Douala I municipality despite a decision from the Senior Divisional Officer of Wouri this week ordering the schools to re-open. The schools are respecting a decision from the Mayor Lengue Malapa that has shutdown the school to ensure effective disinfection of The Mayor said that his decision was aimed at protecting the children, and that he reserved sole rights to decide what happens to schools of the Douala I Municipality.

Media reports say the government has recovered a massive sum of 7 Billion FCFA from Emmanuel Lebou. The latter who previously served as the Director for Salaries at the Ministry of Finance was arrested in 2019 for creating over 2601 fake salary accounts through which he defrauded the state of approximately 1.8 Billion FCFA each month for a period of 10 years. He is currently serving a 100-years prison sentence at the Kondengui Maximum Prison in Yaoundé.

The Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, Msgr Andrew Nkea has announced the death of Reverend Father Patrick Nyuydini Lafon. The priest passed away today at the Bamenda Regional Hospital. Reverend Father Patrick at the time of his death was a lecturer at the Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda.

An 18- year old student of Government Technical High School Sangmelima in the South Region of Cameroon has been arrested and handed to the police for attempting to steal from the office of the bursar. A source from the school says the student stormed the bursar’s office with a machete ordering her to surrender everything. The bursar alerted students and teachers. The said boy is noted for notorious actions according to the teachers.

It is uncertain when Cameroon U-17 Lions male football team will leave the country for Morocco. The 25 players and officials missed their flight yesterday following delays by the Moroccan Embassy to process their documents. They will take part in the African Cup of Nations in that category to start on the 13th of March. They will play in Group C alongside Mali, Senegal and South Africa.

Under-17 Lions thrashed Apejes de Mfou 4 goals to 3 yesterday in a warm-up match. The players say they are working hard to win the trophy. So far, none of the players has tested positive of COVID-19 despite earlier rumours circulated on the social media.

Rwandan YouTuber Yvonne Idamange Iryamugwiza has been arraigned in court in the capital Kigali on six charges including insurrection and incitement to public disorder. She is accused of “spreading rumours using technology”, “contempt for genocide memorials”, “obstruction of the implementation of government policies” and “using counterfeit bank checks” among other charges. She denies all charges.

Algeria has welcomed France’s admission that its soldiers tortured and murdered a key figure in the country’s independence struggle, reports the AFP news agency. “Algeria notes with satisfaction the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of his decision to honour the fighter and martyr Ali Boumendjel,” AFP quotes an official statement as saying.

The UN migration agency has called for more to be done to prosecute smugglers and human traffickers following the latest drownings off Djibouti. Survivors have described the brutal actions of smugglers operating in the Horn of Africa. Some 200 migrants including children were crammed onto the boat in Djibouti on Wednesday morning. Just half an hour after setting off, the smugglers forced 80 of them into the sea.

Algeria is preparing a law which would strip the nationality of its citizens who join, finance or glorify a terrorist organisation abroad. The justice minister outlined the proposed changes during a cabinet meeting, reports the state-run news agency APS. Reuters news agency quotes the prime minister’s office as saying that the new law would remain compatible with international conventions and guarantee the right to appeal. The authorities, however, appear to have not given any reason for the amendment.

Ghana’s Supreme Court has upheld Nana Akufo-Addo’s victory in the December presidential election, dismissing allegations of irregularities. Opposition candidate, and former President John Mahama, had filed a petition asking the court to annul the results of the elections and order a rerun because of alleged irregularities. But the court ruled that Mr Akufo-Addo had obtained more than 50% (51.295%) of total valid votes and that the electoral commission’s corrections of the declared results did not significantly impact the outcome.

The UN’s human rights commissioner has called on Ethiopia to allow independent experts into the country to investigate continuing violations that may amount to war crimes in the Tigray region. Michelle Bachelet said she had received distressing reports of killings, rape, destruction and looting. The UN says the Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara Regional Forces are all implicated.