Some Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, under the lead of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF Cameroon, have made a series of suggestions relating to the socio-political crises in the country for the imminent second generation of the National Action Plan, NAP, in a bid to correct the imperfections in the previous NAP.

The information was revealed during the presentation of CSOs contribution to the review of the National Action Plan, Resolution 1325 of the United Nations Security Council Resolution, UNSCR, held on March 29, in Yaounde.

Presenting the contributions CSOs made to the UNSCR 1325 NAP review, Gender Consultant, Patience Agwenjang, said there is need to localise the UNSCR 1325 I all 360 communities, thus creating community ownership and facilitate effective implementation. Developing an integrated communication strategy with feedback mechanisms for the NAP implementation is also key.

“Include parliamentarians and municipal councillors in the NAP development, the UNSCR 1325 secretariat in MINPROFF should be accessible through decentralised relay secretariat in all 360 Sub-Divisions and integrate a poll of experts from CSOs facilitating and overseeing the NAP implementation. COVID-19 interventions should mainstream gender concerns, adopt data-driven policing at all levels of interventions,” were some of the contributions made to better the impending NAP.

With respect to proposed priority areas, the group of CSOs urged for the reform and enforcement of laws and policies via regulations socio-legal services and Budgetary allocations for disarmament programming to ensure adequate protection of women, girls and communities. Also, the putting in place of a robust coordination, monitoring and evaluation strategy through institutional mechanisms that ease critical consciousness and behaviour change of individuals and communities towards peace-centered development is paramount.

The group equally highlighted some outstanding issues worthy to be included in the forthcoming NAP include electoral violence that limit protection measures for women, the shrinking space for CSOs and political parties challenges consensus building, militarised masculinity hampers on multiple levels of peacebuilding processes.

Also, to the group of civil society organisations, disarmament has not been well integrated into peacebuilding efforts, this, there is need to strengthen institutional mechanisms, quantitative and qualitative data collection tools capturing the implications of women in peace, security, prevention and resolution of conflicts.

Addressing partners and the media, the group enlightened on the shortcomings of the expired NAP, which based on its content review, its outcomes, outputs, activities and budget were greatly not effective. The strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, SWOT, analysis were established by the group, while its process-based evaluation were the conceptualisation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the NAP, the role of stakeholders in the review process and best practices in NAP implementation by CSOs were taken into account.

Thus, the CSOs reiterated the need for MINPROFF to own the NAP document and not UN Women as they equally urged for the adoption of a well-defined Budgetary allocation for NAP activities under the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family, MINPROFF. Therefore, integrating gender dimensions in emergency response plan and the management of emergency response and reconstruction programmes is of key importance for the proper implementation of the forthcoming NAP.

Going by the Representative of MINPROFF, Penda Timba, the establishment of the UNSCR NAP 1325 was done and lead by the government and in terms of action, the government elaborated in 2017 an action plan for the establishment of Resolution 1325 that is been carried out on four pillars notably; participation, prevention, relief and recovery, which expired last December.

In the meantime, the presentation ceremony of CSOs contribution to the review of the upcoming National Action Plan was attended by key partners, comprised of the Canadian and British High Commissioner, officials from the Embassy of Switzerland, Representative from concerned ministries among others.

By

Annie Odounlami Society 2021-04-14

French Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted  on corruption charges for a three-years prison sentence on Monday at the court of Paris.

Sarkozy plans to appeal three-year jail sentence as he was found guilty  of trying to bribe  Judge Gilbert Azibert, with a prestigious job in Monaco,   for confidential information on an inquiry into claims that former leader had received illicit payments from L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt during his successful 2007 presidential campaign.

According to Sarkozy's  lawyer Jacqueline Laffont, the former president is “calm but determined to continue to prove his innocence …We will appeal, he is presumed innocent. We don’t doubt the appeal court will overturn the sentence.” She said.

Jacqueline Laffont added that,  the verdict is extremely severe , totally unfounded and unjustified.

However, the court said Sarkozy would be entitled to request to be detained at home with an electronic bracelet. The same sentence was handed down to his co-defendants, lawyer Thierry Herzog and judge Gilbert Azibert.

The corruption allegations against the ex-president case was based on wiretaps of conversations between Herzog and Sarkozy, with prosecutors accusing him of “using secret telephone lines” to cover up his attempt to infiltrate the court.

The recordings showed Sarkozy and Herzog had discussed contacting Gilbert Azibert, a magistrate at the Court of Cassation, France’s court of last resort for criminal cases, to try to gain information about a separate investigation into whether the ex-president had received donations from L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.

Prosecutors said Sarkozy and his lawyer discussed offering a prestigious post in Monaco to Azibert in return for information about the Bettencourt case, which was eventually dropped.

Sarkozy, who led the country from 2007 to 2012, have already been involved in several corruption trials.

By Fabiola Kemegni

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-03-02

At least 11 injured in a lion attack in Woulki village, Far North region of Cameroon.  were the animal was later shot dead by security forces.

The incident occurred in the night of February, 20, 2021 in Makary Sub Division ,  Logone and Chari, in the course of the attack security forces  rushed to Woulki and killed the lion out of self defense.

The victims had  immediately been transferred to the Makary District Hospital to receive medical care besides, no death was registered.

In a Communiqué issued by Njigba Jean David, the Far North Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife indicated “that the animal was  shot by security forces out of self defense while the lifeless body of the lion was handed over to the Makary Sub Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife”, he said.

The Far North Regional Delegate of Forestry and Wildlife reassured the populations that, the lion was killed and they can “freely move around and carry out their daily activities since the danger is over”.

However, the lion's head was later cut off and his head was being  exhibited by armed forces as a trophy, following  an image circulating on social media. This image have sparked controversy amongst Cameroonians as  many considered the slaughtering of the animal as an illegal act.

It remains unknown whether the lion escaped from a park before attacking residents or not but   one of Cameroon’s main National Parks known as the Kalamaloué National Park, which is located in the Logone and Chari Division is not too far from  the Woulki Village.

A similar event recently occurred in 2019 where farmers  fled from their homes after lions attacked and killed 53 of their cows within two weeks in the villages of Adimbi, Djole and Djinga in the Far Noth region.

By Fabiola Kemegni

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-02-22

Some Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, have urged policy makers to judicially retrospect the long-existing land tenure ordinance of 1974, reconsidering the cumbersome procedures thereby easing and paving the way for more women to access and own land in Cameroon.

These are some of the recommendations adopted by some SCOs during a town hall meeting organised and sponsored by Dignity Sisters Programme, DISIP. The meeting recently held under the theme ‘denying women land rights is violence against women’ took place at the Cameroon Baptist Convention Resource Centre in Yaounde.

The policy engagement event on women’s land rights in Cameroon was geared towards bringing policy makers, traditional leaders among other stakeholders promoting in one way or the other the inaccessibility of women to land, to look into the problems women are facing with respect to land acquisition.

According to Evelyn Lum, Coordinator of DISIP, there is need to push for policy change so as to enable women access land thereby bettering their living conditions. “The 1974 Land tenure ordinance is already obsolete and is no more practicable, so it needs to be changed. Another is that women should greatly be involved in the traditional councils because, it is in the traditional councils that all those laws are been taken.”

“Another one is the land procedures, the procedure for acquiring land certificate should be simplified for women,” she added while emphasising that, “it is because the procedure is cumbersome that some women from the very onset feel discourage to move on. So, if the procedure is a bit simple, I think it will encourage a lot of women to venture, for those who have land to be able to acquire land titles and have right and ownership.”

Going by the Representative from the Ministry of State Property, Surveys and Land Tenure, MINDCAF, the laws do not discriminate between man and woman even though the procedures to access and owning land in Cameroon is too cumbersome and costly. Though there exist numerous barriers preventing women from accessing land, the statistics has quite increased since 2010 till date.

Thus, going by the distribution of the number of land titles established by region and legal status of the applicant for the year 2020, the total number of land titles established revealed that, men own 10,031 while women on their part own 2596 land titles nationwide.

On his part, Dr. Sakah Bernard, trainer on conducting strategic advocacy said, women are on the disadvantage side. “It is not because the law doesn’t give equal rights and opportunities for women to acquire land titles or land, but it’s because our cultural norms, some of our religious beliefs and similar societal constraints prevent these women from successfully acquiring land titles.”

To him, the issue is at the level of bureaucratic bottlenecks that people have to go through to acquire these land titles. Also, some of these women who still want to acquire the land titles may give up along the way due to all the constraints compared to men.

Chief Masumbe Motia of Penja II, Batanga, Ndian Division of the Southwest region, the tradition of his land accord equally rights to both sex and thus, anyone capable of owning a land gets one. He further explained that, one can own a land by inheritance, buying as well as by distribution. And for this to happen, the applicant should provide a project on how to sustainably use the land.

“Women hold a Paramount place in our community and we do not sideline them according to our tradition and religion. They are stakeholders in all we do and with respect to land acquisition, no one can deprive them from buying land. Even the men have issues accessing lands easily because most of us are cattle rearers,” declared Halidou Abdoulaye, Muslim Community Leader.

Therefore, women’s poverty is directly related to the absence of economic opportunities and autonomy, lack of, land ownership and inheritance, lack and their minimal participation in the decision-making process. As such, women’s rights to land and productive resources is identified as a crucial element in ensuring women’s economic and social justice and achieving substantive equality.

By

Annie Odounlami Society 2021-04-02

Zimbabwe’s Vice-president, Kembo Mohadi, annonced his resignation  on Monday, after a local online media  alleged that he was involved in a sexual affaire with married women, including one of his subordinates.

The information  was contained in a press release issues by the Ministry of Information  on Monday , February 01, 2021.

The scandal broke after one of his leaked phone conservations, reportedly heard the politician inviting a lady over for  sexual intercores in his office.

71-year-old  Mohadi,  denied the accusations last week saying it was part of a political plot against him. On Monday he continued to deny the accusations saying he was the victim of hacking and ,“voice cloning” after an online newspaper published lurid phone call recordings with several women allegedly including a subordinate.

“I'm a victim of information distortion, voice cloning and sponsored spooking and political sabotage,” he said in a statement.

According to the resignation letter,  Mohadi   specified that, he resigned in a bid to show proof of respect to the office of the president.

“I have arrived at this decision not as a sign of cowardice but as a sign of demonstrating great respect to the office of the President so that it is not compromised or caricatured by actions that are linked to my challenges as an individual,” he said in a statement released by the Ministry of Information.

“I have been going through a soul-searching pilgrimage and realised that I need the space to deal with my problem outside the governance chair,” Mr Mohadi  added.

Mohadi Kembo was the second  Vice-President of Zimbabwe. He have been serving  since  December 2017.

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-03-02

The Cameroon Military Killed at least four terrorists from the Boko Haram Islamic group in an ambush on Monday, February 15 in Mozogo, Far North region.

After several terrorist attacks in the Far North region, the military planned a successful  operation in collaboration with  Vigilant groups of the area, against the Boko Haram sect in the Municipality of Mozogo, which  led to the killing of four terrorists  and leaving many of them  in precarious conditions.

Another group of terrorists was equally captured in the raid on the group, including two minors of about 13 years-old. They  were  caught with    sophisticated weapons in their possession and confessed of being directly involved in the kidnapping of two girls from the village of Mavari, according to locals.

 Local populations equally reported that,  Boko Haram Islamic group has caused untold havoc on them with constant raids and lootings. Besides they great expressed satisfaction towards the military exploits.

 As early as January 8, the terrorist group carried out an attack that killed  dozens of persons in Mozogo including 8 children.

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-02-18

Defence and Security Forces, researchers specialised in questions of security alongside members of the African Centre for Crime and Security Studies, ACCSS, among other stakeholders have gathered to set a research agenda geared towards combating organised crimes in Cameroon.

This was during a cross-sectoral workshop on organised crimes in Cameroon unionised by ACCSS, under the theme “resurgence of organised crime in Cameroon: what synergies of action between researchers, civil society and law enforcement agencies” took place on March 9, in Yaounde.

The gathering had as aim to identify specific problems faced by forces of law and order in the fight against organised crime like knowledge, international collaboration, boundary wherewithal, equipment and training, identify the needs in terms of capacity reinforcement. The establish a typology and the hierarchical presentation of organised crime such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, clandestine immigration amongst others as well as exchange on key axes and possibly collaboration between ACCSS researchers and agencies of order.

Talking as President of the African Centre for Crime and Security Studies, Dany Tiwa, says criminals run a high risk by being sent to jail because their family eventually turn to criminals, dangerous. Thus, to him, sending criminals to prison is no way to ending the rate of organised crimes in the Cameroonian society.

Also, “we know that criminals themselves run a high risk by spending part of their time in jail when arrested. So, it is a central humanly problem. Organised crimes compromise government ruling capacity and I am talking of political governance because, the state governs essentially with the use of law and decrees used to organise behaviour by encouraging some and discouraging others,” Dany Tiwa stressed.

In this light, he added that, “when the government decides to discourage certain behaviours and that criminals find a means to go ahead with such behaviour or consume products banned by the state, the government will not be able to govern well because its capacities are compromised by actors of organised crimes.”

This applies to contraband products which when bootlegged do not stimulate initial producers to keep investing in sustaining their trademark, thus, they run a risk of abandoning. Likewise, the economy is equally greatly affected by the scourge because all investments, develop and entrepreneurial spirits need a society that operate on reliable bases, that is, that which has minimised corruption at a given level.

“It is evident in most domains notably in customs, trade, there are strategies put forward to fight against criminality. But, talking of criminality heightens the efficiency of such criminality. So, collective diagnostic helps to tackle the problem collectively. It also helps to diagnose the problems in a collective manner and to bring a collective solution,” explains Dr. Ernest Awono, researcher and lecturer at the University of Yaounde I.

According to him, if collective solutions are brought forth, that will imply the efficiency of the fight is renewed and will represent an increase in the investment of the Cameroon government. “So, if we have fought criminality, we attract investors and if we attract investors, we give a chance to investors to lead.”

On his part, Hamed Mounlouh of the National Gendarmerie, the workshop comes on time because the institution has been working with certain teaser hers within the framework of cybercrime, that is, tracing stolen phones among others. While Epoh Mbappe, Representative of the Cameroonian customs, enlightened the press on the amount of contraband drugs and explosive engines they seized lately.

The African Centre for Crime and Security Studies aims to improve indicators of human security in Africa through action research and training, thereby reducing the rate of organised crime in Africa and Cameroon in particular.

By

Annie Odounlami Society 2021-03-13

Seven military personnel have been killed in a plane crach near the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Sunday morning  following an engine failure.

“Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Beechcraft KingAir B350i aircraft crashed while returning to the Abuja Airport after reporting engine failure enroute (to)  Minna… All 7 personnel on board died in the crash,”Air Vice Marshal Ibikunle Daramola said on Sunday in a tweet.

Witness says the incident occurred in the early hours of February 21,  after they heard a loud explosion when the plane burst in flames while approaching the Abuja Runway.

The spokesman for Nigeria's Air Force added that  an immediate investigation had been ordered and call on Nigerians to stay calm. “ The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), @CAS_IOAmao, has ordered an immediate investigation into the incident. While urging the general public to remain calm & await the outcome of investigation, the CAS,” he added.

In a follow-up communication on Sunday afternoon, a spokesman at the Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, specified that  “ the aircraft reported engine failure at time 10:39 and crashed landed on the final approach path of Abuja Runway 22 at time 10:48UTC.”

He added that, fire fighters have been deployed to the scene to stop the raging blaze that had engulfed the airplane.

According to BBC, the aircraft was on a mission to try to rescue 42 people, including students and staff abducted from their boarding school in the town of Kagara on Wednesday, when it turned back following engine failure.

On behalf of all Nigerian Air Force personnel, Ibikunle Daramola presents his sincere condolences to families of the deceased.

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-02-22

At least 60 people drown and 200 missing after a boat capsized near Longola Ekoti on Sunday night. Humanitarian affair Minister, Steve Mbikayi said 300 people survived the accident.

He made this declaration on Monday on Twitter. According to Mbikayi the boat was overloaded and had been carrying passengers at night in breach of the law.

“These are the reasons that caused this wreck with over 60 dead. We have managed to rescue 300 survivors while search and rescue operations are on-going,” he said.

The boat was on trip drop  the capital Kinshasa to Mbandaka when it capsized near Longola Ekoti.

Similar boat accidents are very common in the Democratic Republic of Congo since boats are frequently overcrowded with passengers who are rarely given safety jackets and often cannot swim.

At least 167 people died in two boat accidents on Lake Kivu on April. This prompted President Félix Tshisekedi to make it mandatory for passengers to wear life jackets.

However it is not clear whether all safety measures were being respected or if  passengers present in the boat that sank on Sunday were wearing life jacket.

By

Fabiola Kemegni Society 2021-02-16