Cameroon : A Civil Rights Activist Poisoned By Police Officers On Duty

His name is Mbock Matip ; president of a legal and recognised Association, a well known civil society activist for the wellbeing of cameroonians living in the country and abroad.

This man had long ago alerted Cameroon’s authorities via official letters , radio and television media, that he will untdertake a « Hunger strike » on the 21st of july 2014. Given that none of the many letters he has written to all governement officials has had a reply.

So, yesterday july 21st 2014, Mr Mbock Matip engaged in the action part of his hunger strike, he was sitted before « Cameroon’s monument of re-unification » - a symbolic place with respect to the unity of the old Western Cameroon [Anglophone Cameroon because under British mandate] and the Cameroun Oriental [French speaking Cameroon because under the control of France] According to colonial history.

At about 2 pm in the afternoon, came the D.O [Divisional officer] and the Commissioner of the [Yaounde 5 police district] with other police agents. They roughly got Mbock Matip in the police vehicle and drove to the city’s outskirts where they dumped him in a nearby bush.

Mbock Matip, using his cell phone, called for help from some friends who came to his rescue. Still  determined to carry-on with his hunger strike, he this time around went and sat before the entrance of the embassy of France in Cameroon. As night came,he walked back to sit before the monument of re-unification till 6 am this morning of july 22nd 2014. The same police commissioner  and agents came , got Mbock Matip in the police vehicle, and drove out of town. Upon reaching a far-away village on the highway between Yaounde and Douala, they dropped him, seized his cell phone, made him swallow some liquid substance from a syringe, took away the money he had in his pocket and abandoned him on the highway des pite his handicap.

With much luck, Mbock Matip found help in that area and phoned again his friends here in Yaounde. Volonteer helpers brought him to Yaounde ; he is suffering from severe stomach aches. He knows not what these policemen made him swallow. Anyway, friends and well-wishers have taken him to hospital.

As i write this article, i am very touched. Seeing a civil rights activist being tortured. I do not know whether by this time Mbock Matip is dead or not. I sincerely hope he is still alive.

The Good, The Bad, And The Church Goers

The church : a gathering regarded in the superlative and nevertheless as God’s treasure house. Common sense makes it that every man or woman who takes his or her time-off to go to church is obviously a God fearing person.

Yet, in the world of social relations and realities, this scenario has nothing to do with why many go to church. This makes intelligent, literate and intellectual people promptly conclude that the situation is more than enough inspirational material for research and eventually some storytelling of tales, myths ands legends. Below is a true story. I hope you understand it...

On a blessed Sunday morning, « Mr Joe » is getting set to go to church. Having put on his beautiful Sunday clothes and shoes, he heads out of the house saying « i am on my way to church ». But while on the road, « Mr Joe » realises he has forgotten something. He moves back to the house in order to do what he had forgotten. His objective is that his wife and son living in the same house should not watch television, listen to the radio, or use the electric iron to press their clothes. He puts-off the house’s electric power supply and this time around, confidently marches his way to church.

At times, i feel like beating up most of the people i see in the church. Due to their underground, clandestine  and even open actions done amongst all prayerful people or not. But, there is one question that stands out clear.

-Who gives me the right to go ahead and beat them up ?  The answer my friend, just like the wind, is blowing way in the middle of the air.

Deep down in me, i know i have the right my common sense gives me. I am literally disgusted to see to what extent some people deviatefrom the basics [common rule] of going to church.

All the same, this common sense makes me receive great consolation and therefore, automatically, i calm myself. As it helps me really understand the insights of the saying that goes like this : « Cmmon sense is not common ».

Old Aged Couple

Many years down memory lane, situations made it that two fellows met. A fter their meeting, more chemical reactions pushed them to marry and live together as husband and wife.

Today, these two fellows are our « Mommy » and « Daddy »

Mommy is a retired civil servant while daddy is a private sector retired worker. Despite all hazards, the many children they gave birth to have now become adults of their own. The girl children have made a very fast run to the extent that this time around, mommy and daddy have now become great-grand momom and great-grand dad.

On a social and personal point, from time to time, mommy, in-order to keep her marriage alive, has to fight back against other single women and widows who want to snatch her old and handsome husband. Whenever he goes to the bank to receive his monthly retirement benefits, mommy is on the alert. She knows there are young girls out there who have specialised themselves in the business of seducing old men when they come for their pension.

This past february 14 2014, it came to daddy’s mind that he should at last make his wife the honour and give her a befitting church wedding. This information was communicated to their children who together decided to take things into their own hands. News went like wild fire. Children from far and near have come together. Preparations are hitting up hard.

To our greatest surprise, we have come to realise that these two fellows still play the hanky-panky game as if they were still youngsters fresh from the farm.

That not withstanding, we have also discovered who are the jealous uncles and aunts, friends and other community relations. But, we will not allow them topedo our parent’s hapiness. Knowing that mommy considers this as the reception of one of her Holy sacraments, and more important again, the summit of her lifetime’s achievements. 

 

Strong University Girls

A university-the place to be for whosoever intends to to pursue his or her studies in higher education.

After decades of intense fights taken up by human rights activists and other civil society organizations, in a die hard  African traditional context, the girl child’s social status is gradually but steadily gaining recognition.  Changing from the general belief of [a household commodity to a person  with reasoning faculties just like the boy child].

Thank goodness for all those who fought this fight. Be it in the domain of traditional beliefs, religious doctrines, or political will. Now, the girl child can continue schooling up to her doctorate degree if she feels like it.

Unfortunately, for our sisters who continue schooling up to the university level, these girls find themselves confronted to a very de-grading, immoral and non-professional practice which in effect is sexual harassment. University lecturers who are prompt to having body pleasures with their young and beautiful female students go on to sanction these brilliant girls works with remarks and points that do not reflect their true intelligence.

When the girls try to inquire on the poor marking done by their lecturer, she is now put before the real intensions of this lecturer. Intensions which essentially consists in having sex with the young woman. No less, no more. Given that most of these university lecturers are already married men.

This is how female students who are in their master’s and doctorate degree programs, who for their mémoires need  a supervisor [a university lecturer] to guide them through till their defense face intense sexual harassment. These supervisors use phrases like :

-if you accept, i make you have your diploma.

-You cannot succeed without me… etc

It took the courage and bravery of a young university female student who recorded the phone call one of these bad lecturers did to intimidate her. She later sent this recorded phone call to a radio station which eventually spread the news like wild fire. The academic institution’s authorities were caught short. But still, they had to sanction this bad lecturer.

The truth is, this young woman’s case is just one that eventually went public. If not, there are thousands of young girls who are sexually harassed by their lecturers and who give-in for fear of academic failure.

Our project is to create a journal in our university and eventually represented in all universities in our country. A journal with complete autonomy with respect to any university authority. A journal run and headed by girls themselves university students  and therefore closer to their fellow university mates. All these to develop a safe heaven for young brilliant university female students. May they undergo their studies without any extra-curricular strings attached to it. 

As Official Documents Keep Disappearing...

Gross Infamy…

These two words describe best the situation we live.

A very negative practice which does not help us build our social and political environments. Instead, it enlarges the gap between honest citizens on one side and unscrupulous administrators on the other.

Overhere in Cameroon, in our country’s different ministries and other state owned corporations, unscrupulous civil servants [thieves of works of the spirit who have no respect for intellectual propriety rights] have transformed the shameful act of extracting sensitive documents ; to make it become a very lucrative business in which they excel. Especially when it is to protect top functionaries who swim in corrupt practices.

Lately, i introduced  a straight-forward, sensitive and pertinent document for our ministry of post and telecommunications to see into the matter. But, because this document concerns a giant multi-national telecommunications company [MTN], i saw my documents disappear leaving no trace, no sign. In the whole ministry, nobody knows the where-abouts of my documents.

It is this ugly phenomenon that gives a hard time for civil society organisations like the one i preside to bring solutions, to help citizens. Immediately, it comes out clear that most of our top government officials want us to remain in poverty like what you see in the photograph [the place where a civil society organisation holds its reunions].

Knowing that administration and bureaucracy has to do with paper work. With this kind of anti-progressist practices,

1-How is the country going to move out of poverty ?

2-How is the judiciary system going to do its work when proofs disappear in police stations and law courts ?