National and International News Roundup. Thursday, September 5, 2019

1 Mary Namondo Motimbe has been released. The volunteer radio animator of radio Bonakanda in the South West region of Cameroon was kidnapped Tuesday this week by unknown gunmen at the premises of the radio. Ndumbe Evambe Amos, station manager of radio Bonakanda has confirmed the release of Mary Namondo to Mimi Mefo Info.

2 The Senior Divisional Officer of Meme Division has promised to resume the exercise of sealing shops tomorrow friday at Kumba 2. Today, Chamberlain Ntou Ndong accompanied by security forces sealed shops whose owners are respecting a lockdown imposed by separatist fighters. A similar action was carried out early this week by the government delegate to Kumba City Council. Kumba in Meme Division has been deserted since Monday this week.

3 The Mayor of Buea Ekema Patrick Esunge and the Governor of the South West Bernard Okalia Bilai have promised to continue with the campaign for all business centres and shops in Buea to open their doors and create a conducive environment for effective school resumption from next Monday. The campaign is aimed at frustrating the lockdown.
The Governor was also in Tiko where he met with Mayor Moukondo Daniel Ngande and economic operators.

4 Inhabitants of quartier Nouvelle Route Bessengue in Douala say they can now sleep with both eyes closed after security men arrested 14 hardened armed bandits in the quarter yesterday. They have been applauding elements of the security and the population for collaborating to fish out the culprits.

5 Lawyers in Cameroon are determined to observe a sit-in strike from the 16th to 20th of September. Bar Eta Bisong Jr after participating in a crisis meeting yesterday with the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Justice says lawyers will not accept any cosmetic solution but permanent solutions aimed at ameliorating the judicial sector for all Cameroonian.

6 Commercial motorcycles in the nation’s political capital Yaounde continue to violate restricted areas in the city. This has often caused conflict between agents of the Yaounde City Council and the riders. To end this, a meeting grouping riders in Mfoundi division has taken place today in Yaounde aimed at sensitising the commercial motorcycle riders to respect no go zones.

7 There are mixed expectations in the minds of Cameroonians and most especially militants of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement political party as Professor Maurice Kamto, leaders of ally political parties and militants of CRM party will stand trial at the Yaounde Military Tribunal tomorrow. The accused persons and their lawyers have called for an open audience that will permit the public and the media to witness the trial process.

8 The group Stand Up for Cameroon has launched a call for Cameroonians to dress in black tomorrow Friday particularly to denounce the poor judicial system in Cameroon and call for a fair trial of the leaders of Cameroon Renaissance Movement party.

9 South Africa has temporarily closed its diplomatic missions in Nigeria following reprisal attacks by Nigerians triggered by xenophobic violence in South Africa.Between Sunday and Wednesday, mobs looted and destroyed shops, many of them foreign-owned, in South Africa’s commercial hub, Johannesburg.Nigeria’s government has been outspoken in its condemnation of the violence. Police say the unrest has subsided and more than 420 arrests have been made. South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, called the violence an embarrassment for her country. “Our government regrets all violence against foreign-owned stores or Africans from other countries who are resident in South Africa,” she was quoted as saying by national broadcaster SABC. She ordered the closure of the country’s high commission in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and its mission in Lagos, following threats made to the diplomatic staff. (culled from the BBC)