National and international news roundup for April 6th, 2020

A man believed to be a commercial motorcycle rider has been arrested at Bonakwamouang roundabout in Douala for demanding the whereabouts of President Paul Biya. Inhabitants have been questioning if they don’t have any right to know more about their president. Paul Biya has remained silent in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents of Bamenda say were left in fear by gunshots around Mile 7 today. Similar gunshots were heard around Nchoubou-Bamenda last night. Till now a source says, no one has been able to clearly identify who’s shooting and for what reasons. The UN had called for a cease-fire as the world battles the COVID-19 virus, the move was backed by some pro-independence fighters in the restive Anglophone regions.

Government has confirmed an attack on armed forces in the Far North by the Boko Haram terrorist sect. In addition to soldiers, 10 civilians the ministry of defence says, were killed as the sect wreaked havoc in villages.

Markets in the Bamenda city Council are set to be disinfected very soon as part of the battle against the COVID-19 virus. The disinfection will be done using chlorine purchased by the town’s city mayor. Mayor Paul Achombong had earlier announced a concession for traders asking them not to pay financial obligations to the Council for the months of April and May due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses.

The Governor of the Littoral Region has allocated five hospitals for COVID-19 patients. In a decision signed Saturday April 4th 2020, Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboa said besides the Logbaba district hospital, other hospitals to uniquely handle COVID-19 include; the gynaco obstetric and pediatric hospital Yassa, Bonamousadi health centre ,Nkouloulou health centre and Laquintinie hospital.

A Canal 2 journalist has gone ‘missing’. Eric Golf Kouatchou a source has told Mimi Mefo Info was taken out of his hotel room on Thusrday April 2nd 2020 by men in military uniform to an unknown destination. Since then, no official statement has been issued by security services in Douala on his whereabouts. He had arrived Douala Cameroon from France on the 17th of March and was quarantined in a hotel in accordance with a measure by the government to monitor the health of all persons coming from coronavirus infected countries.

Lessons for students taking end of course examinations are being aired on national radio and television. The first lessons kicked off today and will run daily from 8AM to 10:30AM. The measure is taken by the Ministry of Basic Education to fill in the gap created by the suspension of classes to combat COVID-19. Several parts of the country are without electricity, implying many cannot benefit from the lessons.

Despite repeated measures taken by the administration and the military to put to rest the respect of Monday ghost town in Bamenda, the practice is still on. Inhabitants continue to stay in their houses on Mondays. They attest that sounds of gunshots are not longer frequent as before.

There have been contrasting explanations on what is causing sporadic water flow from Mount Fako into the town of Buea. While some geologists think the constant washing of the top soil in the mountain by rain water is responsible, some traditionalists assume that the gods of the mountain are mainly reacting.

Tents to host hundreds of COVID-19 patients are being erected at the Yaounde military stadium. According officials the site will be ready by the end of this week to receive patients.

Israeli ambassador in Cameroon Isi Yanouka says his country is ready to produce face masks for medical workers in Cameroon placing their lives on the line to safe coronavirus patients. The ambassador was received in audience today by the Prike Minister, Dion Ngute.

A grim of light in Cameroon as country witnesses drop in new Coronavirus cases. According to the Minister of Public Health, 8 new cases of COVID-19 were registered throughout April 6th 2020, largely lower than the 95 newly confirmed cases registered previously. The 8 new cases bring the total to 658 confirmed cases across the Country. However, the Minister failed to confirm if the drop in new cases could be considered as a new trend.

Dr Njoumbissi Serge says Douala cannot handle serious cases of COVID-19. Expressing fears of what he says might be a disaster if the confirmed COVID-19 patients develop respiratory problems, Dr Njoumbissi revealed that Douala, a city of over 5 million people, can only treat 14 stage 3 COVID-19 cases simultaneously because they exist only 14 respirators throughout the city.

The first phase of Cameroon’s response plan against COVID-19 has ended according to the Minister of Public Health. In a press briefing in Yaounde Monday April 6th 2020, the Minister of Public Health revealed that all travellers from abroad, quarantined in hotels accross Cameroon have been tested of COVID-19, and positive cases quarantined. The next phase according to the Minister, will comprise identifying and fixing places to host COVID-19 cases.

A plenary sitting of the National Assembly has been planned for April 7th 2020. According to the Secretary General of Cameroon’s lower house of Parliament- Abdoulaye Daouda, the sitting will focus on a general debate on Bill No. 1069/PJL/AN

A notable in Buea is said to have survived an assassination attempt that left two members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion killed and others injured. The BIR elements allegedly attacked the home of the notable but met with stiff resistance from his security guards, Mimi Mefo Info was told by a source. “The gateman and the workers of the notable were at home yesterday around 10 o’clock in the morning when these men entered and started shooting. I think their aim was to kill the notable” says the source. The wounded he adds were taken away by a strange ambulance. We are following up on the story…

A 16-year old boy has been shot dead in Kurogwe by alleged Ambazonian fighters. Randy Welebesi a source says tried to escape when the suspected separatist fighters attacked their home but was shot dead. Family members say he was buried before they could get to the village. Last month the people of Kurogwe are said to have teamed up and dismantled a camp run by separatist fighters in the area, accusing them of constituting a nuisance to the community.

Zimbabwe’s health minister has warned people against selling unregistered Covid-19 self-test kits. Obadiah Moyo told the state-owned Herald newspaper that all test kits have to be evaluated by the local authority first, to establish efficacy and to avoid false results.

An actress in Tunisia says she has received death threats from Islamist militants after she started streaming live videos of herself belly dancing with the aim of entertaining people in lockdown because of the coronavirus. Nermine Sfar said the threats had come from people connected to a Tunisian-based group with links to al-Qaeda.

The coronavirus is having an unusual impact in the Sahara desert where it has prompted some rebel and government forces in the remote city of Kidal, in Mali, to cooperate, in order to make preparations for quarantine stations. Mali has been wrestling for years with a separatist rebellion, and more recently with a dramatic upsurge in attacks by Islamist groups. The separatist rebel leader, Bilal ag Acherif, outlined plans to unite to fight a common enemy.

Prominent Nigerian actress Funke Akindele has been found guilty of “violating [coronavirus] restriction orders” in the commercial capital, Lagos, a police statement says. She was charged alongside her husband, Abdul Rasheed Bello, who was also found guilty.

Ugandans online have expressed mixed reactions to government’s plan to reopen schools from the end of April. Education Minister Janet Museveni said primary and secondary schools will reopen on 27 April. She said the measures put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus would allow the resumption of the school calendar.

A bridal couple, their party and all their wedding guests were arrested in South Africa for taking part in a wedding against government regulations, which have banned large gatherings in efforts to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. Police officers and the military stopped the wedding and arrested 53 people in eNseleni, in rural KwaZulu-Natal, at the weekend.

Protesters in Ivory Coast’s commercial capital, Abidjan, have destroyed a coronavirus centre that was being built in the district of Yopougon. Residents said it was being built in a crowded residential area, too close to their homes.