EX- CAMEROONIAN MINISTER AND AIDES GETS LIFE SENTENCE

A former Cameroon mines minister and two aides found guilty of corruption must now serve life in jail after an appeals court lifted their existing 30-year terms, state radio reported on Saturday. Defence lawyers walked out in protest before the judgements were read, saying the case had become politically motivated.

Former minister Alphonse Siyan Siewe, who was also general manager of the port of Douala, and a dozen other officials were originally jailed as part a graft crackdown launched in 2006. Nestling in-between west and central Africa, Cameroon is seen as one of the region’s most promising economies but bodies like the World Bank have warned that local and foreign investments have been hamstrung by rampant corruption.

“The appeals court at Bonanjo in Douala … sentenced the former general manager of the Douala port authority to life imprisonment,” state radio reported, confirming that Siyam Siewe and two port colleagues were jailed for embezzlement. Berlin-based Transparency International has consistently rated Cameroon amongst the most corrupt nations in the world.

Although the country has slightly improved its standing since topping the list in 1998 and 1999, under pressure at home and abroad, President Paul Biya launched “Operation Sparrowhawk” to crack down on graft in 2006. Siyam Siewe was one of the first high profile figures targeted by the operation but critics say the crackdown has been used as much to settle political scores as anything else.

SOURCED FROM REUTERS

ETHIOPIA DENIES SENDING TROOPS TO SOMALIA

Ethiopia denied on Saturday it had sent soldiers into Somalia, a day after residents reported seeing heavily armed troops from the neighbouring Horn of Africa nation in at least two different regions. Ethiopia’s head of government information, Bereket Simon, told reporters the reports were being fabricated by Islamist rebels to try and muster popular support for their battle to topple the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

“Ethiopia is defending its border. We have no intention of going back into Somalia. When we decide to enter Somalia we will tell the world that we have decided to enter based on our national interest,” he said. Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in late 2006 to oust an Islamist movement from the capital in which Ahmed played a leading role. He fled into exile but joined a peace process last year and was elected in January.

Addis Ababa has said it supports the new government, but is wary of the hardline Islamists, who have links to al Qaeda, because they control large areas of Somalia and have threatened to destabilise Ethiopia and Kenya. “We think the reason (for the reports) is that the extremists are losing ground and feel they can mobilise people by presenting Ethiopian interventions to the public,” he said. “That is why they are building these accusations as a scarecrow to get support.”

SOURCED FROM  REUTERS

NIGERIAN MILITANTS RELEASE TWO BRITHISH HOSTAGE

A British oil worker taken hostage nine months ago in the southern Nigerian swamps has been released. Downing Street confirmed on Friday that militants had freed Matthew Maguire, 35, of Merseyside. His family said he was safe and well.

Mr Maguire, of Merseyside, was among 27 hostages taken from a boat near Port Harcourt last September. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has since released the other hostages. The group revealed in an email that Mr Maguire had been released at a secret location before being moved to Port Harcourt.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown confirmed the release in a statement which read: “This news comes a great relief to all concerned. “I am glad that, for Mr Maguire and his family and friends, this ordeal is over.” Bernard Maguire, who lives in Perth, Australia, told the BBC he was “delighted” his son had been freed.

“Matthew’s girlfriend, Emma, received a phone call from him earlier today,” he said on Friday evening. “He’s out now and no harm has come to him, so it’s a relief. Although he’s lost weight, he’s got no other health problems. “We have been waiting a long, long time for this and we have been given so much false hope in the past.”

His son was expected back in the UK on Sunday or Monday, he added. British hostage Robin Hughes, taken from the same boat as Mr Maguire, was released in April because he had fallen sick. The other hostages were released within days.

Hundreds of foreign oil and construction workers – and many more Nigerians – have been kidnapped by militants since 2006. Militants, who say they are fighting for a better share-out of Nigeria’s oil revenue, fund their groups with kidnapping, extortion and oil theft.

SOURCED FROM BBC

ZIMBABWE TO GET $73M AID: OBAMA

President Barack Obama has announced $73m (£44m) in aid for Zimbabwe. The US president was speaking at the White House in Washington, where he met the visiting Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Obama said he wanted to encourage the rule of law, human rights and basic health and education in Zimbabwe. Mr Tsvangirai – who entered a power-sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe in February – is on an international tour to seek aid.

President Obama said he had “extraordinary admiration for the courage and tenacity” shown by Mr Tsvangirai, the leader of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change in Zimbabwe.

SOURCED FROM BBC