National and International News Roundup – Friday, September 13th, 2019.

1 Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam has warned that “the national dialogue should not be a replica of the Tripartite Conference”. Speaking today, the Member of parliament of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) stated that a neutral person needs to preside over the national dialogue to give it credibility.  Speaking on Canal 2 TV, the parliamentarian from the North West Region says the dialogue should be dedicated only for the anglophone crisis for an effective outcome.

2 The governor of the South West Region of Cameroon has called on internally displaced elites of the Region to return and start brainstorming on what will be tabled when the national dialogue starts. Benard Okalia Bilai made the call today after holding talks with PM Dion Ngute. The Governors are said to be currently discussing with the PM on how the dialogue process will look like.

3 Traditional rulers in the South West Region of Cameroon have pledged to support the initiative of the government in the organisation of national dialogue to solve the anglophone crisis. Led by the president of the South West chiefs’ conference HRH Mafanyi Njie Martin, the traditional rulers examined with the Minister what they can do to contribute to the peace process.

4 The demolition of houses in the Nkol Melen neighbourhood in Yaoundé has met stiff resistance from some inhabitants.  Disgruntled victims are accusing the authorities of giving them meagre compensations.  Some of them attempted blocking caterpillars from the Yaoundé City Council from destroying their houses. The demolition is aimed at paving way for the construction of a flyover.

5 Traders at the Congo Market in Douala are standing against what they call the abusive confiscation of their land by the Douala City Council (CUD). The traders are accusing authorities of CUD of violating legal proceedings by demolishing their shops.

6 The question has been asked as to how much respect the government of Cameroon has for people who fought for the independence of the country. This is a question that has more significance today as it marks the 61^st anniversary of the assassination of the nationalist, Reube Um Nyobe. The nationalist was killed on the 13th of September 1958 in Boumyebel in the Centre Region by French colonial forces for standing against their oppression. Militants of Union des Population du Cameroun used this day to reiterate the unity of Cameroon.

7 Many Nigerians are still waiting to be repatriated by their government out of South Africa. One of them is a young mother, who has been sleeping at the Nigerian Consulate with her baby. She made it clear that she had been left with no choice but to try to go back to her home country. She is one of the thousands of Nigerians who have been forced by the ongoing xenophobia in South Africa to flee their homes to safety. Reports indicate that Nigerians are not the only foreigners being targeted. However, so far, it is only the Nigerian government that has openly organised for its citizens to be flown back to safety.  A second flight, scheduled to take off yesterday Thursday, experienced a number of delays and it is as yet unclear when the next flight to Nigeria will take off.

8 Female Kenyan parliamentarians have been protesting following the suicide of a 14-year old schoolgirl. The girl took her life after she was allegedly embarrassed by her teacher for having her menstrual period in class. The mother of the girl confirmed that the daughter was found dead last Friday after she had her period during a class session, resulting in her clothes being stained. Her teacher is reported to have called her “dirty” and expelled her from the classroom in Kabiangek, a neighbourhood, West of Nairobi. The incident has reignited a national conversation about “period shaming” and access to menstrual products.

9 A week after the United Nations International Court of Justice granted Kenya’s request to delay its case with Somalia, the former is seeking an out-of-court settlement of the dispute.  Confirming this today in Nairobi, Kenyan Foreign Secretary Monica Juma said, “The matters are not black and white,” and that a “sustainable solution has to be seen as mutual. We have a preference for a negotiated settlement.” This comes after the African Union’s Peace and Security Council announced plans to appoint a mediator to help resolve the dispute.

10 Over 4,000 people are reported to have demonstrated in the Sandton neighbourhood, in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday. This comes after weeks of renewed activism and protests against gender-based violence in the country. The protesters were mostly wearing all-black and carrying placards while singing apartheid-era struggle songs. Their main message was the denunciation of what they called a ‘scourge of femicide in South Africa’. The protests have brought discussion about gender-based violence to the forecourt of public discourse after 19-year-old Nene Mrwetyana was raped and murdered in August by a post office employee Luyanda Botha.

Mimi Mefo Infos MMI