National and International News Roundup: Tuesday 24 December 2019

Negotiation talks to stop the strike of unemployed doctorate degree holders have failed in Yaoundé, the political capital of Cameroon. Those striking held a meeting today with the minister of Higher Education, Prof. Jacques Fame Ndongo. The doctorate degree holders have denied a proposition for them to wait for another phase of recruitment next year. In the course of the talks, one of the spokespersons of the disgruntled intellectuals collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.

Victims of the Gouache Landslide in Bafoussam say they have been abandoned by the government of Cameroon. At the site where they were recently relocated, the victims say they have been living without electricity and potable water. Most of the houses, they say lack windows and doors. They say the government of Cameroon relocated them from a bad to a worse situation.

The minister of defence says security should be at its maximum in the South West, Littoral, West and North West regions of Cameroon. In Bamenda, Joseph Beti Asomo installed brigadier general Vallere Nkah as commander of the 5th military legion that covers the North West and West regions. In Douala, Brigadier General Ebah Ebah Beniot was installed as commander of the second joint military legion. He replaces general Sally Mouhamadou that served in the position for 13 years.

There is a maximum deployment of military men in Buea, the capital of the South West Region of Cameroon, this week to maintain security during the end of year festivities. Some inhabitants have been expressing satisfaction while others say some military men in the process abuse the rights of civilians by carrying out abusive arrests.

Workers in mobile money kiosks have become a soft spot for bandits in Douala during this end of year period. Yesterday two of such workers were attacked in their kiosks with one shot by a bandit. They have been decrying the lack of security at their place of work.

Christians are currently taking part in church services to mark Christmas eve in Douala and other towns in Cameroon. The services are marked by short plays that retrace the birth of Jesus Christ, known to Christians as the Saviour of mankind and others that seek to inculcate good behaviour in children.

Few hours to Christmas, buyers and sellers in Loum Moungo Division of the Littoral Region of Cameroon complain of a tight economy, which they say has made buying and selling difficult this end of the year 2019. The very few buyers present in markets across Loum, say the prices of basic foodstuff and other items are extremely high.

The Christmas fever, Father Christmas and his gifts are absent in Anglophone regions of Cameroon, few hours to the celebration of Christmas. In Bamenda in the North West region of Cameroon, reports say the 2019 feast has been dampened by the Anglophone crisis. The diaspora community, popularly known as ‘Bushfallers’ are absent from the town, with markets almost completely void of buyers and sellers.

Inhabitants of Edea in the Sanaga Maritime Division, Littoral Region of Cameroon say the city has been buried in heightened insecurity this end of the year. Bandits are said to have multiplied attacks on city dwellers with many cases of aggressions reported in the last three days from Edea 1 to 3 subdivisions. There are fears of a worsening situation in the coming days.

In a bid to curb the rate of accidents in Cameroon during the end of year festivities, the SDO for the Bamboutous in the West Region has urged transporters to be prudent. He told commercial motorbike riders and drivers to always be conscious of the value of human life, as they transport people around. He was speaking during a security meeting in Mbouda. He was also inspired by the unfortunate death of a woman in a road accident in Mbouda.

Following national and international pressure, the government of Nigeria is set to release detained activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore. This was confirmed in a statement by Nigeria’s Attorney General, this Tuesday. Mr Sowore, who is the publisher of US-based Sahara reporters news site, was arrested in August after he called for a nationwide protest against Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari. Sowore was charged with treason, money laundering and cyberstalking the President, but he denies all the charges. He has been in jail since August 2019.

The United States Ambassador to Zambia has been recalled in the midst of a diplomatic row. The row started when the diplomate criticised the imprisonment of a gay couple, according to embassy sources. In November, Daniel Foote expressed indignation by stating that he was “horrified” at the sentencing of the men to 15 years in prison after they were apprehended in a same-sex act in 2017. The Zambian government accused the US diplomat of trying to dictate policy, and he was declared persona non grata by President Edgar Lungu.  Zambia is a profoundly conservative society where same-sex relationships are illegal.

The controversial Zambian musician and anti-corruption campaigner Fumba Chama who was arrested on Saturday have been freed on bail. He was arrested and charged with holding an “unlawful assembly” in the southern city of Livingstone, for addressing a youth meeting. Upon his release, the musician/activist, whose stage name is Pilato, confirmed to the BBC that he will continue with his activism. According to Chama. his arrest is confirmation that there were “scared little men and women somewhere who are benefiting from our corrupt systems,” but he would not be “intimidated” into giving up the campaign for greater transparency and accountability.

Thousands of prisoners have been freed on the request of South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of Christmas. Among them is South African student who was jailed for violently protesting against tuition fee increases. Kanya Cekeshe who received an eight-year sentence in 2017 for public violence and malicious damage to property during the #FeesMustFall protest that hit South African universities a year earlier, has been released in time to spend Christmas with his family. His and the release of others fall under what is described as a “special remission” by the president.