Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, age 55,died on 8 June 2020 from a heart attack at a hospital in the city of Karusi in central Burundi, according to a statement signed by Mr. Prosper Ntahorwamiye, Secretary-General and Spokesperson of the Government, and posted on the Twitter page of the country’s Prime Minister on 9 June. His death came as a shock and surprise to many – after being seen in public the previous Saturday, seemingly healthy, watching a game of volleyball in the countryside.His death has generated oft-cited security concerns among security experts and political analysts in Africa and around the world. Simply put, his sudden death is likely to have a significant impact on Burundi’s regional and global relations.

On the one hand, instability in Burundi will have a spillover effect across neighbouring East African countries. Burundi is bounded by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, Lake Tanganyika to the southwest and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.On the other hand, the peaceful foundation laid by President Nkurunziza during the parliamentary and presidential elections in May 2020 is likely to crumble if concrete constitutional and political measures are not pursued. Upon assuming office in 2005, Nkurunziza’s hallmark strategy focused on maintaining peace and stability, as well as rebuilding its war-battered economy.  These priorities posed significant challenges to Nkurunziza’s government and will likely continue, at least in the medium term.

President Nkurunziza’sEra

 Who is Pierre Nkurunziza? Mr Nkurunziza spent eight years in the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD)during Burundi’s brutal 12-year war that started in October 1993. In 2000, the Arusha Agreement was signed by the government, rebel groups and political parties that paved the way to ending the country’s war. In 2003, a peace agreement was signed that ended the brutal ethnic conflict that killed 300,000 Burundians. In the same year, the charismatic Nkurunziza had rose through his?ranks and emerged as the FDD’s leader.

Nkurunziza initially served as the minister of good governance in a transitional administration before taking Burundi’s highest post in August 2005, after legislators elected him president and ruled until his sudden death. President Nkurunziza sought a second term in June 2010 comfortably won a second term in office after all six of his challengers boycotted the polls alleging fraud. Things took a turn for the worse in April 2015 when Nkurunziza’s controversial decision to seek a third term in office plunged the country into widespread violence that left hundreds of people dead.

Opponents saw Nkurunziza’s bid as a violation of the constitution as well as the 2000 Arusha Agreement that had paved the way to ending the country’s war. Large-scale protests often led to clashes with the security forces. A coup attempt was launched in May 2015 by former Army and Head of Intelligence Godefroid Niyombare while Nkurunziza was abroad was swiftly foiled. This is symptomatic of a politically divided army. It is unlikely to have a united army in a post-rebellion regime.

Amid growing unrest and a crackdown by security forces, hundreds were killed and more than 400,000 people were forced to flee to neighbouring countries. Journalists and human rights defenders, many of whom are still in exile, also left the country, fearing for their lives. Despite several delays, an opposition boycott and international pressure, the polls were held in July 2015, with Nkurunziza winning the third term. After the 2015 elections, the situation in the country has not been good – both in terms of stability and economics. Donors have cut off funding and placed sanctions on Burundi.President Nkurunziza’s 15-year reign comprises of mixed positive and negative memories among Burundians, Africans and the international community. He will be remembered positively as a peace and nation builder. Burundi enjoyed relative peace and security or, in other words, an end to the civil war. The 2005 election brought calm, confidence, hope, and a return to the country by many refugees from neighbouring African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and South Africa. In the last five years, President Nkurunziza boasted in his speeches to have boosted the country’s economy, started seven hydroelectric dam projects, built hospitals, schools and launched a youth bank.

Before his death, Mr. Nkurunziza is credited for initiating the May 2020 non-violent elections to usher in a peaceful transition from military to democratic governance. His successor and designated heir, Major General Évariste Ndayishimiye, secretary-general of the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy – Force for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), was declared the winner of the disputed presidential election of 20 May 2020 with more than 68% of the vote. Accordingly, he was due to be sworn in on 20 August this year.

However, his authoritarian rule drew international condemnation and the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into whether his government committed crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, rape and disappearances. In retaliation, Mr. Nkurunziza withdrew Burundi’s membership in the court in 2017 and shut the U.N. human rights office in the country in 2019. The moves isolated Mr. Nkurunziza’s government and pushed donors, like the European Union, to withhold financial support. His death offer hope for the many victims to know the truth about the crimes committed during his presidency and who was responsible.

Post President Nkurunziza’s era

 Following the unexpected death of President Nkurunziza, the president of the National Assembly, Pascal Nyabenda, had to take over as interim president, according to the country’s constitution.But, on 12 June, Burundi’s Constitutional Court ruled president-elect Ndayishimiye to assume power. On 18 June, Major General Ndayishimiye was sworn in as Burundi’s new president. In his first speech at the oath-taking ceremony, Mr. Ndayishimiye pledged to defend the ‘interests of the nation, and ensure national unity and cohesion of Burundian people.

Fifteen years was a concise period for guaranteeing security to a developing country like Burundi, which had not completely recovered from an ethnic civil war that lasted for more than a decade. The former president’s initiatives and reconciliation projects—meant to heal the remaining scars and prejudices—are now left in uncertainty. Unfortunately, many post-conflict governments in Africa favour the ethnicity represented by those in power are usually at odds with the countries’ intended democratic practices and institutions.

Nkurunziza’s desireto stay longer in power might have been to keep the country stable after the war. Consider Rwanda as a neighbouring example. Paul Kagame’s protracted presidential term and his development projects seem to be yielding fruits, as he concentrated on healing and uniting the people over the years. The father of Rwanda, President Kagame stifled opposition from home and abroad. While it may be argued that his approach has prevented 1994-like genocide, it is hard to predict the future stability of Rwanda in a post-Kagame era, just like Burundi following the sudden death of President Nkurunziza.

In most cases, there is disagreement among the former leaders about controlling certain government ministries and parastatals. As a response, it takes the incumbent president a lot of sacrifices and compromises to exert control over all factions in exchange for peace and security. Such regimes inevitably have both supporters and detractors.

Like in most countries, new presidents come along with new groups of supporters with whom to work with. In many Africa countries, people are mostly selected on political lines and trust, rather than merit.

Presidential loyalty, as opposed to meritocracy, is more profound in countries where the president in power favours and compensates those who supported their elections. Importantly, former French colonies in Africa have a track record of coups d’état, in which former presidents want to come back to power or militarily oppose the ruling parties. However, President Nkurunziza’s deathmay put his supporters in a difficult situation. Such a situation will either call for subjection under the new leadership or create another faction opposing Évariste Ndayishimiye, Burundi’s newly sworn president.

The cause of President Nkurunziza’s death remains unclear, thus opening up space for public speculation and conspiracies. At the moment, two claims suggest the cause of his death. The official position is that he died of a heart attack, explaining that he watched a volleyball match the day before being falling sick. Critics claimed that he died of COVID-19. If such suspicion arises, the president’s death could divide party members. In this scenario, the opposition might undermine the elections and push for a different leader.  Besides, the military might again take over and return the country to military rule. Depending on the military leaders and their intentions, the problem of ethnicity might also arise. If one or two of these scenarios come about, chaos will ensue, leading to a civil uprising and war.

One major consequence of an uprising in Burundi is the movement of nationals (internally displaced persons); the influx of refugees to neighbouring countries like Tanzania, the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa that still host thousands of Burundian as a result of the previous war. This kind of migration will increase the social and economic burden of recipient countries already strained by refugee crises. Humanitarian crises, too, might worsen, calling for the assistance of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN). Such a spillover and its consequences are contrary to recent calls by the African Union. It goes against the 2020 AU celebration theme, “Silencing the Guns,” a sign that the continent is determined to use peaceful means rather than guns to settle political disputes.

 Looking Forward

 Mr. Nkurunziza’s commitment to security and rights for all irrespective of the social, ethnic, religious or political background remains a beacon on which Burundians can build on to further their development objectives.

The decision of the Burundi Constitutional Court on 12 June 2020, is a step in the right direction. The president of one of the highest courts in the land, Mr. Charles Ndagijimana ruled that the country is not going to apply Article 121 of the Constitution, which states among other things the following:

In case of a vacancy because of demission, death or any other causes of a definitive end to his functions, the interim will be assured by the president of the National Assembly or, if he is also impeded from exercising his functions, by the Vice-Presidents of the Republic and the Government acting collectively. The Constitutional Court called upon by the Vice-Presidents of the Republic and the Government acting collectively will announce the vacancy. The temporary authority may not form a new Government…”

Article 121 is to the effect that where the office of the president is vacant for some reasons, either  because of resignation, death or any other cause, the president of the National Assembly or Vice president of the Republic (depending on the circumstances) will in the interim, announce the vacancy and resume office for a period of no less than a month and no more than three months, everything being equal.

Mr. Ndagijimana also added that the president elected by the people of Burundi should be sworn in as soon as possible. Acting upon this decision will mitigate a possible conflict,asit will give the president powers to keep certain institutions and situations under his control.

The AU and the UN should be proactive in managing conflicts and in achieving peace and security. Furthermore, the AU should remind the people of Burundi of their constitution’s preamble, which affirms national unity, peace, and reconciliation under the Arusha Accord of 2000 and respect for human rights, as enshrined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Also, theAU and the UN should remind the new regime that international aid will be withdrawn if the government uses arms and force on its people.Let the presence of AU and UN officials be felt in Burundi, as they collaborate for peace.

Conclusion

 Burundi’s future and stability after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza depends, to a large extent, on the domestic politics and foreign affairs approach of the new government as well as the leadership style of President Évariste Ndayishimiye who was sworn in on 18 June 2020. President Ndayishimiye’s policies and leadership approach have to be proactive, multifaceted, and dynamic to maintain peace and stability.He will need the support and collaboration of subregional member states,the African Union, European Union and other allies to succeed in this new role. This is because, following the 2015 elections,Burundi has struggled to unite the country. Of course, the AU might find this task to be difficult because President Nkurunziza, in his third term, accused Rwanda, one of the most instrumental neighbours,of negatively influencing the country’s politics. Nevertheless, the AU must use its expertise, regional leadership, and diplomatic capital to salvage the sinking ship that is Burundi, whose loss of its former president is, in a positive perspective, a fresh start on the country’s path to peace and prosperity.

President Évariste Ndayishimiye can foster social cohesion,peace and stability in Burundi by taking simple but concrete steps. Simple and concrete steps have the potential to alter the course of Burundi positively. Overall, Burundians, Burundi partners and critics share some common goals that can foster national cohesion and enhance national development. First, it has been echoed that bringing back to Burundi the refugees in the camps promotes national cohesion. Second, bringing back the intellectuals in exile increase diversity and capacity of Burundians to take part in the development of their country. And third, renewing ties with the international community is vital for the government of President Ndayishimiye to get the help much needed to develop Burundi.

President Ndayishimiye’s foreign policy approach and democratic governance at home could help mend relations with Rwanda, which have deteriorated in recent years. As mentioned earlier, Burundi has accused Rwanda of masterminding the foiled coup in 2015, while Rwanda has accused Burundi of sheltering rebels associated with the genocide that ripped Rwanda apart in 1994. Domestically, President Ndayishimiye might face resistance from the generals and leaders within the ruling party. However, he also has the chance to pitch himself as the man to unite Burundi and lead it out of its political and economic isolation. The future of Nkurunziza party and Burundi will depend on President Ndayishimiye’s ability to reassure the generals and key cadres of their future and privileges.

By Hubert Kum Foy &Ernest Muchu Toh

African Center for Science and International Security, Ghana

Peace talks between the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime and the Southern Cameroons Interim Government have stalled due to the struggle for influence between Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and the Minister- Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

On 2 July, the jailed leader of the Ambazonia Interim Government President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe announced to the world that he and his top aides had discussed a ceasefire with the French Cameroun government under the aegis of the United Nations.

By some strange happenstance, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime made a dramatic u turn and on the instructions of Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the powerful Minister Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Communications Minister René Emmanuel Sadi issued a press statement that the information relayed to the world by the Ambazonia leader and two Roman Catholic Bishops was not “in line with reality”.

Paris based Jeune Afrique reported recently that since then, the two warring parties have not been in contact.

According to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Yaoundé and the Southern Cameroons Metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda, an Ambazonian delegation led by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe met on 2 July with Maxime Eko Eko, the head of the Francophone dominated Cameroon Secret Service at the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE).

The Ambazonians had demanded that the meeting be held on “neutral” ground. Consequently, the Roman Catholic Church was asked to provide the Episcopal Centre at Mvolyé. Located in Yaoundé, the Roman Catholic Centre was chosen to host the discussions attended by six other representatives of the Biya Francophone regime.

The Mvolyé meeting brought with it an emboldened Anglophone Prime Minister Dion Ngute who was ready to seek peace in the dialogue and an emboldened Francophone Minister Secretary General Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh able to influence from within Etoudi.

Southern Cameroons have seen four different prime ministers in office ever since an Ambazonian, Ni John Fru Ndi attempted to take power in Yaoundé, speaking volumes about the level of political instability in a country stuck in French teleguided  status quo.

While the debate over whether the Yaoundé peace talks actually took place is seemingly closed now, the debate over the Biya regime’s ability to resolve the Southern Cameroons crisis remains open, and rightly so.

The Biya French Cameroun regime’s ability to keep Southern Cameroonians into the one and indivisible Cameroon concept is not only questioned with reference to the manner in which his Beti Ewondo political elites wormed their way into power, but also due to the fact that Mr. Biya’s government is always formed with the help of active lobbying led by former French ambassadors to Cameroon.

This has been explicitly revealed by prominence of French chief diplomats in Yaoundé. It is also a concerning issue deep inside French Cameroun and reveals the dependence of the CPDM crime syndicate on successive French governments.

The unenthusiastic welcome the Dion Ngute government received as it began its mandate should have gotten a boost if the Beti Ewondo political elites had reflected the lack of Anglophone support and backed Dion Ngute’s push to end the war in Southern Cameroons. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that Prime Minister Dion Ngute is leading the country in its darkest hours.

The challenges that Dion Ngute is facing are multi-faceted, starting from the fact that he has no legitimate authority over members of the cabinet he is leading. Minister Paul Atanga Nji and his partner in crime business tycoon Belinga Amougou including Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh are making Prime Minister Dion Ngute’s mission very challenging or nearly impossible.

French Cameroun is also facing pernicious political polarisation. Correspondingly, the Biya Francophone government has little or no idea on how to navigate such an extreme political environment in order to ensure full functionality of institutions. Africa may be witnessing another Rwanda soonest.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Powerful and yet, affable, that was Stephen. How does anyone explain the logic of basking in glory in life and languishing in anonymity in death? Such is the mystery of life. On the whole, I will forever admire him as a great guy because he had the courage of his convictions, and he paid the price for his passion.

He knew he was not so good academically and so, though a relative of late General Tataw who could have opened doors for him, he did not barge into medical school (CUSS Yaounde) to mess up some lives or bribe his way into ENAM and build a castle in Makeup in record time.

He was talented in soccer and he knew it. He was passionate about the beautiful game and he went on to distinguish himself on the international stage, with those vintage sliding tackles. No wonder Aljazeera carried the news of his passing.

My goodness! Did Tataw play soccer? From his debut in remote Ekona at the foot of Mt Cameroon,   he attended college in Baptist Boys Secondary School Buea.

From inter-school sports competitions called OSUCS with CCAST Bambili and Nacho Comprehensive College in Bamenda, he rose to provincial club soccer with Cammark Bamenda and then the great Tonnerre Kalara Club of the nation’s capital, Yaounde.

Soccer fans remember the days of the local derbies that split the town between the legendary Roger Milla of Tonnere and the no less charismatic Black Spider Thomas Nkono, of Canon Kpa Kum.

Alongside other football household names like Abega Theophile, Mbida Arantes, Mfede Louis Paul of the continental Lions of Africa, Skipper Tataw Stephen, led the first African team to reach the 8th Finals at the World Cup. These are the boys that traumatized world bookmakers by bringing  down the world champions, led by the all-time great, Maradona, in Italy 1990.

Age catches up with every man and after a two-year acquaintance with international football in Japan, he came back home.

He tried his hand in business, but of course, that was not his turf. He had a stint with the national team as part of the technical staff. For reasons best known within the tumultuous FECAFOOT that has known close to 20 coaches in 40 years, he was dropped.

That was when he began dropping morally. And when your morale drops, like a domino effect, the other areas of your life begin to adjust to the tune set, thereby.

His beloved wife dropped dead two years ago. His health dropped and with his pockets having been depleted over the years, the one who never gave up until the blast of the final whistle probably gave up on life. If that was not the case, why did he refuse to go to hospital as his health deteriorated? How come the gentle and friendly man became a recluse? Your guess is as good as mine.

Song Bahanak who took the captain’s arm band from Tataw had a huge health challenge a couple of years ago. Song was sick? The news went round like a prairie fire and all inertia was jolted into action.  Red tape was broken with a snap and with a chartered flight, he was whisked off to France. His life was saved.

The captain of the Lions is an institution! What are you talking about? Until 1982 and 1990, Cameroon was nowhere in the world. Footballers, as the best ambassadors  of the country, put this  Central African country on the world map. Many will attest to great  favours they have enjoyed world wide, and in the most unexpected circumstances when someone said “Oh, are you Cameroonian?” And the response was yes. “You have a great soccer team”. “I love Roger Milla.” ” Eto’o is my man!” “Oh! You need not pay, for I love your soccer team”. And the list goes on.

These guys did great for a country known for its corruption records. Twice in a row, Cameroon was  at the top of the Corruption Index of Transparency International, remember? So, for their role on the World stage, these players deserve all the nation can afford them. The question on the mind of many is, “Why was the same treatment or even something a bit close, offered to Song Bahanak not availed to StephenTataw?

To have had 63 selections and kept the captain’s band over a majority francophone star-studded team was no mean feat. It was NOT a favour. While history will reveal the full story some day, there is cause to appeal for a mechanism to take care of our national heroes.

The cautionary line here touches on the need to learn from the school of life. Mbappe Leppe, another national hero of the 70s died in abject misery. It was so bad, the family had to plead for national compassion from any Cameroonian of goodwill.  Many ran to the rescue as he lay bed-ridden at the Yaounde Central Hospital, after pictures of him did the rounds in the national daily, Cameroon Tribune.

Before he finally died, he must have died about three  times before. With time I have learnt that men die slowly or die in stages. He died from pain, from shame and from regret.

Had Janvion made better investments, he may not have counted on the Government that dropped him. Had he made some other choices, he may not have resorted to FECAFOOT that broke his heart. How do you fault a man for too much trust in the country he sweated blood for?

There is no doubt he will receive a hero’s burial. We are reminiscent of the pomp and pageantry around the burial of Marc Vivien Foe or Dr Abega Theophile, and we are comforted. The virgil will be graced by great music by Cameroon star artists and speeches by several ministers and football heroes. This will be crowned by the national promotion and decoration with the Presidential award, posthumously.

I hope his kids, Junior and Yvana will benefit from it all. Will they? Better still, I hope others like Pagal, Makanaky and Omam will take a leaf from the life and death of their fellow sportsman.

Will they learn from their Captain and make the right sliding tackle to save their families from the goal that may bring them down, before the final whistle?

Farewell, Janvion.

Bon voyage, mon type.

BoP, Riviera.

Thomas Tangem is a Southern Cameroons prisoner of conscience held by the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime in Yaoundé. He was recently handcuffed on a hospital bed at the Central Hospital in Yaoundé following directives from the superintendent of the Central Prison in Kondengui, Hamadou Modi despite him being seriously ill.

The extremely vulnerable Southern Cameroons citizen was handcuffed to a prison officer and transported in an old dusty prison van to the Central Hospital and later handcuffed on a hospital bed. Thomas Tangem was taken to hospital three times lately after he woke breathless, unable to move and without any feeling down the right side of his body.

Thomas Tangem is a prisoner of conscience and a member of the Southern Cameroons group of activists arrested by the Biya Francophone government for their role in peaceful protests four years ago.

The Ambazonia Interim Government collected testimony regarding his arbitrary arrest and torture late last year and despite the intervention of a legal defense team, the Cameroon government judiciary authorities have refused to release him.

Thomas Tangem was among the hundreds of Southern Cameroons detainees who joined the Ambazonia leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides in staging a hunger strike in protest at the collective punishment and acts of torture that French Cameroun police and military establishments inflicted upon Southern Cameroons prisoners in French Cameroun jails.

Thomas Tangem is going through unimaginable torture and his medical conditions have deteriorated considerably as a result of his incarceration. Yaoundé prison and hospital authorities have denied him everything including physiotherapy and surgery.  He is currently being held in solitary confinement in a windowless room in Central Hospital.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group remind the Biya Francophone government of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and we call on the Yaounde authorities to release Thomas Tangem and all prisoners of conscience in French Cameroun jails and detention centers.

We further call on the international community, and in particular EU member states and the United States, to demand the release of the Southern Cameroons leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and all Ambazonia detainees.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Interim Government Statement on state of the Revolution

Fellow Ambazonians,

Our revolution has suffered and is suffering in the hands of dishonest individuals amongst us. Trust is a major reason for our success to date. The bad seeds within us whose main aim is to propagate the enemy’s agenda to divide us and derail our revolution will not succeed. We have two enemies in our fight for freedom and independence; the enemy within who misuses our resources and the enemy without who claims to represent our collective voices. The enemies within act like Judas Iscariot without a conscience and because they lack consciences they are caught in their own game. We will not waste our time on them because truth never fails.

Our work has been to bring back integrity and sanity to our revolution. Our progress is painful but progressive. We are working mostly with Southern Cameroonians of goodwill and people of unquestionable integrity. The leaders of the Interim Government of Ambazonia (Southern Cameroons) have never had any engagements with La Republique du Cameroun in any form before the meeting regarding the United Nations Security Council resolution 2532.  This resolution is in support of March 31 2020 call for a cessation of hostilities around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No member of any department of your Interim Government was asked during their services within the Interim Government to engage with La Republique du Cameroun. Let me state that Nick Santos has never officially represented the IG to engage with La Republique du Cameroun. We are bigger than name-calling, smear campaigns, blackmail and the defamation of the character of respectable Ambazonian citizens like our leaders in detention, Justice Ayah, Dr.Makongo, Dr Cho Ayaba, and John Mbah Akuroh etc when those within us cannot deliver what they were bought over to deliver to the enemy because of our steadfastness.

What we are experiencing now is a healthy sign that our revolution is moving in the right direction.  The evil within is being exposed. It will help us to forge ahead with our quest for freedoms, liberties and above all a free independent Southern Cameroons. No energy should be wasted on those within who want to delay our quest to a free Southern Cameroons. They should listen to their consciences and do what is right. There is room for the prodigal son and the time is now.

I call on all Southern Cameroonians to stay focused. Let us spend time on the work at hand and deliver for our people as we cannot give evil a chance to prevail.

Thank You

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

There is a saying that when you have been in slavery for too long, and you suddenly face the prospects of freedom, you become scared and cling to slavery. That’s why I pity the growing army of sycophantic blacklegs who are making frenetic efforts to discredit President Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, with the invidious intention of torpedoing the Ambazonia struggle to restore its independence. These mendicants have been living in the dark for too long and want to continue living in darkness because light hurts them.

The latest poster child of this pre-bendal nihilism is a certain dunder-head scum lawyer who goes by the name John Fru Nsoh. In his frustration, this wretched piece of misery called John Fru Nsoh suffers from delusions of grandeur. To raise his nuisance value and make himself relevant to the Ambazonia struggle, Nsoh has taken to social media platforms to attack President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the NERA-10; casting banal and vituperative aspersions, ornamented with provocative and insulting grandiloquence. In a video outburst circulating on social media, the mentally-retarded septuagenarian Nsoh, who is tottering on the borders of senile decay, described President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe – a man who rose to the pinnacle of his professional career through solid, academic and personal achievements – as a “capital fool.”

Even if one concedes Nsoh’s right to free speech and his own opinion, one must marvel at a situation where a lawyer who failed to stage a spirited defence of his clients despite pocketing millions of francs to do so, will be so ungrateful as to shamefacedly defame his own clients simply because he was sacked as principal counsel for the NERA-10 because of his poor and unsatisfactory performance. Nsoh, a man wanting in competence, was hired to represent the NERA-10 in Yaoundé and paid handsomely for his unsatisfactory exploits by the Interim Government of Ambazonia. Nsoh’s catastrophic mismanagement of the financial resources of his clients led to major fractures with other members of the defence team. His ignominious sack and subsequent mutation to a social media activist and anti-NERA-10 crusader has confounded even his most ardent supporters. Except for those who would prefer to negotiate the evidence, the verdict is that Nsoh is an empty suit with a loose tongue, running and talking on empty.

In an interview with Equinoxe TV which went viral on social media, Nsoh vindicated his credentials as a dotard by trying to be clever by half and tried unsuccessfully to make a distinction without a difference. He came across as uncivil, arrogant, ill-mannered, pompous, unaccountable, pretentious, full of avarice, hypocritically petulant, cunningly petty and astonishingly trivial. But it is not difficult for discerning Ambazonians to see through the braggadocio and self-aggrandizing posturing as he came across lamely as a bitter and cantankerous man; angry with himself and motivated by the desire for revenge and out to gain cheap publicity. He has lost the respect of many.

Being old and ignorant is bad. Adding financial insufficiency and dishonesty to self-elected amnesia is unacceptably depressing. As one grows older, wisdom should be one of our most dependable and requisite companions. Nsoh’s moral squalor has embarrassed Ambazonians on both sides of the intellectual and moral spectrum. His refusal to engage in the truth and facts in any shape or form is astonishing to discerning Ambazonians.  The climax of the drama of his life which has now become a personal circus was his decision to seek political asylum in the United States of America, where he is now a familiar face in the bootleg joints in the Washington DC area; where solicits free achu and booze. Quite predictably, he has offered himself to be used as cannon fodder by Pastors Sako Ikome and Chris Anu in their campaign to destabilize the Amba revolution with tele-guided attacks directed at President Ayuk Tabe and the NERA-10. His first-division factory-made defamation on Sisiku- a man with a superior intellect and better professional record – are now tenacious and repugnant.

Almost four years into the Ambazonia revolution, nothing has been robust enough to derail the coalition and bond that President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has built with his people. The decapitation policy of Paul Biya and the French Cameroun regime didn’t work and not even the pathological lies and insults by Nsoh would succeed, where Biya failed. Ambazonians are desperate for coherent leadership and Nsoh and the gang of social media warlords, are embarrassments not leaders.

Unlike Mola Njoh Litumbe, who epitomized the Ambazonia struggle by staying in his home in Buea and leading the resistance from the front until he transitioned, John Fru Nsoh, a monument of absurdity, who has nothing to show, after practising law for over 50 years, is hiding in a basement in the US moonlighting as a social media warlord. What a disgrace! The intellectually questionable and morally deficient pensioner reflects the worst of the Amba revolution. Public intellectuals, elites and elders have been appalled by John Fru Nsoh’s scandal of stealing funds while representing the NERA-10. Now, he is associated with genuine calamity by being a regular trash contributor on the moribund ABC TV Facebook streams to disseminate junk, untruths and insults.

The breadth and depth of the anti-John Fru Nsoh alliance now in Ambaland is a remarkable testimony to his capacity to inspire disgust from his words, deceits and actions. The principal worry for many Ambazonians is how can a man in God’s waiting room be so thoughtless and infantile with the truth and integrity? One big positive for Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the NERA-10 is that the old man’s attacks on men behind bars are fundamentally based on falsehoods and the people of Ambazonia know this. Shrewd and well-mannered humans don’t trust an old man with a running mouth. Ambazonians with brains feel loyalty towards people who have sacrificed their lives to fight for justice and liberation of their people.

The Ambazonian revolution urgently requires the silence and absence of John Fru Nsoh. In his head, he must know that. But he lacks the competence and decorum to reach such a decision. It is hard to sympathise with the pensioner after his persistent personal attacks on the integrity of man who can’t defend himself.  The consensus seems to be that his emptiness and reliance on food stamps in the US for existence at his age might just be driving him to depression. John Fru Nsoh has demonstrated time without number, that he lacks the basic attributes of civility in public engagement and he should simply just shut up! John Fru Nsoh should not only be so clearly told, he should know he is fast becoming an embarrassment to Ambazonia and a national disgrace, and he should take his verbal diarrhea and empty grandstanding elsewhere.

At this time and in this matter as it concerns his attacks on the legitimate constituted authority representing the Ambazonian people, the adage that silence is golden does not at all apply. Rather than maintain a wooden silence, Nsoh is a clear and present danger to the Ambazonia struggle and must apologize to prove evidentially, beyond any reasonable doubt that he is indeed sorry. A failure to do this forthwith implies unapologetic arrogance. It is a matter of honor; if at all John Fru Nsoh has any left, that whatever accounts for his insulting impudence and offensive temerity, his insolence is one too many that would only stoke the embers of disunity and weaken the struggle. His shame is made more painful and pathetic because this is the time Ambazonia needs men and women of character. For a man of his age, becoming a public nuisance speaks to a mind, shallowly naïve and incapable of sound intellectual judgment. Certainly, John Fru Nsoh is one miscreant, Ambazonians can do without. He should shut up!

By Isong Asu

London Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE TEAM OF SISIKU AYUK TABE & OTHER SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS-AMBAZONIAN DETAINEES

PRESS STATEMENT

“Our Resolve to Stage a Peaceful Protest in front of the Principal Prison Kondengui Yaoundé to press on the Justice and Penitentiary Administrations to grant us access to our clients is maintained”

The defense Team of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the nine others in the Yaoundé Principal Prison is disappointed to announce that the Penitentiary and Justice Administrations have denied us access to our clients in their Prison.

Our senior colleague Barrister Emmanuel Simh had gone to the prison on July 15th, 2020 to meet with the superintendent, Mr.Isidore Angoule, to express this difficulty that we have been facing for over four months.

Mr.Angoule gave him his word that he will enable us to meet our clients after the hearing of their case, on July 17th, 2020. Sadly, upon our arrival, the officers on post stated that high instructions from hierarchy forbid lawyers from accessing their clients whereas other visitors were granted access. The superintendent was reported not to be on seat. Several attempts to get to him on phone were futile.

In reaction to the ban, Senior Emmanuel Simh called the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice Jean de Dieu Momo, whom we know has been a human rights defender in the past, but he failed to react accordingly and we were obliged to stage a peaceful sit-in in front of the Principal Prison in Kondengui Yaoundé. We consider this as fatal to the right of counsel protected by section 240 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code “counsel shall visit his client, in detention only between the hours of six (6) am and six (6) pm”.

Additionally, section 41 of decree No.92/052 of the 27th of March 1992 regulating the Penitentiary Administration in Cameroon guarantees the right of detainees to communicate with their counsel whenever they wish during visit without the presence of any guard.

The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Resolutions in December 17th, 2015 on the Mandela Rules wherein minimum conditions for detainees were reinforced especially rule 61-1 in particular. These rights are absolute, fundamental and foundational to the Constitutional rights of any citizen or accused

Violations of the above instruments by the Penitentiary and Justice administrations are a deliberate attempt to continue to humiliate not only lawyers but our clients whom we represent. In this desperate situation, we CANNOT and SHALL NOT cross our arms to watch them persist in their illegal acts destined to frustrate us in our practice and most importantly to drag our profession into mud in the eyes of the public.

We have resolved to return to the Principal Prison Kondengui as soon as possible, to cause the Penitentiary and Justice authorities to grant us access to our clients. We invite counsel of the entire defense team and other learned colleagues, who have been perpetually harassed, disgraced, humiliated, and denied opportunity to assist their clients properly, to join us in our action that day. Our plea is that this call for action be heeded to so that the powers that be sit up, perform their functions, obey and respect the institutions of the Republic of Cameroon by permitting us to perform our duties as lawyers as well.

It should be recalled that over two years ago, the then Cameroun Minister of Communication, Mr.Issa Tchiroma, announced that 47 of our fellow citizens had been arrested in Nigeria, and put under custody for being ‘suspected’ terrorists. Our clients, Mr Julius Ayuk Tabe, Pr. Augustine Awasum, Barrister Elias Eyambe, Dr Henry Kimeng, Dr Fidelis Nde-Che, Dr Cornelius Njikimpi Kwanga, Dr Nfor Ngalla Nfor, Dr Egbe Ogork, Barrister Blaise Shufai Berinyuy, Mr Wilfred Tassang were among them. On August 19th and 20th, 2019, they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

During the nineteen hour charade, our Clients were unrepresented, as we had withdrawn our appearances in protest of the gross travesties. Even so, the Court proceeded to carry out a lopsided trial, condemned them to life and set onerous and unconscionable conditions of Appeal – amongst them payment of deposit fees of Five Million Francs FCFA. The case is before the Court of Appeal, for the Centre Region. It is with considerable frustration and dismay that the Cameroun Government through the Ministry of Justice is doing nothing to ensure that rights of the defense are protected. Severally and without any formal apology, the legal department-prosecution failed to produce our clients before the court during three consecutive hearings.

During the last hearing on July 16th, 2020 they were finally produced before the court. The presiding judge ordered the clerk of the session to call the matters on the cause list and then proceeded to call the names of the appellants. That was done and as we were waiting for the interpreter to translate the opening remarks of the judge into English to the understanding of our clients, we were surprised to see and hear the judge in utter vexatious utterances pursuing in the French language “…ils sont où les AyukTabe là? —–ils ne sont pas dans la salle —– nous ne sommes pas en guerre ici!! —– ils doivent se lever et se présenter à la barre ——l’affaire est renvoyée au 20 août 2020”.

Invariably the collegiate bench and the prosecution all French Speaking were very unresponsive to the usage of English in violation of section 26 of Law No 2019/019 of 24th December 2019, and the case was adjourned to 20 August 20th, 2020. This decision to adjourn was suomoto.

We bring the above violations of the law visited on our client held in prisons across Cameroon to the attention of the international community, local and international press to know that “Our Resolve to as demonstrated last July 17th 2020 to Stage a Peaceful Protest in front of the Principal Prison Kondengui Yaoundé to press on the Justice and penitentiary administrations to grant us access to our clients is maintained.

That, we have as duty to uphold the rule of law and respect of institutions to ensure that the basic rights of our clients are respected. That as advocates of justice we shall never be mute to incongruous acts of injustice for if we dare, this shall tantamount to complicity to injustice and anathema to the right of defense of our clients.

Done in Buea

This 22 July 2020

Barrister Amungwa Tanyi Nico

Many people thought that news of the informal meeting between the Yaoundé government and leaders of the revolution who have been in jail for almost three years would be a welcome relief to many Southern Cameroonians, but this move designed to start talks that might deliver peace to the people of Southern Cameroons does not seem to bring happiness to many of those who thought they would be at the forefront of things.

In every society, there are always people who will feel diminished when others get recognized or known and these are the people who feel that they have been rubbed up the wrong way as the Southern Cameroonian President, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, and his collaborators honored the international community’s invitation for informal talks that might pave the way for formal and comprehensive negotiations.

Mr. Ayuk Tabe and his team have demonstrated that they are still faithful to the principles that have driven the revolution from the very first day. The team has always placed the people’s interest above its own and it understands that a decision to end the fighting on the ground does not depend entirely on only those who are in jail. This explains why the team laid out some realistic conditions that the Yaoundé government must fulfill before any serious talks could take place.

The leaders believe in the total independence of Southern Cameroons and they know that they must tread carefully. Their demands included calling for a ceasefire which will require the military to go back to the barracks. This action will make it possible for Southern Cameroonians who have been traumatized for years to be psychologically liberated to go about their businesses without fear of sudden aggression.

They also called for the unconditional release of all those who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis as well as a declaration of a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora, making it possible for them to visit their homeland without any embarrassment from the Yaoundé authorities.

The leaders also called on the Yaoundé government to participate in a genuine, open and inclusive dialogue without preconditions, with a timetable and venue, in the presence of an independent and impartial mediator acceptable to both parties.

The team was invited by the Yaoundé government that has been dragging its feet on the possibility of sincerely discussing the Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. President Ayuk Tabe and his collaborators did not have a choice. They are captives and are at the mercy of their captors, so they must listen, but have so far demonstrated that they will always express only the views that will reflect the genuine aspirations of the people of Southern Cameroons.

Since the people’s interest is paramount, they had to honor the invitation, especially as the international community was involved and has been urging both parties to seek ways to end the fighting and address those issues that triggered the fighting.

From every indication, this approach is ideal in the minds of peace-loving Southern Cameroonians, especially those who hold and understand that no matter how long the guns keep spitting out bullets, the final decision on separation, restoration or federalism will only be made at the negotiating table where all parties are properly represented; a point Southern Cameroonian leaders in jail reiterated by calling for the unconditional release of all those who have been detained and imprisoned as a result of the crisis as well as a declaration of a general amnesty for all Southern Cameroonians in the Diaspora.

But a bunch of warmongers led by highly discredited and easily corruptible people like Mr. Chris Anu, the disgraced former Communication Secretary of the collapsed Sako Interim Government; Mr. Boh Herbert whose major concern has been how he can be in the spotlight and Lawyer John Fru Nsoh who had to escape because he could not stand the heat in Cameroon, but is courageous enough to tag President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe as a fraud. Lawyer John Fru Nsoh still has many races to run in his life and the ones he has in the USA are tough and should keep him busy. Instead of seeking to split Southern Cameroonians who have wholeheartedly invested their confidence in President Julius Ayuk Tabe, he should use his experience as a lawyer to unite Southern Cameroonians.

Their constant attacks on President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe for attending the informal talks facilitated by some ambassadors speak to their bad faith and dishonesty. Their hunger for recognition is gradually reducing them to stage buffoons. The only unfortunate thing is that Southern Cameroonians are not finding their drama funny. Southern Cameroonians need solutions to their problems and not theories from people whose only solution to the crisis is very unrealistic. There will never be any military solution to the crisis and anybody who holds that Southern Cameroons will have its way through fighting is simply deluding themselves and selling false dreams to the people on ground zero who are taking the brunt of the fighting.

Common sense will dictate that during critical moments like the one Southern Cameroonians are going through; most people will demonstrate objectivity and modesty in their analysis of the situation that has already consumed some 5,000 lives. Yes, the fighters cannot down their weapons at this time and President Ayuk Tabe has not called for that. He has simply articulated the people’s aspiration and that does qualify him for a death sentence as advocated by Mr. Boh Herbert and his band of attention seekers.

There will be a negotiation and that will be after a general amnesty would have been granted and all prisoners released. The talks will surely take place in a neutral location and when that time comes, all stakeholders in the conflict will be free to express their minds to ensure that the people of Southern Cameroons see their dream come true. For now, Mr. Boh Herbert must use his “wisdom” to understand that he is splitting Southern Cameroonians and weakening their ability to resist the dictatorship coming from Yaoundé. He should be wise enough to understand that silence could be golden in certain circumstances, especially now that unity is considered a huge asset against the Yaoundé government that is looking for ways of disuniting the people with a view to imposing its laws on them.

In Africa, it is assumed that age comes with wisdom, but Mr. Boh Herbert and Barrister John Fru Nsoh have not proven that they are wise despite the clear signs of senile decay on their faces. It is time for them to stop singing the wrong music. Southern Cameroonians are not buying what they are selling. Many are simply asking if Mr. Boh Herbert and his team are not playing for the Yaoundé government that has a history of corrupting its opponents. While they accuse President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe of corruption, they must know that that logic clearly cuts both ways. For now, the Yaoundé government is simply enjoying the fake family feud that Mr. Boh Herbert and his team have triggered just to be in the spotlight.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

It’s hard to imagine four journalists being subjected to the most barbaric and archaic form of punishment in 2020. However, capital punishment is still common in some parts of the world, and journalists can be executed simply for daring to speak out. This is the case in Yemen, where four journalists were sentenced to death by Houthi rebels in April for allegedly spying for Saudi Arabia. Since their abduction in 2015, they have been secretly moved from prison to prison in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and subjected to violent interrogations. These four journalists could now be executed at any moment!

Abdul Khaleq Amran edited the Al-Islah Online website and ran Yemen Revolution Press. His staff covered the Yemeni civil war, documented crimes committed by the Houthis and interviewed the Houthis’ opponents.

Akram Al-Walidi supervised the staff of the Alrabie-ye.net news website and the government news agency SABA. He gathered information about developments in the fighting from the Al-Islah party’s side, using reliable sources.

Hareth Humaid was head of news at Yemen Revolution Press, covering Houthi human rights violations, including abductions and bombardments of civilians.

Tawfiq Al-Mansouri worked for the daily newspaper Al-Masdar until it stopped publishing when the Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015. He then joined Yemen Revolution Press doing layout and graphic design.

All are suffering from the severe physical and psychological after effects of repeated torture and beatings as they wonder when or whether the Houthi authorities will execute their death sentences. Neither their lawyers nor their families were told in advance that they were going to be sentenced. Support our campaign against this archaic punishment, which is the worst possible way to restrict freedom of the press. If you want, you can make a donation now to help our activities in the field.

Thank you for your support.

The RSF team