Up Station Mountain Club

George Ngwane: The Cameroon Presidential Election Marked a Watershed of Generation Leadership

The Presidential Elections in Cameroon have come and gone.  Eden newspaper caught up with the civil society actor, writer and PanAfricanist, Mwalimu George Ngwane, for his views on the just ended elections and the way forward as well as some topical burning issues of the moment. He was interviewed in Buea by Eden’s Macdonald Ayang Okung (Published in Eden, Monday, October 31, 2011).

Eden:  How do you assess the Presidential elections that have just ended?

Ngwane: They brought a lot of lessons in terms of ideological focus as presented by the Presidential candidates during their campaigns.  While some of the campaigns were party-based and others were candidate-based, we must not fail to recognize that there was some improvement in the drive to sell ideas and issues through manifestoes to the electorate.

 Eden: What were some of these ideas?

Ngwane: Thank you, one can analyse them on the political, social, economic and foreign domains.  On the political front, most of the candidates advocated a constitutional review through a National consultation, a Truth and Reconciliation Committee, a Sovereign National Conference or simply a National Dialogue.  Ideas on the form of state from 4, 10,11 and 26 state Federalism to a Unitary decentralized state were formulated; proposals for the separation of powers among the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary were highlighted; there were calls for a limit to the Presidential mandate, Regional Governors to be elected, bilingual policy to be reviewed and new institutions like the Senate and Constitutional Council enshrined in the 1996 constitution to be implemented [...]

Click here to read the rest of the interview on Ngwane's blog.

[Book Review] Cameroon: Forever France's Private Hunting Ground?

A review by Larry Eyong

Pigeaud, Fanny. 2011. Au Cameroun de Paul Biya. Paris: Karthala. 276 p. [Available on Amazon.com]

A reading of Fanny Pigeaud’s well researched “Au Cameroun de Paul Biya” leaves one with the unmistakable impression that France will again handpick the next president of Cameroon, when Biya dies, and it may well be Frank Emmanuel Biya, his progeny, (from an incestuous relationship with his late wife’s relative and housemaid), as was the case with Eyadema of Togo, and Bongo of Gabon, and the United States will acquiesce to the choice.

Pigeaud traces the violent and checkered history of the birth of Cameroon, with the blood –splattered annals of Cameroonian nationalists who made the supreme sacrifice only to have their memories desecrated by Ahmadou Ahidjo, doing the bidding of the French, who have maintained a stranglehold on all aspects of the life of Cameroon, still perceived as a lucrative plantation whose resources are indispensible in contributing to the sustenance of the high standards of living of the French.

Interview: Fru Ndi: "SDF Takes Cognizance of Proclamation of Results"

Interviewed by Emmanuel KENDEMEH National (Cameroon Tribune)

Ni John Fru Ndi, Chairman and candidate of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) reacts to the proclamation of the October 9 presidential election results.

Why has the SDF come out with a position statement for the October 9, 2011 presidential election in Cameroon?

I had to come out to Cameroonians to express and explain what is happening. The SDF takes cognizance of the proclamation of results by the Constitutional Council in favour of the incumbent. I took note of the Supreme Court’s activities. The way they judged the cases and proclaimed Paul Biya victor. I did not take note of Paul Biya’s victory. I called on the Supreme Court to take note that I was going to demonstrate and demonstrations are my civic rights as a citizen to demonstrate when I am not happy.

Obiang Nguema's son surrenders Ferrari to U.S

Intro only by Innocent Chia

Article culled from Yahoo! Autos

If anyone had lingering doubts about Obama's inaugural promise to unclinch the fists of dictators across Africa, he served another reminder in a pre-taped interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The spate of dictatorships that have crumbled within the last 10 months - Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya - provides more than a sneak-preview of prevailing anxieties in surviving dictatorships - Paul Biya of Cameroon and Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.

While Cameroon's CPDM has uncharacteristically not celebrated its "People's choice" "victory" from the elections of October 9th, Obiang is beginning to feel some ground shifting from underneath...If the dictator will not crumble on his own, his collaborators do not have the same security in the respective villages and neighborhoods... If the collaborators crumble, the dictator cannot replace them fast enough... The Obama doctrine is that there is no safe haven for dictators, their kids or collaborators...at home in Cameroon or abroad in the US!

Continue reading "Obiang Nguema's son surrenders Ferrari to U.S" »

Has John Fru Ndi Joined the Presidential Camp?

A report by Radio France International (RFI) - Translation by Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta

On Tuesday, October 25,2011 while President Paul Biya was addressing the nation in a speech that was meant to thank the cameroonian people for the renewed confidence they have shown him by re-electing him on October 9th for yet another seven-year term, the leader of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), John Fru Ndi, who came second in the presidential poll, formally acknowledged the re-election of the incumbent, Paul Biya.

ELECTIONS-FRAUD-PEACE: The Cameroon Blend

By Roland Abeng - Barrister at Law
The stage had long been prepared for the outcome of the October 9th presidential elections in Cameroon.  The Law creating Elections Cameroon and its subsequent modifications which diluted the powers of the institution; the 2008 constitutional amendment removing presidential mandate limits; and, of course, the “PEOPLE’S CALL” for president Biya to stand as candidate for the elections are just some of the acts that helped seal the outcome of the October 9th event.

Book Review: "Au Cameroun de Paul Biya" by Fanny Pigeaud

Book Review: Au Cameroun de Paul Biya by Fanny Pigeaud, Editions Karthala, 2011, 218 pp. 276 Paperback EUR 36, 58. ISBN978-2811-105266

Reviewer:  Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta

Au Cameroun de Paul Biya is Fanny Pigeaud’s autopsy of a malignant nation. In 276-pages, this French journalist attempts to provide answers to intriguing questions about Paul Biya’s 30-year anomalous rule over Cameroonians: Why has the country become one of the world’s most corrupt nations? What are the secrets behind Paul Biya’s longevity in power? Has Paul Biya been entrapped in the macabre intrigues hatched by the henchmen that surround him?  Have forces beyond his control thwarted the accomplishment of goals he set for himself on accession to power in 1982? Was Paul Biya incurably bruised by the April 6th 1984 abortive coup? According to Pigeaud, Biya himself unravels the conundrum by describing himself as follows:  “un brouilleur de cartes”, “fin statège” and “maître dans l’art de gérer l’immobile” (69) [card scrambler, cunning strategist, and maestro in the art of managing the unmanageable.]

Post-electoral Dysphoria in Cameroon: Death Knell or Rebirth of a Moribund Nation?

By Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta

If you are like this fine etymologist, this refined linguist, this perspicacious wordsmith in quest of a germane epithet to describe the atmosphere in Cameroon in the wake of the Supreme Court's proclamation of Paul Biya as re-elected president for another septennat(seven-year term), look no further. The word is dysphoria.  This really is quite a word. Take a look at the definition of this loaded word contained in The American Heritage Dictionary (2000:559). It is a masterpiece: “An emotional state characterized by anxiety, depression or unease; a state of mental discomfort hard to bear”.

Paul Biya's Re-election: A CRTV Perspective

Paul Biya has been re-elected for another 7-year-term as President of Cameroon, according results published by the Supreme Court (sitting in lieu of the Constitutional Council) on Friday 21 Oct 2011. He won 77.98 percent of the votes cast.

After the proclamation of the results, George Ewane, the correspondent who covers presidential affairs for the country's government-run broadcaster (CRTV), analysed the electoral process for viewers of the national newscast (see video below).

He spoke about the transparency of the poll and the "Yaounde Declaration" by seven opposition candidates who want the poll to be annulled.

 

A dictator buried – Kaddafi. A dictator crowned – Biya.

By Innocent Chia
When the UN authorized Military Action against Libya’s Muammar Kaddafi over 7 months ago on March 17, 2011 there was fierce opposition to yet “another Western invasion of an African and Muslim country”- (my paraphrase). African proponents of this anti-Western rhetoric viewed it in black and white terms – the invasion was all about Libyan oil and little to do with the freedom of Libyan people. With reports confirming the killing of Kaddafi in his home town of Sirte, there is much to consider about the claims that only the West wanted Kaddafi gone. But today, The Chia Report makes the argument that when African leaders begin respecting the wisdom of limited terms in office, it will guarantee Africa and Africans the beginning of truly fair treatment from peers and the rest of the World.

Continue reading "A dictator buried – Kaddafi. A dictator crowned – Biya. " »@ www.chiareport.com

The CPP, The Yaounde Declaration and The Way Forward

By Kah Walla

I had to go through and reread the Yaoundé Declaration to determine if some inopportune phrase had slipped in without my knowing.  As I observe the Minister of Communication (whose salary I and some 19 million plus other Cameroonians pay for with our taxes) go round the media organs to dictate editorial lines and buy the broadcasting of specific messages, as I read headlines which claim the “opposition has declared war”, as I listen to radio interviews where people are calling for “peace”, I had to go back and reread what I signed to ensure that somehow a phrase calling for war had not slipped into this declaration.

But no, I could find no such phrase.  There are currently armed forces all over the country. Cameroonians are under siege.  The question is why?  Here is a government that claims it organized elections well.  Tomorrow in all likelihood, the Supreme Court will announce that the vast majority of Cameroonians participated in these elections and that close to 80% of those who voted, voted for Paul Biya.  The remaining 20% of the vote has been divided up amongst the opposition parties.  We understand the CPP has been awarded a 6^th place position with less than 1%of the vote!! 

Brewing Post-Electoral Violence in Cameroun

By Innocent Chia
Beyond midway from voting on Sunday, October 9, 2011 and next Sunday, October 23 when results of Cameroon’s Presidential elections are expected, credit has to be given to the Biya rigging machine – in cahoots with the non-descript and hollow ELECAM – for the wholesale bribery of opposition leaders. The scheme that advanced 50 percent of campaign funds before elections, and a promissory note to pay the other half post electorally, not only pinched most of the already cash-strapped opposition; it guaranteed a staying power for the mendicant and sucked the oxygen out of any pipedreams for a united opposition front. But the greatest coup yet by the Biya camp may be the messianic victories that he is getting, thanks to simulated citizens like Lady Kate Njeuma, from the recently enfranchised and controversial Diaspora.

Continue reading "Brewing Post-Electoral Violence in Cameroun " » @ www.chiareport.com

Opposition Presidential Candidates Meet in Yaounde to Adopt Common Post Election Strategy

Yesterday October 15th, six leaders of the Cameroonian opposition (Kah Walla, John Fru Ndi, Adamou Ndam Njoya, Ben Muna, Jean de Dieu Momo, Albert Dzongang) met and developed a common position and plan of action with regard to the electoral process carried out on October 9, 2011. Details will be communicated in a press conference on Monday, October 17th at 11:00 a.m. at the UDC headquarters in Yaounde.

Cameroon 2011 Presidential Election: Post Election Statement by the SDF

"What was supposed to be a democratic election has been marred by massive fraud and irregularities that render the outcome void of all legitimacy... this masquerade of a presidential election... should be annulled... in order for peace to reign there must be justice and for nation to exist, its democracy must be fed by a consensual and all inclusive electoral process which alone can deliver the legitimacy of its leadership."

Click here to read or download the Post Election Statement from the SDF (pdf)

Inch’Allah! Opposition Delivers Cameroon to Biya Again

By Fon Mndere

Nothing about Biya came as a surprise prior or during this year’s presidential election – Last minute announcement of election date, constitution of the election governing body, ELECAM, manipulating voter registers or sudden inclusion of the ‘Cameroonian Diaspora’. In fact when his government announced the inclusion of the Diaspora as part of the voting community, it was easy to fathom that the man had sensed that it would be difficult to win an election with the population at home. He needed to create a constituency that was out of the reach of his opponents and election observers - Reasons why in the US less than 400 Cameroonians were allowed to vote out of a population of approximately 700, 000. None of this came as a surprise for anybody who has been following Biya over the past twenty years.

Kah Walla: "There was rampant fraud by the CPDM as well as poor technical management by ELECAM"

Dear Friends,

What an extraordinary ride so far.  At the end of yesterday’s election, we can definitely say that the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP) has created a new political dynamic in Cameroon.

Presidential candidate Kah Walla casting her vote on Sunday Oct. 9, 2011 in Douala

First a huge thank you to all of you from all the corners of Cameroon and from all the corners of the world, who made this possible.  We have completely changed the way Cameroonian politics are conceived, perceived and practiced.  Inside and outside the country we have been able to demonstrate that Cameroonians are capable of people power, strategic thinking and exceptional efficiency in operations.  You are the power behind this.  Thank you.

Revisiting Emily Thompson’s MA Thesis on the Cameroonian Postcolonial Novel

By Dr. Peter Vakunta

In a 59-page document titled “Nation and Identity: Post-colonial Aspects of the Cameroonian Novel” prepared in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Master’s degree in literature at the Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, Ms. Emily Thompson embarks on the breathtaking trajectory of unraveling the nexus between historicity, colonial legacy, linguistics and ethnic nationalisms, as well as the ramifications of all these for literary creativity in postcolonial Cameroon.

"Assassination of Opposition Militant" in Cameroon

Culled from RFI (A translation by Peter Vakunta)

Cameroonians voted on Sunday during the presidential election described as «cacophony» by the opposition.Paul Biya in power for 29 years is likely to be the winner. According to the SDF, main opposition party in Cameroon, one of its spokespersons has been assassinated in Bandjoun in the Western region of the country by members of the ruling CPDM party.

In The Shadows: A Cursory Look At SDF’s Shadow Cabinet

“You have the Watches. We have the time.” 

Sami Yousafzai &  Ron Moreau on Ten years of war in a land where your enemy will fight you forever                                

                                      By Joseph M. Ndifor  (post-election opinion)    

 As despicable as the Afghan Taliban are, Cameroon’s major opposition figure may today reluctantly ascribe to this common mantra of theirs regarding the hardship that he’s endured over the years with this regime. Nineteen years ago, the SDF’s John Fru Ndi mounted a huge campaign to take over power from President Paul Biya. 

The stars in 1992 might not have aligned rightly for him then. However, with the stakes so high over today’s election-and with Cameroonians already hardened during this nineteenth year period-wouldn’t it be right to say that in retrospect this October 9, 2011 is the day that Cameroonians have been anxiously waiting for?

Lapiro de Mbanga calls on Cameroonians to cast blank votes on October 9th, 2011

Dr. Peter Vakunta’s Translation from French (cf. http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20111007-presidentielle-cameroun-le-chanteur-lapiro-mbanga-appelle-vote-blanc)

 

Cameroonians head to the polls on October 9^th, 2011 to elect a new

president. Electoral campaigns will come to an end this Saturday at

midnight. While the twenty-three presidential candidates are traveling the length and breadth of the national territory canvassing for the votes of Cameroonians, Lapiro de Mbanga, on his part, is calling on all Cameroonians to cast blank votes on October 9th. This committed singer admired by his compatriots has just finished serving a three-year prison term after having been charged with instigating riots in 2008.

Communiqué from Diaspora for Modernity

Translated from French by Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta

Dear Compatriots and Friends of Cameroon:

In conformity with the terms of the resolutions adopted by the Front for a United Cameroonian Diaspora  opposed to the simulacrum of presidential elections billed for Sunday October 9^th in Cameroon, our

organization code-named  Diaspora for Modernity, will be conducting a peaceful sit-in in front of the Cameroonian Embassy in Ottawa-Canada from 09:30am-  5:30 pm on October 9 ^th, 2011. The purpose of this protest is threefold:

BLACK MAMBAS FLEX MUSCLES

WARNING CAMEROON’S OPPOSITION LEADERS

 

The 30-year old corrupt, brutal and tyrannical regime of President Paul Biya is seeking to perpetrate a dastardly electoral fraud on the people of Cameroon.

 

It is offering 80 million francs to any useless idiot who contests the presidential election. Even a child can see plainly through this charade. Yet, over 20 educated fools are willingly taking part in this fraud to legitimize it.

150 Southern Cameroons Activists Arraigned in Buea

The 150 Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) militants-activists who were arrested and detained at the Buea Police Mobile-Rapid Interventioan Unit last Saturday, October 1, 2011 appeared before the Buea court of First Instance to hear the charges brought against them by local authorities. They were arrested while trying to commemorate the 50th anniversary of unification of the British Southern Cameroons and the French Cameroons

According to Solomon Amabo of Equinox TV, the activist have been charged with preparing and holding an illegal meeting are gaining their freedom. The case has been postponed to December 2011.

Here are first images from Buea courtesy of Patrick Sianne.

 

Outside the Buea Court of First Instance

  
Still defiant: Activists inside the court house

More Eyewitness Reports from Buea...

By Martin-Luther Fon Yembe in Buea

The Golden Jubilee of the frozen independence of the Southern Cameroons was commemorated in Buea last October 1, 2011 in very interesting and wonderful manner.

Southern Cameroons activists at the Nigerian consulate in Buea (c) The Recorder Newspaper

The occasion which was heavily publicized, amidst incessant arrests of activists by forces of La Republique du Cameroun (LRC) took a major turn when many Sothern Cameroonians arriving the ceremonial grund were immediately intercepted, and whisked off to the Mobile Intervention Unit in Buea.

Crackdown on Southern Cameroons Activists in Buea - A Reverend Father's Eyewitness Account

By Fr. Fomanka

This morning as I traveled to Douala, I bashed into a manifestation at Mile 17. As the transport vehicle I was in made its way into the park, I saw a dozen or more of old men aged 65 and more seated on the cold tar amidst a crowd of onlookers. They were being ordered about by the Mobile Intervention Battalion (BIR) of Buea. I thought it was an interesting scene to film. I began taking some snap shots with my cell phone. All of a sudden I heard three of the BIR calling out and approaching our bus. "You there… bring that camera and come down from that car." I obeyed and followed them. The younger ones sounding more severe and ordering me to sit down on bare floor. I simply told him I will not sit down until he identifies me and know how to handle persons in such situations. Seeing that I was adamant, they withdrew to discuss amongst themselves.