Stories from and

Boko Haram Kills at Least 81 Civilians in Fotokol, Northern Cameroon

  8 February 2015

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

  28 August 2014

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...

#NoBakchich, a Cameroonian App to Fight Administrative Corruption

  8 July 2014

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

  17 June 2014

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...

A Glimpse Into Life inside the Bamenda Central Prison in Cameroon

  22 May 2014

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

  30 April 2014

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

  29 April 2014

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

  9 April 2014

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....

Cameroon Demolishes 3,000 Houses and Render 15,000 Homeless

  3 April 2014

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

  16 February 2014

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...

Tchip: The “Shaking My Head” Meme from Africa

  6 August 2013

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

  2 August 2013

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...