1 Barrister Agbor Nkongho has declared at the National dialogue talks that only a federal system of government can address the Anglophone crisis. “We cannot leave here, without looking at the form of the state,” Barrister Agbor told members of the Decentralization Committee “We believe in a one and indivisible Cameroon, but decentralization, will not solve the problem, we have to get to a federation,” Agbor Balla said. “Some of us have put our reputation on the line to be here, I am not imposing, but we have to ensure that this problem is solved,” he added.
2 EX Amba fighters have demanded and obtained the right to be members of commissions at the national dialogue taking place in Yaoundé. The ex-fighters publicly criticised the organising committee for excluding them from the commissions where key issues are discussed. Most of the ex-fighters are in the disarmament commission.
3 Hon. Jean Jacques Ekindi has abandoned the national dialogue. The hitherto vice president of the reconstruction and development commission says he does not want to clash with anyone. A close source has mentioned that the former MP is disappointed with the manner of deliberations.
4 Dr Christopher Fomunyoh is not present at the national dialogue. He was earlier appointed the chairman of the reconstruction and development commission. Therefore, Dr Simon Munzu has replaced him as the chairman of the commission. Dr Munzu says he wanted to be at the decentralisation commission.
5 Veteran journalist, Eric Chinje has mentioned that the Cameroon government is solely responsible for the negative reaction of the diaspora towards the country. The vice president of the Diaspora Commission made the comment on their first day of deliberations. He says they are reflecting on how the diaspora can sufficiently contribute to the growth of Cameroon with the assistance of good policies at home.
6 There has been clear evidence of poor representation of women at the national dialogue. At the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration commission, for example, just twelve women out of 72 members of the commission. Sally Mboumien member of South West /North West women task force says women can better contribute for peace to reign yet they are not given the chance.
7 The question of the form of state Cameroon should adopt after the national dialogue is the boiling point of the peace talks. At the commission of decentralisation and local governance, anglophones are calling for either a 2-state or 10-state federation while francophones want decentralisation. A heated argument in the commission earlier today necessitated police intervention.
8 The Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute has called on members of all the commissions to work with a spirit of patriotism for a better Cameroon. The PM visited all the commissions this afternoon. Resolutions from commissions are expected on Thursday.
9 A Tanzanian court has for the sixth time postponed the hearing of a prominent journalist, Erick Kabendera, who was arrested more than two months ago and was charged with involvement in organised crime, tax evasion and money laundering. The prosecutor told the court his investigations were not complete. Mr Kabendera’s lawyers reject the charges and say the case is politically motivated.
10 Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari says social media is threatening to undermine national security and has called for an end to hate speech. In an address to mark Nigeria’s Independence Day, President Buhari urged people to exercise restraint and tolerance when discussing religious and political issues.
11 Officials in South Africa say, about 900 people have been left homeless after a fire destroyed nearly 200 shacks on Monday night at an informal settlement in South Africa’s economic heartland of Gauteng province. No deaths have been reported and the cause of the blaze is still unclear.
12 The UK has issued a travel warning on Tanzania following the death last month of a patient suspected to have had Ebola-related complications. Tanzania’s government denies the reports, saying there have been no confirmed or suspected Ebola cases.
13 Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived in parliament for his state of the nation address in a gleaming vintage Rolls Royce, accompanied by horses. None of the pomp and ceremony could persuade the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to stay. The party does not recognise his presidency, accusing him of stealing last year’s vote.
14 The mothers and babies imprisoned in a “baby factory” in Nigeria’s main city Lagos are now in a shelter receiving social and medical support, Julie Okah-Donli, the Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip) said. She said they were being rehabilitated before they return to their families. The women were aged between 15 and 28, but the majority were teenagers, a Lagos state police spokesman told Reuters news agency. They came from all over Nigeria and were held in a house – described by police as a “baby factory” – for different reasons, Julie Oka-Donli explained. Traffickers took advantage of some who were scared of telling their parents they were pregnant, said Ms Oka-Donli.
(Source Foreign News: BBC Africa)
