Lewis Medjo, the publisher of the privately-owned Détente Libre weekly, was transferred to New Bell prison near the western city of Douala following his appearance before a public prosecutor in the Douala district of Wouri on 26 September, when a formal order for his detention was issued. He is now due to appear before an investigating judge on 3 October to be formally charged. Local journalists think the charge will be publishing false information.

Reporters Without Borders condemns the detention of journalist Lewis Medjo for the past two days in the western city of Douala. The publisher of the Douala-based Détente Libre weekly, Medjo was arrested by the head of the local plain-clothes police as he left a dinner in a Douala hotel on the evening of 22 September.

Statistics from the Social Welfare Centre indicate that five percent of girls in Buea, Southwest Province, fail to go back to school at the beginning of every academic year due to pregnancy. The same situation cuts across the country, causing the termination of the educational career of most teenage girls, The Post gathered. The rise in pregnancy among teenage girls has been attributed to youthful excitement, especially during holidays.

The Southern Cameroons National Council has met with European Commission representatives and raised afresh their concerns over human rights in Cameroon. As the institutions of the European Union begin to prepare themselves for a return to business as usual after the summer months, UNPO was able to bring together members of the Southern Cameroons Nations Council (SCNC) and representatives of the Union’s Development and External Relations sections in a meeting to discuss the current situation in the troubled country of Cameroon.

For the first time, the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Cameroon will be treated as priority in a newly established Health Care centre in Douala by Alternatives-Cameroun, a gay organisation in Cameron. Funded by a French group, Sidaction, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research, AMFAR, the centre has been named Access Centre.

The persistent and increasing outbreaks of violence against members of the gay community in Africa are jeopardising efforts undertaken to combat HIV, both within this group and across the population as a whole, AIDS activists warned at a recent meeting in Limbé, Cameroon.

Reporters Without Borders warns the Cameroonian authorities of the dangers of allowing relations between the privately-owned press and government to deteriorate after a total of six journalists were briefly arrested last week for referring to a sensitive issue involving the president and a TV programme was cut short while being broadcast for the same reason two days ago.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the Cameroonian government to end the intimidation of journalists reporting on corruption scandals in the country after at least five journalists and media industry leaders have been interrogated by police in connection with the publication of articles on a defective aircraft bought for President Paul Biya.

The Network of African Freedom of Expression Organisations [NAFEO] is deeply concerned about the repression of freedom of expression, including artistic in Cameroon where two renowned musicians continued to linger in jail for singing songs criticising a recent constitutional amendment that allowed President Paul Biya unlimited terms of office.

Lilianne Nyatcha has withstood intimidation for her coverage of Cameroon's crackdown on political protests and harassment of the private press. She has also trained other women to test the boundaries and follow her lead.

For close to two decades, Cameroon was considered a bastion of stability in Africa, that is, until last week when that veneer was shattered by four days of widespread rioting. The riots were triggered by a hike in fuel prices amidst ongoing attempts by the Biya regime to scrap presidential term limits. Here is a review of some of the blogs that wrote about these events.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_01_africannotes.gif goes beyond the immediate cause of the riots to look at the broader issues at stake:

“Cameroon on media? Nothing special! It's not about soccer or les indomitables. This time around it is about riots and Biya…

Seen in the wider perspective, the riots are rather reflections of the public's resentment towards the administration of President Paul Biya. Though he downplayed the demonstrations as a mere game of apprentice sorcerers. That is a typical African big man allegation.

Whenever there is a public anger the leaders rarely try to see the real issue. It is rather a custom to seek a lame excuse for that and scorn the usual suspects like the opposition and human right activists or even neighboring countries. The same thing is happening here. Cameroon is said to be a notoriously corrupt country. The administration should take responsibility for condoning the practice.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_02_africaworksgpz.gifPascal Zachary also blames the Biya regime for the uncharacteristic violence that rocked the country last week:
“The unrest in Cameroon… makes me weep. Among the best endowed nations in the world — both in terms of landscape, fertility of its soil, and talents of its people — Cameroon has been condemned to suffer awful political rule. Even by African standards, Biya’s 25-year reign over this picturesque West African country has been a disaster. While he has rarely organized killing sprees, he quietly has demolished country that ought to be among the most successful, not only in Africa, but in the developing world. Instead of planning a permanent retirement somewhere in Europe (where he seems to spend a great deal of time anyway), Biya wants to inflict more wounds on his long-suffering countrymen. What a shame. Biya is a president who rarely holds meetings with his ministers and he refuses to allow his government to even publish a phony budget. He is indeed a ghost (his nickname in the country). I am sad at the thought he may haunt Cameroon for years more.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_03_princehamilton.gifPrince Hamilton wonders what exactly President Biya hopes to achieve with another term of office when he has little to show for after a quarter of a century in power:
“I am just appalled that President Paul Biya still thinks he will do something despite not having achieved much in his 26 years. I think that with the president’s recent speech and policies, it shows that he has run out of inspiration that never existed in the first place. It is high time he hands over the presidency to another person.

Cameroon is blessed that no Cameroonian has been able to infiltrate the country with weapons, if not the story would have been different. Notwithstanding, you can only suppress a people for a time but at a given time they will look for means to break their shackles than live as eternal slaves.

The government has been using sports as the opium of the people but this time it failed woefully. The raising of gas prices after the Lions won their semi final match against Ghana during the recent African Cup of Nations was a miscalculated opportunism.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_04_cameroongoon.gifCameroon Goon appeals to the Cameroonian community in the US to show up in great numbers for planned demonstrations at the Cameroon embassy in Washington DC:

“Please come out and let's remind Paul Biya and his accomplices that after 25yrs of tyranny, subjection, poverty and intimidation, we are tired and want him to leave peacefully in 2011. He should park out of Etoudi, heading straight to his palace in Mvomeka (his village). Let us come out and remember the 17 people already killed. Let us come out and pray for Cameroonians the world over. Let us pray for our children and remind the Cameroonian government that Democracy means: government of the people, by the people and for the people. We don't want any other forms of democracy, be it 'avancée' or 'moderne'. We just want democracy; the simple type. The type of democracy that would mean there is some form of sustainable economic development ahead for Cameroon and it's people!”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_05_princereport.gifPrince Report publishes the reaction of the “British Southern Cameroonians Restoration Government” (one of the movements advocating for the independence of Anglophone Cameroon) to last week’s events:

“The brutality that was carried out against our citizens this past week adds a sweltering sense of urgency to the restoration of our stolen sovereignty. The most important thing you should do at this time is refraining from involving yourselves in the political affairs of the foreign country next door to us and east of the Mungo River. For these matters in the Cameroun Republic are veritable distractions from our total focus on restoring our independence. Paul Biya's brutality on our citizens this past week should make it even clearer and even more urgent that we should not waver for a single moment from our determination to take our national sovereignty.
[...]
To our neighbors suffering the brutal weight of this Biya regime, we offer our sympathy--since we fully share your grief--and we rise to stand with you as you fight to reclaim your God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Biya's heavy handedness with you continues the state terrorism that Ahidjo directed against your parents in the 1960s. Time has not erased from human memory Ahidjo's genocide which killed more than half a million of your patriotic parents in the first decade of your independence “almost all of them Bassas and Bamileke. Time is not going to erase memory of the massacre that Paul Biya is now carrying out against your children today in 2008. Have no doubt that the world is witnessing that only the name has changed, for Biya's regime is a mere continuation of Ahidjo's 1960s regime.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_06_kenopalo.gifKen Opalo is simply incensed at Biya’s determination to hang on to power no matter the cost:

“The 75 year old has had over 25 years to make the lives of Cameroonians better but failed miserably. Over 40% of his country people still live below the poverty line. Official unemployment figures show that about 30% of the labor force is unemployed. Real figures are much higher than this (knowing how incompetent African statistics bureaus are). One wonders what more this old man has to offer to his country after he gives himself another seven years in office in 2011.

Whatever happened to basic decency? Why is it that our leaders feel that they can do whatever they want and get away with it? Do these people have any shame?

If anyone close to Biya reads this please tell him that third term amendments are kind of last-century. Obasanjo ought to have been the last shameful attempt at this. Africa will not claim the 21st century and indeed not even the fourth millennium if we keep up with this third term amendment nonsense. So get real President Biya. Competition breeds excellence, so let competition thrive.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/353/mar12_07_dibussi.gifIn the same vein, Scribbles from the Den publishes an appeal by a group of Cameroonian writers to MPs of the ruling CPDM, asking them not to go along with attempts to amend the constitution:

“It is not only dangerous but also criminal for the Head of State to play games with the Constitution. Attempting to amend Article 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon which limits presidential tenure to two terms is, undoubtedly, one of those crimes for which our country shall pay an onerous price in the future.
[…]
For once show some courage; steer clear of infamy! Our future is priceless; do not gamble with it! Most importantly do not play with fire! Amending Article 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon would weaken the institutions that protect Cameroonian citizens against act of barbaric abuse. For too long, we have lived as if we do not see the mishaps that have befallen our neighbors. Suffice it to say that recent incidents in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Somalia, not forgetting Chad, testify to the fact that a single foul play with the Constitution could plunge the entire nation into insurmountable chaos. The civil strife that these countries have experienced lends ample credibility to our conviction that Cameroon’s social stability is fragile, very fragile indeed. Cameroonians are peace-lovers; do not compromise it! Otherwise, you shall be judged in front of the tribunal of History.”

* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

I just ratified the petition and was completely surprised when I saw Cameroon as one of the red flagged countries that have refused to sign this incredible petition.

I am a Cameroonian and from the North West Province and really ashamed of my country. We have a female population of almost 3/4 the total population and relies heavily on the works of these ladies to keep the Socio-economic landscape of the country vibrant. Yet the dictatorial regime in power has decided to place Cameroon at the forefront of every bad thing happening in world. Cameroon is now well known for its Pro corruption and Anti-Human Rights stands in the world. US State Department Country Reports and Amnesty International depict a Cameroon where Women are still consider as second class citizen and highly discriminated against.

We (Cameroon) now pride ourselves to be among the very few countries resisting the protection of Women's rights. We the citizens of Cameroon deserves better. I have four sisters and do not see why they should have less protection than I do in many aspects in life. I am calling on the good youths of Cameroon to challenge Mr. Biya and his puppet Parliament to do the right thing at this defining period in history by signing the PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA.

I personally applaud your initiative and will do my utmost best to make my parliament see reason to sign the petition.

Please do well to let me know if there is any thing we the youths of Cameroon in and out of the country can do, to bring this issue on the media table.

Five of Cameroon's ten provinces are currently under severe and massive strike actions called Monday, February 25 by the Syndicate of transporters in Cameroon. These provinces include; Centre (hosting the capital city Yaounde), Southwest, Northwest, Littoral, host of Cameroon's economic capital, Douala and West.

The official death toll from violent protests in Cameroon this week has risen to 17 as troops attempt to restore order in the capital, Yaounde. Barricades were erected in Yaounde, youths fought police in the port of Douala and three deaths were reported in the north-western town of Bamenda. President Paul Biya has accused his political rivals of orchestrating the unrest to depose him.

This is the problem with Cameroon: All power in the country rests in the hands of one man, the President - Paul Biya.

He is the commander-in-chief-of the armed forces, the Fon of Fons [Chief Monarch amongst all monarchs], the chief magistrate of the land, head treasurer and of course chief legislator.

Truth be told, most of those passing for legitimate legislators and representatives of the people, and they know it, owe their seats to his benevolence. To say the least, Cameroon is a one sophisticated scheme of a neo-colonial entity.

In Cameroon, the president decides when elections are held and who participates in them. He initiates, writes and executes the rules of the contest. And as the sole architect of Cameroon’s nascent democracy, he has the executive privilege of appointing an impartial electoral commission to run the elections. During presidential elections he funds his own campaign and those of his rivals. His appointees declare and certify election results. By the way, in his 25 years in power, he has never lost an election. His party has never lost an election either. Besides, he is his party. His youthful image adorns party uniforms. He is his party's official mascot.

One of the problems facing Cameroon today is that the President has too much power. He knows he has too much power and like most rulers of his inclination uses that power to his utmost advantage with impunity. Biya is accountable to no one and uses that twist of misfortune as a means to serve his ends even if it means drowning an entire nation of over 16 million people in the process.

He is drunk with power but skillful and tactful in his execution of it. And like any effective dictator employs a team of illusionists and reality crafters to perpetuate the lie that has is his reign. The national radio, television and press corps combined form the core of his personal public relations firm. They are a much disciplined regiment and have been loyal to their paymaster.

In Cameroon, the national media is not an instrument of nation building. Its sole purpose is to glorify and celebrate a man whose sole preoccupation has been his own entrenchment in power. The idea of building a viable nation that can compete with other nations in the global economic and political realm is frightening to such a man. It is alien in his worldview and counterproductive to his motives.

So, every decree and decision is meant to tighten his grip on his subjects. The thought of a citizenry confident enough to demand what is theirs by right: freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not compatible with the Biya agenda. The idea of empowering Cameroonians threatens his reign; it is a thought that renders him sleepless. It is a pebble in his shoes.

This is where the issue of fear comes into play in the rusty machinery that runs Cameron. For Biya and his cohorts, fear is a reliable ally in their scheme to impose themselves on the country. It has become their weapon of choice in their assault on the collective psyche of Cameroonians. They employ it will face no judge or jury. In Cameroon, the men and women in uniform are above the law. In fact, they are the law. They arrest, judge, prosecute and execute.

Earlier this year, another instance of the brutality and excesses of the Cameroon police took place in Limbe, South West Province. A Cameroonian citizen but a resident in Germany was visiting relatives when one day he had an encounter with the local police. It would be his last encounter with anyone. A few minutes after a few words were exchanged he was lying in his own pool of blood, murdered. He had been beaten to death on the side of the road in broad daylight. No one intervened. No one can intervene. No one was held accountable and no one will. That is Biya’s Cameroon.

In Biya’s Cameroon riot police shoot live bullets at peaceful protesters.

In Biya’s Cameroon let it be noted for the record that in 2008, civilians can still be detained and beaten to death for verbal infractions with the police. How is this possible in this haven of peace and stability? It is possible because the man who has preponderance of power over all levels of power, Biya, has created the kind of police officer and soldier that serves his and only his interest, not the interest of the citizens they are supposed to serve and protect. The role of the soldier in Cameroon is to serve and protect the President’s interest. The military perpetuate his misrule and are paid generously. They are the first and last lines of defense against freedom in the battlefield of opinions and ideas in Cameroon.

It is their role, the military, to stuff the leechlike gods lording over Cameroon with the carcasses of protesting youth in this season of feasting. Their belches can be heard resonating from the damned walls of Etoudi across a landscape blighted with abuse of power, brutality, corruption, intolerance, lies, misrule and tyranny. They carry the laughter of the remorseless tyrant and his cohorts.

Their laughter is demented and nightmarish, one that rewards evil and celebrates vice. It is making exiles of a people. It is making beggars of a people. It is making thugs of a people. The stench of their vices is putrid. It is nauseating to the human soul. In their shortsightedness, the rulers of Cameroon pollute an entire people’s collective future as a compliment to an already tainted and bloodied past.

Geo-politically, Cameroon is within the French sphere of influence and enjoys some of the privileges that come with being a member of that unenviable fraternity. Biya has friends in high places. He owes his survival to those friends in high places. Like his brother, Idriss Derby in Chad and Omar Bongo in Gabon, he knows if push comes to shove, his friends at the United Nations Security Council will come to his aid—a booster in his toxic tonic.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that recently in Douala, forces of law and order in keeping with their oath reacted with brute force at peaceful protesters demonstrating against unjustified fuel price hikes, the banning of a popular radio stations and against an unpopular government bent on imposing itself on yet another generation of Cameroonians.

Between Saturday, February 23rd and Monday the 25th, five people have been killed in Douala and scores have been wounded. According to news reports, there was widespread looting and chaos in certain parts of the port city.

This time around no one is being fooled. Cameroonians are very familiar and intimate with the Biya agenda. They are fed up with it. Kenya is branded in their consciousness. They know that no constitutional reform in Cameroon could be intended to strengthen non-existent democratic values or institutions. They are not blind. They also know that reforms initiated by an unscrupulous regime could not be in their interest. They know it is only meant to keep Paul Biya and his cohorts in power. They are not numb and will react appropriately.

It is time for the Paul Biya era to be vanquished from our collective memory!

*Kangsen Feka Wakai is a Houston based writer and journalist. He is the author of Fragmented Melodies, a collection of poems available on

**Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

Cameroon's Minister of Communication, Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, signed on Thursday a ministerial order banning the Douala-based and private TV station Equinox. According to the ministerial text, Equinox has been tagged with carrying out “irregular activities in their station”, the text read. The text was also read, exclusively on the government controlled radio and TV, Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV.

A Regional Court in Douala (Cameroon) sentenced three men accused of homosexuality to a maximum sentence of six months in prison and fined them 50.000 Francs (R700) each and another 27.000 Francs (R378) for legal expenses. These three men were among the nine arrested in August last year on charges of homosexuality and they only appeared in court for the first time on 2 January this year.

Cameroon's parliament has authorised the president to sign an interim trade deal with the European Union, joining a growing number of poor nations inking 11th-hour accords before preferential trade terms expire. The EU is rushing to strike basic interim deals with the comparatively better off former colonies to avoid disruption to their goods exports when preferential terms expire on Dec. 31.

Fatimatou Bouba has trouble holding back tears when she tells her story. A 34-year-old mother, of the ethnic Mbororo group, she fled the Central African Republic (CAR) six months ago – like 45,000 others who have crossed into Cameroon since 2005 – to escape the terror campaign imposed by unknown attackers known only as ‘coupeurs de route’ or ‘zaraguinas’ operating in the west of the country.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called on Cameroon’s Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni to intervene after media group TV + dismissed 8 journalists and media workers accused of being the organisers of a recent strike protesting their working conditions.