Suspected Ritual Killing of Young Girl Creates Panic in Nkambe

Sidone Mabah (Suspected killed by boyfriend)

There is panic and pandemonium in Nkambe town; the Divisional headquarters of Donga Mantung Division in the North West Region of Cameroon after a young man was napped by police for alleged involvement in the ritual killing of a young girl. The young girl’s dead body was discovered in the bush in the outskirt of the town in an advanced decomposing state beyond recognition. It is suspected the corpse could a young girl named Sidonie Mabah. Sidonie Mabah we gathered was last spotted with his boyfriend, Gamnje Ivo last January 1, 2013 and since then she had never returned home. On January 10, 2013, the population of Nkambe was taken aback when the corpse of a young girl was discovered in an advanced discomposing state. Thousands stormed the area yet the scene was the most shocking ever witnessed in Nkambe. Many who took the pains and the courage to go closer to the unidentified corpse went home wondering who would have done such a sacrilege in Mbumland….Rumours were bound that some parts of the body were cut-off.However, a week a go, a young man by name Gamnje Ivo was arrested by police for alleged involvement in what the population say is “ritual killing” of Sidonie Mabah.  We gathered that members of her family and friends had tried to get to Sidonie by phone but every time a male voice would always tell them on phone that she is out of the house. “Sometimes the trick was that she had gone to the market” we learnt. The male voice had also been telling some of her friends that they should not panic because she was in Yaounde. Other friends also said they got the same response when they tried to find out where she had disappeared to. However, last week, police investigation unmasked that the person in keeping of her phone. Gamnje Ivo was arrested in Nkambe with Sidonie’s phone. The shocking news is that the man who claimed was in Yaounde was also found with seven sim cards. Gamnje Ivo, who thought he was smarter could not play the trick for long. When Gmanje Ivo was picked with Sodonie’s phone in hand responding to another call, he told the police that he doesn’t know the whereabout of the owner of the phone. He is quoted to have told the police that Sodonie was a former girlfriend and when they separated, he took back the phone he bought and gave to her as a gift. When quizzed why he had been saying that they were in Yaounde and that the owner of the phone had gone to the market every time they called the number, he said he had never made such a statement before.

Sidonie's corpse?

It is even alleged that the young man killed her in his house and later paid an okada rider to deposit the corpse in a nearby bush. Yet, allegations are also rife that Gamnje Ivo in order to destroy the traces of blood on his bed set the “matelas on fire” and (other beddings). More so, it is also alleged that the young man started beating up the girl on the night of January 1, 2013 and took her away to an unknown destination. And since then, she was never seen. Yet, the corpse was buried without an autopsy conducted on it to really identify whether the dead body was that of Sidone or someone else. Notwithstanding, Gamnje Ivo is still in police custody where he is claiming that he is innocent of the allegations.  As of now, there are so many stories in “sha drinking spot” in Nkambe. Some allegations are rife that Gamnje Ivo started beating the girl at the night club yet it is not clear why the young boys and girls or even her friends who witnessed the scene had remained mute over the issue. While others are saying that he killed her in his home and latter hired the services of an “okada rider” who helped him to transport to corpse. 

At present Sidonie's family is pleading and crying everyday to that Gamnje Ivo should confirm that their daughter is dead so that they know.  It should be recalled that since the corpse was in an advanced decomposing stage as could be seen in the picture, the corpse was handed to the council for burial. More so even the dresses were beyond recognition. There is total confusion in Nkambe...... as members of the girl's family are in a confused state and some of them still continue to have hopes that Sidonie Mabah is still alive somewhere...yet some are asking that if the corpse is not that of Sidonie, who could it be giving she is the only girl that has not been seen.

(Below is a comprehensive report by Nsom Joseph on Ritual Killings)

Phenomenon of Ritual Killings (written by Human Rights Defender Nsom Joseph)

The most pathetic thing is that despite the Charter on Human and People’s Rights’ stipulating that each individual is entitled to respect for his/her life and integrity of his/her person, human beings are slaughter everyday in various forms.  Ritual killing is becoming a common phenomenon in Cameroon. The phenomenon of ritual killings and the practice of human sacrifice tend to occupy a comfortable position in most African countries. These practices entail the hunting down, mutilation and murder of the vulnerable people in society, including people with disabilities, women, and children. Those who practice sacrifice and ritual killings believe them to be acts of spiritual fortification. Motivations to carry out these acts include the use of human body parts for medicinal purposes and the belief that some human body parts possess supernatural powers that bring prosperity and protection.

Ritual killings in Cameroon

This phenomenon is very common in Cameroon, especially from the believe that an individual could be offered as a sacrificial lamb to a spiritual realm by another. It is common to hear that some accidents on our highways are provoked by some spiritual powers so as to recuperate the deaths thereof. The numerous deaths often registered at the end of the year (November-December) in Cameroon are often interpreted as deaths pertaining to individuals who have been offered by fortune seekers to these powers. As if this may not be enough, Cameroon since December 2012 has registered a series of physical ritual killings in some of her towns, particularly Yaoundé. Today, Yaoundé is still suffering from these killings particularly in the neighborhoods of Mimboman, Biteng and Nkomo in the Yaoundé IV sub division.

According to information gotten from “www.Cameroon-info.net”, 18 young women are abducted, murdered and found with brains, eyes and genitals missing. Victims are abducted by motorbike taxi drivers. They are first raped before removal of the needed human body parts (eyes, sex, breast, heart, kidney) after which they are dumped somewhere. Victims are generally young girls in the age bracket (15-26) years. Most families around this area live in terror and the sister of one victim (Deborah Ngoh Tonye) writes to President Biya accusing him of inaction.

Deborah Ngoh Tonye said her sister, Michele Mbala Mvogo, a student at the government bilingual High School Yaounde was abducted three days before her body was found outside one nursery school in Mimboman. She accused the city's commonly-used motorcycle taxi drivers of facilitating the murder, and said the government had failed to do enough to protect the victims, who were from the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods of Mimboman and Biteng.

Families in the neighbourhood are said to be in a state of hysteria, banning their girls from taking motorbike taxis and keeping them indoors after dark. Vigilante groups of young men guard the streets at night and hunt for the killers, as the people of Yaounde say the police are not doing enough to keep the city safe. The new wave of gruesome killings in the capital has also seen dozens of complaints about mutilated corpses in the mortuaries of Yaounde's public hospitals, according to Health Minister Andre Mama Fouda.
Communication minister Tchiroma Bakary said: “Ritual sacrifices with a demoniac connotation are unacceptable and intolerable, and the government will do all it can to put a stop to it.” In a communiqué addressed to the nation on 23/01/2013, he revealed that seven children were killed and that only four of them were properly identified. According to him, the government is in total control of the situation with some of the suspects already in the police detention.   

What are Cameroonians saying about these ritual killings?

The Cameroon society today is highly flourishing in cults, lodges, and other spiritual mediums. People get into these areas to acquire power and wealth, and most highly placed persons in Cameroon are known to belong to this spiritual world. In order to reap from this spiritual world, individuals need to sacrifice, and most of the time, the sacrifices are humans.    

Most Cameroonians believe that the ritual killings are simply serving as sacrificial lambs for those who intend to maintain themselves or acquire new comfortable positions in the Cameroon society. With a cabinet reshuffle in view, as well as elections (legislative, senatorial, municipal), it is believed that prospective candidates must have consulted their mediums and are asked to supply some human body parts. In this case the bike riders are simply rendering a service for which they are paid. It is also possible that the bike riders could be out to satisfy an expressed demand from some international dealers in human body parts. Whatever the case, the bike riders are agents of the demon, and it could have been better if they were not born at all.   

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

African Heads of State Give more Impetus to NEPAD’s Implementation

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,  Senegalese President Macky Sal has been elected Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), a high level body of twenty African leaders that provides leadership and policy guidance to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Mr Sal replaces the later former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi who served as Chairperson of the HSGOC for four years until he passed away in August 2012.

The grouping, which meets twice a year on the fringes of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, also sets priorities and the programmes of action for NEPAD.

A moment of silence in memory of Mr Meles was observed at the opening session, which was attended by several heads of state, representatives of regional economic communities and international organisations.

On his part, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn urged AU member states to reduce dependency on foreign aid for implementation of infrastructure development projects.

Hailemariam described his predecessor, the late Meles Zenawi as 'a symbol of Pan-Africanism' whose legacy is witnessed on the ground in Ethiopia.

He said Meles viewed NEPAD as a change- model in the management of Africa's relations with the international community.

President of Benin and Chairperson of the Africa Union, Boni Yayi called on the   need for Africa to scale up implementation of NEPAD priorities such as agriculture and infrastructure, and speed up the aspect of domestic resource mobilization to encourage less dependence on western funding.

NEPAD’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Ibrahim Mayaki presented the Agency’s Results-based Activity Report of July to December 2012, where he highlighted effort for sustaining the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP)) momentum and the various tools and mechanisms for domestic resource mobilisation for the NEPAD programmes.

“The NEPAD Agency believes that the time has come to give new impetus to CAADP to meet legitimate expectations of member states while providing a clearer perspective and overall role for agriculture in the economic transformation of the continent. To support this transformation NEPAD has launched the Africa Rural Development Forum as platform for knowledge sharing on polices on rural transformation.” said Dr Mayaki.

CAADP has emerged as a key vehicle to diversify economies, grow agribusiness, ensure food security and thrive. It also stimulates access to finance, inputs and markets for smallholder farmers.

To sustain the its momentum, there’s a need to assess how non state actors can take ownership of the CAADP process by contributing to the development and implementation of agricultural policy in their respective countries.

Dr Dlamini Zuma pointed out that despite NEPAD’s achievements, there’s need to address challenges such as adequate resources and human capital, to implement NEPAD Programmes and Projects.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mohammed Mossi and President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria have been elected Vice Chairpersons of the HSGOC Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mauritania and Libya, are the new countries that have joined the grouping.

                                                                            

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D.O for Nwa in Hot Water over Allocation of Grazing Land

The proximity of Nwa Sub Division to the Taraba State of Nigeria has caused the Sub Divisional Officer for Nwa, Ekwedebong Gideon Same to fall to some practices termed illegal by the population. An art which many grazers say it is a trade of land to make fast cash. Questions are bound whether the sub prefect for Nwa is allowed to auction grazing land like that which he auctioned to a foreign grazer at Mubang-Yang. Yet sources say the Sub Divisional Officer connived with the Fon of Yang to forcefully chase away a certain grazer whose name we got as Mallam Adamu Lamu and family from a piece of grazing land he had occupied for years. According to reliable sources, the D.O ordered the grazer to quit for a Nigerian grazer to settle with his cattle and when the verbal notice to quit was ignored, Mallam Adamu’s two sons were arrested and detained for about 9 days before released to go and bring back money so that a new grazing land is allocated to them. The incident, we learnt is generating heat in Nwa. Sources say some cattle on transhumance do not pass through the veterinary, the costumes etc. fears are bound that these animals may bring along with them new cattle diseases and epidemics that may cause huge loses to grazers in Donga Mantung Division and especially Nwa. Grazers in Nwa according to information we gathered are threatening to stage a sit-down strike if the matter is not given attention. Moreso, confidential sources also hinted that other cases of disputes over grazing land have been reported at Lihkop in Lih, the Mbaw plain and Mubang in Yang where more than two grazers have been allocated the same piece of land.

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Hijackers Release Ship Taken in Ivory Coast

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Armed hijackers who seized control of a fuel-laden tanker in Ivory Coast released the vessel on Tuesday after making off with about $5 million in cargo, the ship's owner said.
None of the 16 Nigerian crew members, who were locked up in a dining room while the hijackers siphoned off the bounty, were injured in the episode aboard the Panamian-flagged vessel ITRI, according to ship owner Brila Energy, a petroleum distributor based in Nigeria.
The vessel was seized on Jan. 16 as it was preparing to deposit 5,000 tons of jet fuel cargo at the Ivory Coast port of Abidjan, Ivory Coast officials said.
"Hijackers were not arrested. They escaped," wrote Brila Chairman Rowaye Jubril in an email to The Associated Press. "The stolen cargo is estimated at about $5 million."
It was not immediately clear where the tanker was released, but Ivory Coast's government said it was at one point located off the coast of West African neighbor Ghana. Jubril said the ship was now at Lagos anchorage in Nigeria.
Ivory Coast officials said the ship initially had trouble docking because a sand storm had reduced visibility. Later, the ship's captain radioed the port manager to report difficulty maneuvering. Shortly afterward, contact was lost with the vessel. Then ship consignee Koda Maritime informed port officials that armed men had taken control of the tanker.
The International Maritime Bureau said the attack was the farthest ever from Nigeria in the Gulf of Guinea, calling it a "potential game changer" in piracy in the region.
Most of West Africa's ship hijackings in the region occur near oil-rich Nigeria.
The first recorded vessel hijacking off Ivory Coast was in October, when 14 men armed with knives and AK-47s boarded a tanker carrying 30,000 tons of gasoline. The tanker was released three days later in Nigerian waters with the crew unharmed, but the pirates allegedly made off with about 2,500 tons of fuel.


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My People are Not Goods that Can Be Bought- Hon. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian

Hon. Awudu Mbaya , the SDF Member of Parliament for Nkambe Central cum Quaestor at the National Assembly has declared that the moment of truth has come. Hon. Awudu Mbaya who is also Shadow Cabinet Minister for Water, Mines and Energy in the Social Democratic Front-SDF made the statement on Monday, January 22, 2013 at the Nkambe Community Hall while addressing local party officials in a strategic meeting aimed at buttressing biometric registration. In cautioning local party officials on the ongoing political scramble in Nkambe Central, Hon. Awudu Mbaya warned that “ no one should register and give out his/her receipt to anyone in exchange of money or whatsoever”. He reiterated that Nkambe people are not goods that can be bought with money. “However if you make yourself banana, monkey go chop you”. Hon. Awudu Mbaya added. Harping on the political scramble in Nkambe Central, Hon. Awudu Mbaya said that those who think money can buy everything are on the wrong side of democracy and that time has come for the truth prevail. “The moment has come to show power of the truth, not to tell lies or to fight but rather a real moment for us to denounce bad things”.  He reminded his party colleagues that the patches of tar in Nkambe town that is still visible today was done as far back as 1959 during the era of KNDP (Former West Cameroon) whereas they are people who have been ministers and even own more than 200 caterpillars who could have added the road. Yet nothing was done. “Let that person tell us what he did when he was minister”. According to Hon. Awudu Mbaya there are plans to clean off the names of some SDF militants from the electoral list in Yaounde.

However, Hon. Awudu Mbaya summed up his stewardship just in three words. To him, he has been serviceable, available and productive both in his constituency, national level and at the international level.    The meeting which was summoned to empower local party officials on how to sensitize the population to register massively using the biometric registration ended with each zonal chairperson giving out the level of registration in each village. From field reports registration stands as follows as of Monday, January 22, 2013, Nkambe 4110, Tabenken 1981, Binka 1694, Wat 1330, Mbot 983, Njap 885, Bih 636, Kungi 493, Sah 246, Mbot II 257, Bomansoh 172, Chup 107, Mbaah 108, Kup 107, Mbanka 107, Nwangri 79……..

On his part Mangoh Jones Tankoh, Mayor of Nkambe said the SDF cannot build the Council Chamber and allow a different party to use it. The SDF, he told councilors should work relentlessly to make sure that they win in the upcoming elections. He said the Nkambe Council in the past years has constructed over 38 classrooms, water schemes and many others. He said time is coming for the Nkambe council to present it achievements to the population.

It should be recalled that the meeting took place ahead of the visit of SDF National Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi who will storm Nkambe to rekindle registration. Ni John Fru Ndi is expected in Misaje on January 27, he will move to Ako, Tabenken, Nkambe, Lus and conclude his tour of Donga Mantung Division at Ndu before moving to Bui Division.



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Striking Students Call on President Biya to Rescue UBa

The student body issued a clarion call yesterday January 21, 2013 calling on the Head of State, President Paul Biya to rescue the University of Bamenda from collapsing. The body known as Movement for peace, unity and against the Decentralization of UBa in their clarion call condemned the Prefectoral Order signed by the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam, Ngele Nguele setting up a commission to move the Chancellery of the University from the main campus to Bamendakwe. In the release, the student body also stated that “we say no to the destruction move of the Vice Chancellor which is out to partition and destabilize the smooth function of the university”.  They are accusing Prof. Tafah Edward of masterminding the moves and manipulating the Minister of Higher Education. More so, they also decried tribalism and corruption as well as occultism and witch craft practices in the university.  They warned that if their grievances are not addressed with immediate effect, they shall all move to the street calling on the sacking of the Vice Chancellor Prof. Tafah Edward.

It is not surprising that since Monday, January 08, 2013 most of the University workers have been gathering in groups discussing these developments. All efforts by this reporter to get to Prof. Educat Tafah Edward could not yield any fruits. However, as it is, a fragile peace exists in the University as many of the academics and other affiliated staff are worried about the level of injustice and ethnic chauvinism either manipulated or not.

It should be recalled that in a speech presented by Fon Awemo 11 of Bambili to the SDO for Mezam during his maiden tour in which he did not hide his emotions, he told the SDO, Nguele Nguele Felix, that the Head of State President Paul Biya, created the University of Bamenda with Bambili as its legitimate seat. He questioned why the Chancellery of the University of Bamenda (UBa) is planned to be set up rather at Bamendankwe, Bamenda 1 Sub-Division, as he has been reliably intimated.

According to Fon Awemo, the Chancellery is the heart of any University and must be located at the seat of the University. Beside, he disclosed that his Fondom, Bambili, and other neighbouring villages of Tubah have already allocated over 1000 hectares of land for the extension of the University. The said land is far more than the land owned by any of the state universities of Cameroon. Moreover, the fons of Tubah said they were ready to add more land if came to that.  

Confirming the rumour, the SDO disclosed that he saw a file to that effect on his table two days after his installation as the new SDO for Mezam. He promised to go through the file before deciding on what to do.

In spite of the SDO’s response, the Tubah elite were overheard cursing the Vice Chancellor of UBa, Professor Educat Edward Tafa, as the architect of the plans to locate the University’s chancellery at Bamendankwe. Some of the elite including the Fons of Tubah intimated this reporter how the Vice Chancellor openly hates Tubah elite including the fons.

They cited the case where Tubah Fons wrote to Prof. Educat Tafa indicating their plans to accord him a reception when he was just appointed as the pioneer Vice Chancellor to UBa. Hear them; “Professor Educat snubbed our request saying that he had no time for such an occasion because of his busy schedule”. They regretted that a week after, the same Educat received his Momo fons in his residence in Bamenda III during which his fons gave him a traditional title.

Visibly incensed, the Tubah elite said all the support staff of UBa hail from Educat’s village, Oshie, in Ngie, Momo Division, even though the youths of Tubah applied long ago before his appointment.

It was because of the show of hatred to their land that the Tubah elite intimated that they had no choice than to form a union dubbed, Tubah Union for Peace, Progress and Prosperity (TUP³) to fight for their rights shortly after the installation of Prof Educat. Former Minister Abety has also been accused of masterminding the problems at the University of Bamenda yet many have asked whether students are so dull that Abety could manipulate them to the point that they go down the street?

However, if the chancellery is constructed some 20km away, it won’t be within the trekking distance and it would be difficult for students to use some of the services attached to the chancellery. The University they say is like a one-stop shop and transferring the chancellery away from the main campus will defeat that notion. But what are the reasons of transferring the university chancellery. Notwithstanding confidential sources hinted that the SDO for Mezam recently signed a Prefectoral Order appointing members of the committee for the inspection of the site to construct the Chancellery and the Vice Chancellor’s Residence at Bamendankwe. Prefectoral Order No 03 o/E.29/712/S2 of January 8, 2013 setting a site Board Commission for the selection of a parcel of land for the construction of the Chancellery and Residence of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Bamenda appoints the SDO of Mezam or his representative as Chairman. it also appoints the Divisional Chief of state lands as secretary, while other members include: The Divisional Officer for Bamenda I, The Divisional Delegate of state property, Divisional Delegate of Housing and Urban Development, Vice Chancellor, Divisional Chief of Service for Surveys, the Mayor of Bamenda I, the Fon of Bamendakwe and two notables

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa