Stories from Quick Reads and Cameroon
Boko Haram Kills at Least 81 Civilians in Fotokol, Northern Cameroon
On February 4, Boko Haram conducted a particularly gruesome attack on the town of Fotokol in Northern Cameroon, right across the Nigerian border. Hundred of civilians are feared dead, 81 confirmed so far by the Minister of Defense. Local Human Rights Organization believes that close to 370 civilians were killed....
Ebola Scare: Trapped on the Cameroon/Nigeria Border for Over 40 Hours
On August 19, 2014, the Republic of Cameroon closed its borders with Nigeria in a bid to halt the spread of the Ebola virus. However, the government made this decision without giving enough thought to the thousands of travelers – mostly Cameroonian citizens and Nigerians resident in Cameroon – caught...
An Entrepreneur Rewarded for his Innovative Healthcare Work in Cameroon
The prize of Man of the Decade was awarded to Dr. Clément PETSOKO, for his capacity to overcome the numerous difficulties he has faced in recent years.
Movement Calls for Review of Imprisonment of Cameroon's Former Chief of Staff
Marafa Watch is: A U.S.-based, grassroots movement for appropriate international review of the politically motivated conviction and corresponding imprisonment of former Secretary-General (Chief of Staff) at the Presidency, Mr. Marafa Hamidou Yaya of the Republic of Cameroon. Marafa Hamidou Yaya was sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2012 on...
Distribution of SMS Printers in Cameroon to Reduce Delays in HIV Testing for Newborns
Afrique IT news reports that [fr] a new type of device (SMS printer) is being installed in several HIV testing facilities in Cameroon thanks to the Clinton Foundation and the telecommunication company MTN : La Fondation Clinton et l’opérateur de télécommunication MTN ont établi un partenariat pour lutter contre le diagnostic tardif de l’infection...
Cameroonian Inventor Introduces First Locally-Made Tablet to Monitor Heart Diseases
Arthur Zang is a Cameroonian inventor specialized in IT and healthcare. His team created Cardiopad, a device that contains an electrocardiograph, a radioscope and a digital monitor. This tablet is connected through a regular mobile phone SIM card that is able to transmit an electrocardiogram from any point of the country...
A Plea to Pope Francis to Take Action Against African Dictators
Une pétition en ligne adressée au Pape pour demander l'excommunication des dictateurs africains de l'Angola, de la Guinée Equatoriale, du Cameroun, du Congo et du Zimbabwe.
#NoBakchich, a Cameroonian App to Fight Administrative Corruption
Corruption is a well-documented issue in Cameroon. For decades, political scandals have infamously stained the public administration due to multiple embezzlement charges, which in turn led to the creation of a special task force to fight corruption named “Operation Epervier“. The outcome of the task force has been mixed so...
Slow Internet Connectivity Holding Back Online Reporting in Cameroon
In an interview with the online journal Tiptop Stars, Adeline Sede-Kamga, publisher of FabAfrique magazine and organizer of the recent Cameroonian bloggers hangout, assesses the state of online reporting in Cameroon: I think a lot of people are getting their voices heard online these days. Although there are a few...
Heartbreak for Ibrahim and Djouma in the Central African Republic
Djouma and Amadou Moussa are Ibrahim's parents. Djouma and Ibahim are the two lone survivors of an incredibly violent attack by militiamen that took the lives of 5 of Ibrahim's siblings in the Central African Republic, near the border with Cameroon. The militiamen came while Amadou Moussa was away. Djouma, 30, recalls...
A Glimpse Into Life inside the Bamenda Central Prison in Cameroon
Blogger Salma Amadore narrates [fr] how her visit inside the central prison of Bamenda, the capital city of the north west region of Cameroon, made a lasting impression on her : J’arrive à la prison de Bamenda à 9 h 30. Mgr Cornélius Fontem Esua, archevêque de Bamenda y donne une messe pour...
Fighting “Breast Ironing” in Cameroon
Josiane Kouagheu wrote a passionated blog post [fr] against breast ironing [fr] practice in Cameroon: Je n’ai jamais voulu parler de ce sujet trop sensible. Il me touche. Dans tous les sens, j’ai trop de victimes autour de moi. J’ai voulu me taire. Mais, que faire quand autour de toi, la télé, Internet,...
A ‘Stressful’ Taxicab System in Cameroon
Ghanaian blogger Kuukuwa writes about her experience with the taxicab system in Cameroon: There are no taxi stations, so taxi drivers move around town all day looking for passengers. And, mind you, this is a shared taxi system. Depot (“dropping” in Ghanaian English), where one person hires a taxi isn’t...
The Kidnapping Industry Takes Hold in Cameroon
The Matango Club blog reflects upon the kidnapping of two italian priests and a canadian nun [fr] on April 4, 2014 in Northern Cameroon: Pour l’histoire, les kidnappings de ce genre ne datent pas d’aujourd’hui. Rappelons que dernièrement, le rapt du prêtre français Georges Vandenbeusch, 42 ans, a fait beaucoup de bruit....
Friedrich Ebert Foundation Publishes Report on the Use of Social Media in Cameroon
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation has published a research report on the use of social media in Cameroon: To what extent, for what purposes and by whom are social media like Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Linkedin, etc. used in the country? To find answers to these questions, the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation has commissioned a...
Cameroon Demolishes 3,000 Houses and Render 15,000 Homeless
Blogger Mathias Mouendé Ngamo gives an eye-witness account [fr] of the demolition of about 3,000 houses in the Nkomba neighborhood in the city of Douala in Cameroon. It is estimated that over 15,000 squatters live in this squatter camp established on land owned by the Industrial Zones Development and Management...
Revisiting the Era of Foreign Domination in Cameroon
Dibussi Tande revisits the era of foreign domination in Cameroon in the context of the Guiness Mount Cameroon Race: The first three editions of the Guinness Mount Cameroon Race were won by local Bakweri runners. By the time of the 4th edition in 1976, an aura of superstition had already...
France Replaces Central African Republic Ambassador on the Eve of Military Drive
France is set to send an additional 1,000 troops to the Central African Republic to prevent an escalation of the conflict in the region. So it came as a bit of a surprise when France decided to replace its ambassador Serge Mucetti in the country on the eve of such an important military...
Tchip: The “Shaking My Head” Meme from Africa
Nadéra Bouazza explains what being “tchippée” [fr] means for french speaking black communities. Tchip is the sound one makes when he/she disapproves of the behavior/action of someone else (roughly similar to the “shaking my head” internet slang). The “Tchip” sound is used across most black communities and has become an internet meme:
News Websites Indicted over Land Grab Report
News Websites Rue89 and Basta Mag are indicted [fr] following charges by French investment and industrial holding group Bolloré over a report in which they implicate Bolloré [fr] in land grab activities [fr] in Africa. The report lists the group's activities in Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Politis, a weekly analysis website, reacted...
Mapping Tool to Track Insecticide-Resistant Mosquitoes
Cameroonian blogger Edouard Tamba posted on twitter about the first online mapping tool to tool to track insecticide resistance in mosquitoes that cause malaria : IR Mapper.