In a move seen by many as running away from the Mafany Musonge minority following, Hon. Norbert Mbile has expressed surprised at heavy criticism on his person following statements  he reportedly made against the people of the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons at the famous South West Elites Forum meeting which held in Buea on February 2, 2017 .

Mbile recently revealed that people misunderstood him when he observed that North Westerners were more resilient, hardworking and outnumbered the South Westerners.  The Supreme Leader of the Batanga kingdom in Ndian Division, in the Buea province of West Cameroon said he was instead praising the people of North West for their bravery and not insulting them. He noted that after the Buea controversial meeting he received a series of insulting messages.

Hon. Mbile said he had argued that the South Westerners, in line with the 1996 Constitution were advocating for a ten states Federation whereby each region will have a form of autonomy but that the position of the North West region for a two state Federation might be difficult to obtain because the Biya Francophone regime will find it difficult to share resources 50-50 with the Southern Cameroons.

Mbile who also moonlights as a chartered member of the National Anti Corruption Commission, CONAC said he sees North Westerners as his brothers and that the two English speaking regions are one and indivisible like the one and indivisible Cameroon. The MP failed to condemn the rapes, extra judicial killings and arbitrary arrests currently going on in Southern Cameroons but was quick to call for the resumption of classes in Anglophone schools.

Hon Mbile said the strike in the two English regions has exposed the gross marginalization going on in the country especially the problems faced in the bi-jural and bi-cultural aspects of operation in the country. He however said all strikes have an end and the best thing to do is call off the strike and send children to school which according to him will pave way for positive and inclusive dialogue with the government.

Eyong Johnson with files from Cameroun Info.Net

Prime Minister Philemon Yang has chaired the cabinet meeting for the month of February on Thursday, 23rd February 2017. The only highly placed Anglophone cabinet member in the government of La Republique du Cameroun listened to three submissions made by the Minister of Territorial Administration, the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy and the Minister of Youth Affairs.

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Rene Emmanuel Sadi presented a report on the acquisition and perspectives of the reform on the civil status in Cameroon and was followed by another presentation from the Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Yaouba Abdoulaye, on behalf of the Minister on preparations for the fourth population and habitat general census.

The Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education, Mounouna Foutsou discussed measures put in place to render the National Civic Service Agency for Participation in Development more fonctional. After listening to all the presentations, the so-called Head of Government gave instructions for the follow-up of the identified projects. The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has called on Philemon Yang to resign and return home.

The Social Democratic Front, SDF have announced the holding of an important meeting in the Littoral region aim at putting an end to the Anglophone crisis. In a press release made public yesterday the 23^rd of February 2017, the SDF Regional Executive Committee revealed that the forum will take place on Saturday the 4^th of March at Bepanda in Douala.

The SDF sources further indicated that the forum is expected to adopt a strong position on federalism and national unity. We understand the March 4^th meeting is a follow up of the resolutions that were agreed upon by the Regional Executive Committee meeting that held on January the 15^th 2017 in Douala.

The leadership of the Social Democratic Front including the party’s national chairman Ni John Fru Ndi has expressed their total and complete disapproval of the CPDM government’s handling of the Southern Cameroons situation.

Since the beginning of the Southern Cameroons uprising, several government actions have been counterproductive and have contributed to lure many Anglophones to support secession instead of federalism.  Francophone media gurus have described Anglophones as “rats” not fit to be part of the Cameroun society.

The Internet services in Anglophone Cameroon were shut down on 14 January. Troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé have shot and killed scores of Southern Cameroonians. Hundreds have been arrested and are currently being detained in Francophone jails.

The National Communication Council has closed down all private radio and television stations in Southern Cameroons and state radio and television, CRTV has turned a blind eye to the rapes and extra judicial killings going on in West Cameroon.  The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has intensified its ghost town campaign and has called for economic sanction on La Republique du Cameroun.

Culled from Cameroon Concord News

Despite claims by the Minister of Communication that detainees arrested in the wake of the crisis rocking the North West and South West regions have access to health care, Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine’s family says he has not been authorized to meet his cardiologist. In a declaration that has been circulating on the social media since Tuesday February 21, the family of the Deputy Attorney General of the Supreme Court of Cameroon has lamented that Justice Ayah Paul Abine is sick.

It said Ayah has suffered another malaise in his detention at SED “possibly owing to the shortage in air circulation.” The family said authorities are yet to permit Ayah to meet his cardiologist as recommended by the latter on January 25 that he be brought for a comprehensive medical check-up on his heart condition.

The release said Ayah who was arrested on January 21 is held under deplorable detention conditions. In a media outing to update public opinion on the judicial proceedings against some persons accused following the recent uprising in the South West and North West Regions, the Minister of Communication said out of the 82 people who were arrested, 21 were subsequently released.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary said those being held in cells enjoy the right to defence—the right to be assisted by their counsels, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. “They also enjoy access rights and access to health care,” he said. Yet the statement by the Ayah family seems to be contrary to the government spokesperson’s claims. It said Ayah who was arrested about a month ago is yet to be officially charged for any crime offence.

The statement by the family of the Supreme Court Judge was published on the eve of the solemn opening of the 2017 judicial year by the judicial institution. Members of the judicial family representatives of other corps in the country are expected to attend the solemn opening session of the Supreme Court in Yaounde on Wednesday February 22 to officially open the 2017 judicial year in the country.

CIN

The South West Chiefs Conference, SWECC have raised a finger protesting a decision taken by the Francophone Senior Divisional Officer for Fako, Zang III banning the Elective General Assembly of the association. SDO Zang claimed he made the decision after receiving complaints from the Fako Chiefs. The South West traditional rulers were expected to hold a historic forum from Friday the 17^th -Saturday 18^th of February 2017 at the Limbe City Council hall. The civil administrator cited social tension and security threats as main reasons for the ban.

The Deputy Secretary General of SWECC, His Royal Highness Chief Robinson Tanyi on behalf of the outgoing President Senator Nfon VE Mukete observed that the ban was ill-advised, unwise and an unfortunate situation. Chief Tanyi Robinson pointed out that SWECC is made up of persons of value and honor including Senators, Parliamentarians, senior administrators, army Generals among others all of whom are men of exceptional standing and quality and ally to the Yaoundé regime. The much respected Upper Banyang Chief further noted that the custodians of the South West tradition have never breached the peace of the nation nor participated in public disorder of any kind that can jeopardize the security apparatus of the state.

Cameroun Info.Net reported that while averring to respect the ban, the chiefs in a statement said, “Article 11 cited in the letter on the election of officers is an internal affair that calls for no interpretation and influence from non members and public officials. You only need to read it well and with goodwill to understand it hasn’t the interpretation given and if at all it does supersede the Fako statutes referred to.”

The South West Chief’s conference is suffering from a deadlock witnessed within Fako Chiefs conference which is expected to produce a single candidate to represent the division. While the people of Buea think that it is time to choose a president, those from Limbe think otherwise. Other faction thinks that HRH Chief Njombe Johnson of Wokaka village presented as candidate is too young and not fit to ran the body.

President Biya is expected to name former Prime Minister Simon Achidi Achu as the new mediator for the crisis that has rocked the Anglophone regions of the country. A source at Unity Palace hinted CIR that the 84 year old dictator held an emergency meeting with his close aides on the Southern Cameroons uprising.

Biya is said to be under considerable pressure to release the detained leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium including Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine of the Supreme Court. A well-placed source also told Cameroon Intelligence Report that Biya has ordered the restoration of internet services in Southern Cameroons.

During the emergency meeting at state house, close aides to Biya urged the president to appoint Simon Achidi Achu as the main CPDM negotiator for the Anglophone problem. Achidi won the hearts of the regime barons following his 15 February 2017 declaration that called on Yaoundé to release all Southern Cameroonians detained in Francophone jails and accelerate the decentralization process that was agreed and documented in the 1996 Constitution.

The former Head of Government and Senator made public his position after a conclave of 15 February, which was attended by parliamentarians and Senators of the ruling CPDM party from the North West constituency.  The Right Honorable Simon Achidi Achu unlike Peter Mafany Musonge who betrayed his kinsman and brother, Chief Inoni Ephraim recognized the relevance of the problems posed by Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium.

By Rita Akana

The Senior Divisional Officer for Fako Division in the South West region, Zang III has signed a prefectural order suspending the elective General Assembly previewed for today February 17 and 18th at the Limbe City Council hall.

The decision comes following an appeal by host constituency, Fako which argued that the current executive of the South West Chiefs Conference is violating the constitution of the body by imposing conditions for them to choose their leader. Going by the constitution, Chiefs of Fako Division are supposed to present their candidate who will automatically become the next President of the South West Chiefs Conference.

 After an electoral process last year, HRH Njombe Johnson won the elections and was presented as candidate for the top position which had suffered postponement. By some strange happenstance, a group of first class chiefs objected that a third class Chief like Njombe Johnson of Wokaka village cannot head the institution that has paramount traditional rulers as members.  This eventually generated a kind of political tension within the South West Chiefs conference with camps formed to fight for the post of president.

According to Njombe Johnson, SWECC should not meddle into the internal affairs of the Fako chiefs.  He has maintained his candidacy for the post of president which according to the internal rules and regulations will simply be validated because he is the candidate from Fako division. The new date of the elections has not been determined.

CIN

Cameroon government spokesman and Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has once again presented a fake report on the atrocities committed by troops loyal to the regime in Yaoundé. Of the more than 800 Anglophones arrested so far from the Bamenda and Buea provinces of Southern Cameroons, the controversial Nordist politician disclosed that only 82 people were in police drag net in the wake of the ongoing crisis in the North West and South West regions.

Issa Tchiroma observed that out of the 82, 21 were subsequently released. “Of the 61 persons still under detention, 31 are awaiting trial before the competent court, namely, the Yaoundé Military Court,” Issa Tchiroma Bakary said during a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday February 15. Those awaiting trial include Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla and Fontem Aforteka’a Neba, leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), whose existence had previously been declared null and void.

Issa Tchiroma avoided questions on Anglophones that have been killed so far in places like Jakiri, Buea, Kumbo Bamenda and Kumba. He said Southern Cameroonians arrested are prosecuted for acts of terrorism, hostility against the fatherland, secession, revolution, insurgency, and contempt of the President of the Republic, contempt of the constituted bodies and civil servants, group rebellion, civil war, dissemination of false news, apology for crimes and are tried under the 2014 anti-terrorism law.

Though the aforementioned activists pleaded not guilty at their first court appearance last February 13, they could be sentenced to death should the court eventually find them guilty.  “To these main charges, we should envisage to add those that could eventually stem from their foreseeable consequences,” the government spokesman told the press.

In an apparent response to popular opinion and some media reports, Issa Tchiroma said none of the defendants is prosecuted for the mere fact of having participated in a strike, having masterminded or participated in a peaceful demonstration.

“It should be indicated that each of the accused persons benefits from the presumption of innocence, which means that they remain innocent until the court establishes whether or not they are guilty at the end of the trial,” the communication Minister stated.

Justifying why those arrested are standing trial in Yaoundé whereas they were arrested in the North West and South West regions with military tribunals, he said the Yaoundé Military Court is a court of national jurisdiction, “empowered to exercise its powers over the entire National territory in the event of serious threats to public order, State security and in case of acts of terrorism.”

Cameroun Info. net

The arrest of Lord Justice Paul Ayah Abine of the Supreme Court of Cameroun has reportedly received strong condemnation from the international community. CIR has gotten intelligence that President Biya has voiced his anger against Justice Minister Laurent Esso who lured Ayah Paul into the Supreme Court.

The arrest has made a mockery of Cameroon as a nation within international circles with some European investors pulling out of already signed business ventures. Sources at the Supreme Court hinted that the Anglophone judge cannot be tried under the prevailing circumstances and the stipulation provided for by article 629 of the penal code.

Laurent Esso who ordered his arrest has come under attack from other Francophone judges of the Supreme Court and inside sources say, Esso may be on his way out. The inexperienced Justice Minister is trying to get Lord Justice Ayah to announce that he has retired from the highest court in the land due to his age.

Understandably, Ayah is 65 and like any other Cameroonian Supreme Court judge, he can only retire when he wants. The retirement that is being proposed to him presently, has been interpreted as a diabolic harsh ploy seeking for ways and means to jail him. Lord Justice Ayah has blatantly refused to speak to junior judges at the military tribunal in Yaoundé.

By Sama Ernest

Cardinal Christian Tumi says he considers himself too old to assume the role of interim head of state. The retired prelate believes that younger people can do the job. The Cardinal was guest on an STV television show aired on February the 9^th, 2017. Tumi wondered aloud why a man of his age and over 80 should still continue to run the country.

Thus, when asked if he would accept to direct a possible political transition in Cameroon, the Cardinal observed that: “Those who say that I could run a transitional period say so because they do not know me. I know myself and all that concerns politics is not my vocation. My specialty in higher education was morality and metaphysics, philosophy. And in philosophy one seeks the objective, the truth. I am not saying that the others do not, but when you ask me a question, I tell you what is in my head. Because if I do not tell you what is in my head, I lie. Because truth is the agreement between what one thinks and what one says.

Also questioned on whether he could mediate in the present crisis in Cameroon, the man of God replied “I doubt. There are younger people than I who can do things in this country.” The former Archbishop abhors leaders who refuse to give up power even at an advanced age.

 “Nature shows that as time passes, we naturally weaken, physically and intellectually. And I believe that our African countries must try to respect the law of nature. As we speak, the Prime Minister of Canada is 40 years old. Look at Africa. Why is it only the old men who command? This means that these old men command people, govern people they do not know anymore. They cannot speak the same language as they do. The language of young people is much more contemporary, modern.”

By Rita Akana