Bamenda Cameroon

Cities (2003 Census Bureau estimates): Capital--Yaounde (pop. 1,111,641). Other major cities--Douala (1.3 million), Garoua (424,312), Maroua (409,546), Bafoussam (319,457), Bamenda (321,490), Nkongsamba (166,262), and Ngaoundere (216,300). ...

The government adopted legislation in 1990 to authorize the formation of multiple political parties and ease restrictions on forming civil associations and private newspapers. Cameroon' s first multiparty legislative and presidential elections were held in 1992 followed by municipal elections in 1996 and another round of legislative and presidential elections in 1997. Because the government refused to consider opposition demands for an independent election commission, the three major opposition parties boycotted the October 1997 presidential election, which Biya easily won. All of these elections were marred by severe irregularities. In December 2000, the National Assembly passed legislation creating the National Elections Observatory (NEO), an election watchdog body. NEO played an active role in supervising the conduct of local and legislative elections in June 2002, which demonstrated some progress but were still hampered by irregularities. The NEO also supervised the conduct of the ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: Commercial Services

P.O. Box 110 Bamenda, Cameroon ... [Read More]

Cameroon

The M'Bororo, a semi-nomadic Fulani people whose main economic activity is cattle raising, were given rights over pastoral land in the Northwest Province by the British colonial government; however, in 1986, Alhadji Baba Ahmadou Danpullo, a prominent businessman and member of the ruling party, established a commercial ranch in Ndawara, Northwest Province. During the year, the M'Bororo continued to claim that over 18 years, Danpullo has forcibly displaced them, seized their land, cattle, and women, and used his money and influence with the Government to order the beating and false imprisonment of members of the M'Bororo. On March 23, a Bamenda Court of Appeals ordered the release of three of the four M'Bororo youths arrested by Bamenda police in 2002, Adamu Issa, Yunussa Bagoji, and Haman Usmanu. The fourth individual had unsuccessfully attempted to escape prior to the Court's ruling and remained in detention at year's end. A special government commission of inquiry had reportedly finis ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: American Citizens Services - Attorneys ListCameroon 2004

P.O. Box 2200, Makon, Bamenda ...

P.O. Box 2155, Bamenda ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Numerous prisoners died in custody due to abuse inflicted by security forces and harsh prison conditions and inadequate medical treatment (see Section 1.c.). Mob violence and summary justice directed against suspected thieves and those suspected of practicing witchcraft and other crimes reportedly continued to result in an increased number of deaths and serious injuries. For example, in early March, an angry mob in the Oyom Aban neighborhood of Yaounde beat to death Emile Eyenga, a 34-year-old bandit who previously had been arrested and released on several occasions. Aban was caught burglarizing a private residence. In early August, the gendarmerie company commander for Ngoketunjia Division, North West Province, stated that angry mobs lynched three persons caught stealing. The commander severely criticized the "jungle justice" and asked the citizens of Ngoketunjia to inform security forces of the presence of any su ... [Read More]

US Embassy Cameroon: HIV/AIDS Task Force

Using the community based approach at the grassroots level, the following programs were carried out:HIV/AIDS sensitization was carried out among the Fulani cattle breeders and local residents of Tadu, Banso, in the North West province. This included men, women and children of the community.Under the theme Fons Make a Difference, a sensitization program with selected Fons from the Bamenda area in the North West province was also carried out.These programs were carried out in March 2001 in collaboration with Project Troubadour, a visiting group from the US and marked the first activities of the Task Force. The program involved the use of drama and music to support talks given and was effective in passing the massage to a community that was receiving such education for the first time.In August 2003, a sensitization program was carried out among Muslims in three districts in the Far ... [Read More]

Cameroon

In mid-September the SCNC began circulating tracts that announced demonstrations on October 1 in Kumbu and Bamenda to mark the SCNC's independence day. In response the Government deployed extra security forces to Kumbu and Bamenda, banned all political rallies between September 26 and October 2, arrested suspected activists, and established curfews in the major cities of the ((Anglophone?)) provinces. SCNC members demonstrated as planned on October 1 in Kumbu and Bamenda. On October 1 in Kumbu, gendarmes shot into a crowd of approximately 400 demonstrators, killed 3 persons, injured 16 persons, and arrested approximately 50 demonstrators (see Section 1.a.). The Government claimed that the SCNC leaders, who were armed, opened fire on the gendarmes, who retaliated. There were other reports indicating that the gendarmes, not the SCNC, initiated the shooting. In Bamenda government forces forcibly dispersed demonstrations, four SCNC demonstrators were injured. On October 1, the Lottoral Gen ... [Read More]

Cameroon

On May 23, the Douala police sealed off the premises of Freedom FM, a new FM radio station that Douala-based newspaper, Le Messager, intended to launch the following morning. According to police, the Minister of Communication ordered the cordon because Le Messager had not submitted an application for operation. Le Messager claimed to have submitted its application under a different name but subsequently informed the Ministry of the name change. The Minister of Communication granted the frequency that Freedom FM had applied to use to another private radio station. Station owner Pius Njawe, who previously has been jailed for criticizing President Biya, initiated legal action to recover his equipment, and the trial was ongoing at year's end. In November, the Government temporarily closed Radio Veritas, a private radio station established by Cardinal Christian Tumi, an outspoken critic of the Government; the station resumed broadcasting ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Credible press reports indicate that Douala's New Bell prison, originally built for 600 inmates, held more than 3,500 during the year, of which 2,000 were pre-trial detainees.  A 1997 report on prison conditions indicated that Bertoua Prison, which was built to hold 50 inmates, housed over 700 persons.  The Kondengui Central Prison in Yaounde, constructed in 1967 to hold 1,500 inmates and equipped with only 16 toilets or showers and 400 beds, held approximately 3,300 inmates, including 700 women during the year.  In 1999 the government official in charge of prisons said that the Central Prison of Bafoussam, built for 320 inmates, held 3,140 persons.  Press reports indicate that the Bamenda Central Prison, built for 300 inmates, currently holds 900 persons, approximately 750 of whom are pre-trial detainees.  Overcrowding is exacerbated by the large number of long pretrial detentions and the practice of "Friday arrests" (see Section 1.d.).  According to cred ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

The West and Northwest Provinces are located in a mountainous and cool region about a 5-hour drive from Yaounde. This area is the home of the interesting Bamileke and Bamoun cultures. African art and handicrafts of the region are among its attractions, with handicraft centers in Bamenda and Foumban. Older precolonial European style hotels in Dschang, Bali, Bafoussam, and Bamenda offer limited accommodations of uneven quality. ...

The Catholic University of Central Africa is the country’s sole accredited private university. Established in 1994, it is well funded and managed and aims to have regional importance. Other private universities have been established in recent years, but the Government does not recognize degrees from these universities. The most important of them are the Bamenda University for Science and Technology and the Ndi Samba Private University of Yaounde. Commerce and IndustryLast Updated:  10/3/2003 3:36 PM  ... [Read More]