National And International News Roundup – 6th January 2021

Some Cameroonians say the government has rendered them illegal citizens in their father’s land as it has failed to process their national identity cards. They have launched a social media campaign calling on president Paul Biya to instruct Martin Mbarga Ngelle; Delegate of the National Security to produce the ID cards.

The recent outcry by Cameroonians on the non-production of their national ID cards by authorities seem to have spurred some action. An image today was circulated on social media of personnel seated infront of large numbers of unprocessed ID cards, working on them. This has brought relief as many Cameroonians complain of being in constant fear of security officers, due to lack of ID cards.

Eight new dialysis machines have arrived Bamenda General Hospital to boost work at the Haemodialysis Centre in the general hospital. The provision of the machines follows a strike by kidney patients in Bamenda. In the course of the tension, the Regional Delegate of Public Health for the North West and the director of the Bamenda Regional Hospital issued contrasting releases on the issue.

Killers of the seven Kumba school children massacred last year, are yet to be tracked down. Going by this, parents of the kids say the souls of their children continue to long for justice. As the bereaved families continue to nurse their wounds, Cameroonians living in China have donated some materials to these families in Kumba.

19 people involved in a protest in Djoum, South Region have now been sent to jail by local authorities of the area. The protesters were allegedly sent to jail for disturbing the public order and disrespect for authorities. These persons had gone out to protest on 27th December 2020 and 4th January 2021 over the non-payment of indemnities relating to the construction of the Bikoula-Djoum road.

Security elements in the city of Douala have launched an operation to combat and arrest drug consumers in the town. The operation so far saw the Gendarmes arrest 15 drug addicts from various neighbourhoods in the city, particularly Bessengue and Makea. The Gendarmes have promised that the operation will completely eradicate these thugs from the society, as they represent harm to the local population.

The Minister of Sports, Prof. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi has asked the Intermediate Lions to put in more efforts ahead of the upcoming CHAN. He made these remarks following the disappointing results they produced in their two recent friendlies. Prof. Narcisse has insisted that the target for the Lions will be to go for glory when the competition kicks-off later this month.

16 African teams participating in the African Football Championship have up to midnight to submit a final list of players. Each coach will submit a list of 23 players with seven others on the waiting list. Cameroonians are anxiously waiting to see the names that will be submitted by Martin Nyougho Mpile; head coach of the Intermediate Lions.

Some football lovers and supporters of the Intermediate Lions of Cameroon have toured the city of Douala today, singing and dancing to reawaken the football spirit barely 10 days to the start of African Cup of Nations.

At least two children and a woman have drowned after a passenger boat capsized on Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, regional government spokesman Claude Basila has been quoted by Reuters news agency as saying. A total of 46 passengers had been rescued, while two were still missing, he added. The overloaded boat had been traveling to the main city in eastern DR Congo, Goma, when it capsized overnight on Tuesday, Mr Basila said.

The US has agreed to give Sudan a bridge, or short-term, loan of $1.2bn (£880m) to help it clear its arrears with the World Bank, Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin has said. He made the announcement following his first visit to Sudan since the US removed it from its list of “state sponsors of terrorism” last month.

South Africa’s Police Minister Bheki Cele has accused mostly European tourists of defying a ban on going to beaches along the famous Garden Route. The ban was introduced last month to curb the spread of coronavirus after the beaches were identified as a hotspot for infections. Speaking to journalists following a tour of the area, Mr Cele said that overall compliance with Covid-19 regulations was much better than he had expected, but some surfers had been arrested on the beach in Langebaan for defying the ban.

Nigeria expects to get its first batch of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of this month as part of its plan to inoculate 40% of the population this year and a further 30% next year, the head of the country’s primary healthcare agency, Faisal Shuaib, has said. The first batch would contain 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, obtained through the global vaccine-sharing scheme known as Covax. Nigeria will first inoculate frontline health workers, first responders, national leaders, people vulnerable to coronavirus and the elderly, Mr Shuaib said.

Six people, including two fighters from a Burkinabe civilian volunteer force, were killed in a suspected militant attack in the Nord Region on Monday. Local officials cited by AFP said around 100 gunmen raided Loumbila village that is near the border with Mali, killing six and seriously wounding three others.

Foreign news: BBC