Politics
The United Nations has warned the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that its crackdown on opposition groups ahead of the 2016 presidential election could “compromise the credibility” of the electoral process. “Arbitrary arrests and detentions … of political opponents, civil society activists or demonstrators, were … used by the security forces to restrict freedoms of expression,” said a Tuesday report by United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The report added that in the first nine months of 2015, at least “143 human rights violations linked to the electoral process” have been documented and hundreds of political opponents have been arrested in this regard.
The UN office blames the African country’s national intelligence agency, also known as the ANR, for the crackdown. The violations mainly took place in the provinces of Kinshasa, North and South Kivu and Eastern Kasai, where opposition parties and civil society are active, the report said. “This trend of restricting freedom of expression … indicates a shrinking of the democratic space likely to compromise the credibility of the electoral process.” Political tension has been on the rise in the DRC over the past months as the country nears the presidential election for 2016.
Under the current constitution, President Joseph Kabila, who has been in office since 2001, must give the post to a successor. Last month, President Kabila said he wished to form a “national dialogue” aimed at reaching a wide consensus to enable “appeased elections” to go ahead. The opposition has rejected the formation of such a dialogue. The DRC opposition considers any national dialogue as a means to enable Kabila to extend his constitutional stay in office beyond 2016.
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- Ngwa Bertrand
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Lawyers for Ivory Coast's parliament speaker Guillaume Soro said on Tuesday that a warrant issued by a French judge in a case brought against him by the former Ivorian president's son had been withdrawn. Soro, a former rebel leader turned politician, is in Paris to participate in the COP21 climate talks. He was prime minister when fighters under his command captured Michel Gbagbo, son of Ivory Coast's ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, in April 2011 at the end of a brief civil war. Held in detention until 2013, Michel Gbagbo, who possesses both French and Ivorian citizenship, filed a complaint in France against Soro and other former rebel chiefs alleging "kidnapping, false imprisonment and inhumane and degrading treatment".
The warrant, which police tried unsuccessfully to execute on Monday at the Paris residence where Soro is currently staying, called for him to be brought before Judge Sabine Khéris after he did not comply with a previous summons. It does not imply he is being charged with a crime. Soro's legal team said in a statement that they met the judge and handed over documents, including diplomatic mission orders from President Alassane Ouattara and the Ivorian parliament, the National Assembly. "Upon receiving and examining these documents, which she did not previously possess, the examining magistrate lifted the bench warrant," the statement said. The incident had threatened to damage relations between Ivory Coast and France, whose military backed Ouattara when Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat in a presidential run-off election in late 2010.
More than 3,000 people were killed in the ensuing conflict, and ex-president Gbagbo is currently awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court accused of crimes against humanity. "(Soro's) visit is being undertaken on orders emitted by the president of the republic. Under these conditions, he benefits from absolute immunity," Ivorian Foreign Minister Charles Koffi Diby told journalists on Tuesday. Soro, who is next in line to replace President Ouattara were he to die in office or be incapacitated, claims he was within his legal rights to arrest Michel Gbagbo, who was captured along with his father at the presidential residence. He has also rejected allegations that there had been any violence during his detention and has lodged a counter-complaint against Michel Gbagbo in France, accusing him of making a false accusation. Soro is widely considered a leading candidate to succeed Ouattara, who is due to complete his second and final five-year term as president of the world's top cocoa grower in 2020.
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- Ngwa Bertrand
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Niger has agreed to transfer hundreds of prisoners from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram back to their home country of Nigeria to reduce pressure on its crammed prisons, judicial sources said on Tuesday. Boko Haram militants mostly operate in northeastern Nigeria but have also stepped up their insurgency within Niger's southern region of Diffa in recent months, carrying out dozens of attacks. Niger has declared a state of emergency there in an effort to improve security and has made hundreds of arrests.
"Nigeria sent a working group here (to Niger) last week and the two sides have established an initial list of 500 detainees who will soon be transferred to Nigeria," said a magistrate working on the case who asked not to be named. He did not give the exact timing of the transfer or say how the potentially dangerous prisoners would be transported.
The prisoners are currently being held in the detention centers of Kollo, Diffa and Koutoukale, all of which are overpopulated due to arrests of Boko Haram militants, a justice ministry source said. Niger and Nigeria are both members of an 8,700-strong regional taskforce dedicated to destroying a group that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions in its push to create an Islamic caliphate in the region. However, the task force's operations have stalled for logistical reasons, security sources say, and regional armies are instead seeking to counter the group alone.
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- Ngwa Bertrand
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Cameroonian born Imbolo Mbue’s book “Behold the Dreamers”, about a Cameroonian immigrant chauffeur working for a Lehman Brothers executive during the firm’s 2008 collapse was snagged by Random House in a book deal for at least $1 million.
Imbolo Mbue burst into the limelight late last year after signing a million dollar deal with Random House for her debut manuscript.
The novel titled Behold the Dreamers follows the travails of a Cameroonian immigrant and a Lehman Brothers executive during the 2008 financial crisis. One million dollar advance? It’s a first for an African novelist. The African literary community lit up. We all lost our minds.
This is huge, we crooned. After the enormity of the news sank in, the nosy blogger in me went in search of a photograph. Who was this brand new voice taking the African literary community completely by surprise? For each of the four posts I have since written about Mbue’s novel, I have had to search high and low, googled left and right for a photograph and found nothing.
She has no profile in any of the social media platforms and stays pretty much under the radar.
But that’s all in the past because thanks to the Wall Street Journal, we can now put a face to Africa’s literary MVP. Mbue’s photograph was included in an article profiling debut novels with seven figure advances. We fell in love with her writing when we read “Emke.”
(Wall Streeet Journal)
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- Ngwa Bertrand
- Hits: 1854
Cameroonian born Imbolo Mbue’s book “Behold the Dreamers”, about a Cameroonian immigrant chauffeur working for a Lehman Brothers executive during the firm’s 2008 collapse was snagged by Random House in a book deal for at least $1 million.
Imbolo Mbue burst into the limelight late last year after signing a million dollar deal with Random House for her debut manuscript.
The novel titled Behold the Dreamers follows the travails of a Cameroonian immigrant and a Lehman Brothers executive during the 2008 financial crisis. One million dollar advance? It’s a first for an African novelist. The African literary community lit up. We all lost our minds.
This is huge, we crooned. After the enormity of the news sank in, the nosy blogger in me went in search of a photograph. Who was this brand new voice taking the African literary community completely by surprise? For each of the four posts I have since written about Mbue’s novel, I have had to search high and low, googled left and right for a photograph and found nothing.
She has no profile in any of the social media platforms and stays pretty much under the radar.
But that’s all in the past because thanks to the Wall Street Journal, we can now put a face to Africa’s literary MVP. Mbue’s photograph was included in an article profiling debut novels with seven figure advances. We fell in love with her writing when we read “Emke.”
(Wall Streeet Journal)
- Details
- Ngwa Bertrand
- Hits: 1492
Cameroonian born Imbolo Mbue’s book “Behold the Dreamers”, about a Cameroonian immigrant chauffeur working for a Lehman Brothers executive during the firm’s 2008 collapse was snagged by Random House in a book deal for at least $1 million.
Imbolo Mbue burst into the limelight late last year after signing a million dollar deal with Random House for her debut manuscript.
The novel titled Behold the Dreamers follows the travails of a Cameroonian immigrant and a Lehman Brothers executive during the 2008 financial crisis. One million dollar advance? It’s a first for an African novelist. The African literary community lit up. We all lost our minds.
This is huge, we crooned. After the enormity of the news sank in, the nosy blogger in me went in search of a photograph. Who was this brand new voice taking the African literary community completely by surprise? For each of the four posts I have since written about Mbue’s novel, I have had to search high and low, googled left and right for a photograph and found nothing.
She has no profile in any of the social media platforms and stays pretty much under the radar.
But that’s all in the past because thanks to the Wall Street Journal, we can now put a face to Africa’s literary MVP. Mbue’s photograph was included in an article profiling debut novels with seven figure advances. We fell in love with her writing when we read “Emke.”
(Wall Streeet Journal)
- Details
- Ngwa Bertrand
- Hits: 1205
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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.
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