Cameroon - The African Mirror

Mar

20

2021

Cameroon suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine

CAMEROON’S health ministry has suspended the administration of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine it was scheduled to receive on March 20 as part of the global vaccines sharing scheme COVAX. The ministry said that the suspension was for precaution and prudence. It gave no further reasons for the decision or if it will go ahead and take delivery of its share of the vaccine. Several countries have resumed use of shots on Friday after the European Union and British regulators said the benefits outweighed any risks after reports of rare instances of blood clotting that temporarily halted inoculations. Cameroon has approved Russia's…

Mar

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Cameroon’s Biya is Africa’s oldest president: assessing his 38 years in power

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

CAMEROON’S President Paul Biya celebrated his 88th birthday recently, making him the oldest president in Africa. He has been in power for 38 years. Birthday celebrations held across the country were met with protest by the opposition, demanding that he step down. So, how has he acquitted himself in office, and what has been his legacy for Cameroon? JULIUS A. AMIN, Professor, Department of History, University of Dayton Cameroonians welcomed Biya when he became president in November 1982. The peaceful transfer of power by his predecessor Ahmadou Ahidjo won Cameroon praise as an example to emulate in Africa, where leaders…

Feb

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Spate of attacks, arrests LGBT+ people in Cameroon

NEWS

NITA BHALLA THREE murders and more than 20 arrests targeting LGBT+ people in Cameroon this month have raised fears of an upswing in homophobic persecution in the Central African country, rights campaigners and lawyers said yesterday. Same-sex relationships are illegal across much of Africa, but few countries are as assiduous in applying penalties as Cameroon, where gay sex is punishable with up to five years' imprisonment, according to LGBT+ organisations. Police have failed to record or investigate the Feb. 6 murder of a gay couple in their home in the capital, Yaounde, or the Feb. 22 killing of a gay…

Feb

25

2021

By The African Mirror

The golden quartet of Afrobasket

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO FORTY games - over 2016 minutes - of blood, sweat and some tears during thrilling action at the African Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) have produced the continent’s top four basketball nations. The qualifying window, which took place in the two cities Monastir, Tunisia and Yaounde Cameroon, produced four teams, reigning Champions Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Egypt who outclassed their group mates. These four teams have yet to lose a fixture in the six qualifying games played and seek to take their brilliant form into the Afrobasket finals held in Kigali, Rwanda from August 24 to September 5. Tunisia,…

Feb

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Basketball; Africa’s Best of Best

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO ALAS, the African Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) qualifiers have come to a conclusion. The drama and talent on show intoxicated fans, leaving eyes wanting as we await the Afrobasket finals in Kigali, Rwanda. In the enthusiasm for what is to come, The African Mirror brings you the stand-out performers from the tournament held in Tunisia and Cameroon. Salah Mejri (Tunisia) Mejri’s presence on the floor cannot be understated, defensively and offensively, the Tunisian has been his team’s pivot. If you needed an indication as to how impactful the center has been Tunisia have yet to lose a game throughout…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Thousands of Central Africans seek refuge in Cameroon

NEWS

Sitting at the bar of a hotel in Garoua-Boulaï, a small town in eastern Cameroon on the border with the Central African Republic, a middle-aged man makes a series of phone calls. Just a few weeks ago, he was a candidate in legislative elections in the Central African town of Bouar. Insurgent incursions and violence put an end to his campaign. Together with many other inhabitants of the town, including farmers, merchants and civil servants, he had to flee in the direction of Cameroon. "Now I'm stuck. The road is blocked," explains the man*, who is now looking for a…

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Why Cameroon is obsessed with hosting the Afcon

SPORT

DANIEL EKONDE “I think [the] 2022 [Africa Cup of Nations] has the power of taking Cameroonian sport to another level,” says Njie Enow, sports editor at state-owned Cameroon Radio Television. The central African country is desperate to host the continent despite the many challenges it has faced since being given the right to stage the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). They were stripped of that right when they were deemed unprepared, but given the 2021 edition instead. And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, pushing the men’s continental showpiece to 2022. The country’s readiness to host the Afcon is being…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

UN calls for probe into army attack on civilians

NEWS

EDWARD McCALLISTER THE United Nations has called for an investigation after Reuters reported that Cameroonian soldiers opened fire on fleeing civilians during a weekend raid, killing up to nine people. Three witnesses told Reuters that soldiers entered the village of Mautu in the South West region - at the heart of a separatist insurgency - raided homes and shot civilians as they ran for cover under nearby cocoa bushes. The Cameroonian military denies wrongdoing. It said it was conducting a raid on separatist positions when it came under fire and had killed what it labelled "terrorists". "Deeply concerned & saddened…

Jan

09

2021

By The African Mirror

At least 13 dead as suicide bomber, gunmen attack town in Cameroon – UN

NEWS

AT least 13 people including children died when a suicide bomber blew herself in a crowd that was fleeing an armed attack in northern Cameroon yesterday, a U.N. security report said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, or for the attack on the town of Mozogo in the Far North Region, near the border with Nigeria. The assailants struck early in the morning, firing guns into the air, according to the note seen by Reuters. "Frightened, the population fled into the park. It was at this point that a woman carrying an explosive charge allegedly entered the fleeing…

Dec

08

2020

By The African Mirror

One killed, others wounded as Cameroon holds first-ever regional election

NEWS

JOSIANE KOUAGHEU SCATTERED violence marred Cameroon's first ever election to appoint regional councils, with one voter killed by separatist insurgents in the English-speaking Northwest region. President Paul Biya hopes the vote will appease critics who say he has long neglected the Central African country's 10 regions, and end a four-year separatist insurgency in the west which has become the greatest threat to his near 40-year rule. Opponents say the vote offers only the semblance of regional autonomy. Officials voting in the election are overwhelmingly Biya supporters and will help enforce his will on the regions, they say. "It is not…