Politics
Despite invasive calls for a massive National Day boycott in Kumba, the May 20th festivities in the Meme Divisional headquarters recorded relative success, as hired, but dreaded Bamileke masquerades dance groups hijack the celebrations.
Using their numerical and commercial strength in the Division, the masquerades dance groups, other women and youth associations and the ever present militants of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) wrestled to submerge the calls for boycott and Ghost Town that were prescribed for the festivities.
However, in spite of their massive turnout at the Kumba Grandstand, the celebration in Memfe this year fell short of its usual pomp and fanfare.
Rumours of the dreaded masquerades dance groups, having been ferried in from the West Region by night by some administrative authorities to swell the marching population for FCFA 35,000 each, spread like wildfire in Kumba.
The masquerades dance groups, a few Government schools and some CPDM militants were the few associations that partook in the march past as the population boycotted the event and religiously respected their Ghost Town calls.
According to reports from Mbonge still in Meme Division, the march-past lasted for less than ten minutes with just a few persons taking part in the exercise. There was no school pupil or student at the Mbonge Municipal Grandstand.
Speaking to reporters after the less than ten minutes march-past, the Divisional Officer (DO) for Mbonge, Simon Sombe, said the non participation of students is because examination classes are focused on their end of year’s GCE examinations.
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- Abeh Valery
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The erstwhile President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Barrister Ben Muna, has accused the Biya Government of cultural genocide on Southern Cameroonians.
The legal luminary made the accusations in Yaoundé, May 19, while addressing executives of an international watchdog association called International Crisis Group.
The group, which is on a fact-finding mission in Cameroon bordering on the on-going Anglophone Crisis, paid a curtsey visit to the Barrister’s office.
Citing article 2 of the Geneva Convention, the former National Chairman of the Alliance of Progressive Forces (APF) asserted that the former British Southern Cameroons and French Cameroons voluntarily came together on an equal basis, and that repeated attempts to assimilate Southern Cameroonians is tantamount to cultural genocide.
The lead Counsel for the detained executives of the outlawed Anglophone Civil Society Consortium said the on-going Anglophone Crisis has been triggered by pent-up resentments of decades of marginalisation, poor governance, corruption, nepotism and tribalism.
Barrister Ben Muna told Dr. Richard Moncrieff, Hans de Marie Haungoup, who led the Crisis Group to Cameroon that the Anglophone Crisis remains a potential danger because young Southern Cameroonians, who have never experienced war may lose patience and become cantankerous.
To the politician, the fragile peace which Cameroon enjoys today is thanks to the level-headed and ever patriotic Southern Cameroonians, who have, for close to five decades, refused to pick up arms against a Francophone-dominated Government.
According to him, this non-violence stand taken by the Anglophones was to avoid the gory and bitter experience they led during the 1960s UPC upheavals against the Ahidjo regime.
The human rights advocate prescribed genuine and inclusive dialogue as the only way to get Cameroon out of the current crisis.
“Violence will not help anybody, but will further plunge the country into chaos,” Muna averred.
Dr. Richard Moncrieff and Hans de Marie Haungoup will continue their findings, after which, they will write and present a report to international human rights bodies about the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.
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- Rita Akana
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The president of La Republique signed a series of decrees appointing and dismissing local administrators on Monday.
The message,that was read on the lone state broadcaster CRTV, brought tears and joy to several families.
And what was probably disturbing about it is the fact that most of those who were sent on retirement or fired are as young as the president’s grand children. They certainly got to those positions when Paul Biya had been in power for several years.
Paul Biya who took over from Ahidjo in 1982 is hoping to make miracles by 2035 and make his country an “emerging nation”.
For that reason, he dismisses and retires those who are either too “old”, too weak to think clearly or “unproductive”.
On his part, he is strong, young enough to take the nation to emergence by 2035. Eighty-four years is not a problem.
There is every indication that our “father” does not want to admit that age is also weighing on him. During celebrations marking the National Day in Yaounde at the 20th May Boulevard, there were signs of fatigue on his face.
What is he telling Cameroonians? That he is more intelligent; smarter; stronger and more Cameroonian than everyone else?
A single regime yet several prime ministers have come and gone. More than three decades of “change’. That’s strange.
In fact, if the regime must hold tight to the string of powers, let there be no retirement or dismissal.
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- Rita Akana
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Prime Minister Philemon Yang is presiding over an extraordinary meeting of the National Decentralisation Board in Yaounde.
The announcement was made on Monday in a release from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The council brings together ministers, parliamentarians, magistrates and other high profile persons in the country.
The so-called extraordinary meeting is coming at a time when the political atmosphere in Cameroon is growing tenser and tenser.
In the wake of the unrest in West Cameroon, there have been persistent calls for the reinstatement of the federal system of government “unduly” wiped out by the former Ahidjo regime in 1972.
There have also been more radical voices demanding a restoration of statehood for Southern Cameroons aka Ambazonia.
But the central machinery in Yaounde is “unshakable” in the face of the calls. Instead, it is looking up desperately to increasing the decentralization of the nation, which it has always considered “ultra-decentralised”.
The machinery in Yaounde is very notorious for evading facts and hitting the nail on wrong heads.
What form of decentralization can be more important than federalism in a country with such diverse backgrounds?
Cameroon is one and indivisible, they say. Is Cameroon more “united” than the USA, the UK or Germany? Certainly, there is something the regime is trying to conceal.
What else is PM Yang going to tell Cameroonians on Tuesday?
Cameroon has always been a “decentralized” State. Yet everything is in Yaounde.
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- inoni
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Forty months after former Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni and former Secretary General at the Presidency Jean Marie Atangana Mebara were each slammed 20 years by the Special Criminal Court for misdeeds in the Camair affair, the two ex regime barons are due to appear this time at the Supreme Court.
The counsels for the two personalities received the information which placed June 13 is the date their respective clients will appear in court for what might be a push to revoke the sentence. They were accused of embezzling 1.7billion francs CFA and sentenced in October 2013.
Though the laws governing the Special Criminal Court gives 6 months for an appeal to be made after a pronouncement, it has taken close to 4 years for the Supreme Court to finally revive the case. We gathered from close sources that some officials at the court had provocatively delayed the file but the reason for this turnaround is still a mystery, though commentators suspect the Head of state might on the verge of granting a possible clemency to his former PM as a move towards appeasing angry Anglophones. We however cannot confirm this .
Inoni and Mebara who are incarcerated have on many occasions denied all the charges insisting that they are being held for other motives than stealing from the state purse.
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- Rita Akana
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According to information published by the Cameroon daily, Mutations in its May 22 edition, two SDF Mayors from Bamenda, played Judas Iscariot to their Chairman’s call to boycott the National reunification celebration.
On the day of the celebration, the two were seen sitting at the tribune together with other humble servants of La Republic, watching and cheering those who were marching, mostly comprised of the military, social groups and citizens suspected to have been hired, as only few schools partook in the activities.
The names of the two Mayors were gotten as, Fidelis Balick Awa of the Bamenda II municipality and Cletus Fongu of the Bamenda III council.
It irks the SDF party militants to note that despite the fact that the party did not take part in the 20th May feast in Bamenda if not the nation as a whole, some two individuals chose to dissuade themselves from honouring the National Chairman’s call.
This is a call which Ni John Fru Ndi reiterated in a communiqué which he signed on the 7th May 2017. It was made clear that the locked up southern Cameroonians must be released, federalism looked into, and a forum for genuine dialogue set, for discussions about the revisions that need to made in the constitution, before they could consider participating in the 20th May celebration.
It is believed that the message touched every nook and cranny of the National triangle, so there is no tangible reason, the two perverts of the SDF can give to justify their disobedience.
Notwithstanding, a worker of the Bamenda II council in trying to justify the mayors’ involvement in the activities, explained that, “a mayor is part and parcel of everything that has to do with their community. He is an authority. That’s why you saw them in civilian wears and not party uniforms”.
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- Rita Akana
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Subcategories
Biya Article Count: 73
# Paul Biya and his regime
Explore the political landscape of Cameroon under the rule of Paul Biya, the longest-serving president in Africa who has been in power since 1982. Our Paul Biya and his regime section examines the policies, actions, and controversies of his government, as well as the opposition movements, civil society groups, and international actors that challenge or support his leadership. You'll also find profiles, interviews, and opinions on the key figures and events that shape the political dynamics of Cameroon.
Southern Cameroons Article Count: 549
.# Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia
Learn more about the history, culture, and politics of Ambazonia, the Anglophone regions of Cameroon that have been seeking self-determination and independence from the Francophone-dominated central government. Our Southern Cameroons section covers the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian crisis, the human rights violations, and the peace efforts in the region. You'll also find stories that highlight the rich and diverse heritage, traditions, and aspirations of the Southern Cameroonian people.
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