CI-NEWS

NEWS

2019-06-04

No: 430

'Ambazonians' celebrate in Kondengui after election of Prison Catholic Community President.

A group od detainees in a high security detention facility in Yaounde who call themselves Ambazonians are celebrating after the election of one of the 'Nera Ten' to lead the Catholic Christians in jail, we learnt.

Barrister Shufai Blaise Sevidzem Berinyuy was elected by acclamation as President of the Catholic Community of Prison Principale Kondengui Yaoundé after Eucharistic Celebration presided at by the Diocesan Chaplain for Prisons, Archdiocese of Yaoundé, Rev Fr Ndzengue David, Sunday June 2, 2019, an inmate has confirmed.

Shufai Blaise was proposed by the Chaplain himself as best candidate and the whole congregation present unanimously acclaimed him to take over from Embolo Metogo Desire who has served the community for three years and has come to end of his prison term, a source said.

Shufai Blaise was brought up in a predominantly Catholic family. He is an alumni of the Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary, Buea of the 1979 Class.

When he was student in the then lone Yaoundé University from 1986-1990, our source said, he was member of the National Executive Bureau (Chargé de Publications) of the Young Christian Students Movement with the present Archbishop of Yaoundé Mgr Jean Mbarga as National Chaplain.

Shufai Blaise is among the many English-speaking Cameroonians held in detention under the current armed conflict. He was arrested in Nera Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria on Friday January 5, 2018, among others and extradited to Cameroon where he has remained in detention till date.

74-year-old woman burnt alive in Owe!

A 74-year-old woman was burnt live in her residence in Iwe, a locality in Fako Division of the South West Region.

Family sources are quoted as accusing the military of perpetrating the gruesome act when they invaded Owe at about 9:00 PM GMT Wednesday May 29, 2019 and fired indiscriminately in the air and on walls of houses, scaring the entire population.

The sources alleged that the military increased its brutality until 1 AM GMT, Thursday May 30, 2019 when soldiers moved to the residence of Nda Catherine, 74 at Owe I, at Mandongo Road going toward Presbyterian Church Street. The entire residence has been torched, the sources said, adding that family members only succeeded in collecting the remains of the charred body for burial late Thursday morning.

The Military has on many occasions been accused of extrajudicial killings in the South West and North West Regions of the country. The Cameroon Government has been accused of numerous Human Rights violations, including targeted killings and the burning down of entire villages.

Government announces probe on attack on Fulani camp in Menchum Division.

The Governor of the North West Region Adolphe Lele L'Afrique has issued a press release condemning an attack on a Fulani camp in Upkwa village, Wum Sub-division in Mechum Division of the North West Region of Cameroon which he attributed to Ambazonian fighters.

According to the release from the governor, separatist fighters stormed the Lake Nyos resettlement camp in Upkwa village on the night of Thursday May 30 breaking Friday May 31, 2019.

They are reported to have set ablaze over 40 houses, tortured the population, slaughtered a good number of animals and looted properties of the villagers.

The governor regretted the act he considered as barbaric and condemned the persistent targeted attack by secessionists on the Fulani communities in the region. He expressed state sympathy to all the victims of the attack.

He announced an investigation has been opened by the defence and security forces to track down the perpetrators and that an ad hoc committee headed by the SDO of Menchum has been set up to identify victims and their humanitarian needs.

He equally urged the population to cooperate in denouncing the 'enemies of peace who have as mission to destroy the hard-earned National Unity.'

Report on human rights atrocities in Anglophone regions unveiled in Canada.

A comprehensive report on human rights violations in the restive North West and South West regions in Cameroon was unveiled on Monday at the Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.

The report titled "Cameroon’s unfolding catastrophe" is a joint work of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) and the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa of human rights lawyer, Felix Agbor Nkongho.

The report traced the genesis of the conflict in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon and presented evidence of grave human rights violation and crimes against humanity committed as a result of the conflict.

The authors in the report seemed to pull the attention of the international community to do more in terms of support to help stop the conflict in these regions.

Gov’t allays fear of fuel shortage after SONARA fire.

The government of Cameroon has dismissed reports on an imminent hike in the prices of fuel and cooking gas after the fire incident at the National Oil Refinery, Sonara. During a joint press conference in Yaounde on Sunday June 2, the various ministries concerned as well as the heads of the corporations reassured Cameroonians that prices of these commodities would remain the same.

This came after a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, on Sunday morning to chart a way forward following the incident.

Though preliminary reports talk of a technical fault, the Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, said the investigations have been opened to further determine the real cause of the fire that destroyed about four of the 13 production units at Sonara.

For his part, the Minister of Water and Energy Gaston Eloundou Essomba who was at the scene on Saturday said a firm will be tasked in the days ahead to evaluate the damages and make recommendations for rehabilitation which could last for over a year.

Fears have been raised on a possible increase in the prices of fuel and cooking gas but the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, allayed such fears, insisting the prices remain intact.

A price control team from the ministry is on the field to ensure the prices are respected, the Minister said.

4 lions escape wildlife park in Mbam-et-Kim Division; kill 30 cattle.

Four hungry lions have escaped a wildlife park in the Centre Region of Cameroon, terrorizing locals and attacking herds of cattle.

The lions escaped from the park in the Mbam-et-Kim Division and attacked livestock, killing about 30 cattle, local media reports said.

Regional authorities tasked the locallybased German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) with finding the lions.

Park authorities initially thought only two lions had escaped, but after examining the felines' tracks and listening to their roars, they determined four had escaped.

Authorities told locals not to be afraid and to remain inside their homes after dark.

Cameroon, located on the Gulf of Guinea, is home to numerous wildlife parks. The lion is Cameroon's national animal, and many tourists to the country come to see the powerful felines. From time to time, these predators escape from parks and attack and kill locals and livestock.

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