Day: June 25, 2023

Human Rights lawyer Barrister Tamfu Richard on Saturday night shared a piece of information about the alleged torture of a young man working in an inter-urban transport agency, called ‘Nso Boys’.

The legal mind disclosed that one of the loaders of the company, Manjong Henry, was arbitrarily picked up from around the Biyem-Assi neighborhood in Yaounde on June 6, 2023.

He was “taken to their headquarters opposite the National Assembly where they handcuffed him on a mango tree and tortured him with machetes, cables and other hard objects that damaged his left eye. The deathly torture was in an attempt to force statements out of his mouth.” Barrister Tamfu said in a Facebook post.

The victim was accused of communicating with separatists fighters and was aware that some bombs were planted in a bag that arrived at their agency, ” Luggage was dispatched from Nso boys travel agency Bamenda to Nso boys travel agency Yaounde containing a bomb wherein they alleged he communicated with someone or someone communicated with him about the said luggage,” the lawyer narrated.

Manjong Henry was later transferred to the Judicial service of the national gendarmerie where he remained detained until June 23, 2023, “when he was released after three weeks of intense intervention mounted on the authorities by Barrister AMUNGWA Nicodemus.”

The management of Nso Boys reportedly abandoned him. CNA reached out to the management of Nso Boys for a reaction, and they said, “This is a matter whose investigations are still ongoing and at my level, I don’t think am allowed to comment much about it. As per Manjong Henry being abandoned, I wish to state that we are not guilty of such allegations. I am sure that when the ongoing investigations are over we might be able to talk further on the matter.”

The lawyers have said they are charging the gendarmes who tortured the victim.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The JMPLA, the youth wing of the ruling MPLA party, as of Saturday (24) became vice-president of the International Union of Socialist Youth, for a two-year mandate, in an election held during the world congress of that organization taking place in Panama City.

“It is a recognition of the organization’s performance and that it will serve to continue expanding the horizons of solidarity within the Angolan youth”, said the head of the JMPLA delegation at the event, Crispiniano dos Santos.

To Crispiniano dos Santos, who is also First National Secretary of JMPLA, the congress is an opportunity to share the history of struggle and victories of the Angolan people, as well as their habits and customs.

Under the motto “Rise of Populism and Extremism – A democratic challenge”, the event, which ends this Sunday, approved Portuguese as the official working language, in addition to English, Spanish and French.

The International Union of Socialist Youth, which celebrates 115 years of existence this year, brings together young people from workers’, socialist, social and democratic movements, covering 148 organisations and 117 countries.

The Socialist Youth Congress must always be held in the first half of the year, after two years, provided it is announced by its Board three months in advance.

It is the highest body of the organization, which determines policies and ensures their implementation within the framework of the Statement of Principles

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

One of Seychelles’ special nature reserves, Aride Island, has temporarily closed its doors to the public to concentrate on conservation work as migration brings more birds to the island, a not-for-profit organisation announced recently.

Located nine kilometres north of Praslin, the second most populated island, Aride was designated as a special nature reserve under the Seychelles National Parks and Nature Conservancy Act of 1975. It is managed by the Island Conservation Society (ICS) since 2003.

The Aride Island manager, Anthony Bentley, said that as the monsoon season changes, so are the priorities of the society.

“Seabirds are arriving to nest in their thousands, our focus now has to shift to monitoring these internationally important colonies. On top of this landing becomes unsafe for visitors and island staff during this time of the year,” said Bentley.

Some species such as the frigate bird and others are rarely seen on other islands. (Island Conservation Society) Photo License: CC-BY

Visitors will have to wait until September 2023 to disembark on Aride. September is the period of the year when the Northeast monsoon starts, allowing safer disembarkation directly on the beach via a small dingy in a narrow passageway that only the rangers of the island are accustomed to.

With 10 seabird species having made this inner island their home, Aride is seen as one of the most important seabird colonies in the Indian Ocean. Some species such as the frigate bird and roseate tern are rarely seen on other inner islands of Seychelles. Aride is also home to five species of endemic land birds such as the Seychelles warbler and the magpie robin.

With such an abundance of key species, ICS is therefore keen to upscale conservation work and start new projects whilst the island is closed to visitors.

The Seychelles Magpie Robin is among the five species of endemic land bird on Aride. (Island Conservation Society) Photo License: CC-BY

The director of science and projects of ICS, Greg Berke, expressed that during the closure to visitors, however, “we will still have visiting research teams coming to the island to collect valuable data.”

“We also have maintenance of the island such as vegetation management and restoration and maintenance of our facilities. All of these will keep our team occupied and will enhance the visitor’s experience when we reopen later this year,” said Berke.

He added that “as a nature reserve, it is only right that we look after the biodiversity of the island as it is this key ecological aspect that has made Aride such a unique experience that draws visitors to the island each year which in turn allows Aride to raise funds for its conservation activities.”

Due to a prolonged Southeast monsoon last year, which eroded the only beach on the island, Aride stayed closed to visitors until November. As of November 2022, a total of 3,000 visitors got the chance to the see what natural wonders Aride holds.

Most of the visitors were from cruise ships and tour operators but given its proximity to Praslin, small boat operators and Seychellois residents also visited.

Source: Seychelles News Agency