What are an archbishop in purple trainers, a lady in smart heels, and two distinguished African statesmen in loafers doing kicking a football in Johannesburg?

They are more used to kicking around ideas to change the world, including their own continent.
But there is no denying the magic of football - and World Cup fever is infectious.

“Even if people say maybe you could have used this money for building houses, human beings do not live on bread alone,” insists Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

With his trademark ebullience, he declares: “You need things that inspire you, that say: ‘You can do it.’”

Archbishop Tutu, international campaigner Graca Machel, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and former UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi all belong to Nelson Mandela’s group The Elders.

It is a group of wise men and women, 10 world leaders, no longer in power, who still use their influence on the world stage.

On a trip to South Africa, the African elders gave their first interview as a group, at this moment when the eyes of the world are on Africa.

“This World Cup will strengthen our one-ness, our self-esteem,” enthuses Graca Machel, who is married to Nelson Mandela.

“We need this kind of thing which tells us how good we are, and how good we can be.”
Even Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian more accustomed to trying to change the world through aid and diplomacy, spoke of how “one wonderful day in our lives is much better than years of misery.”
He explained its power: “It gives us hope that it is possible to live that kind of experience - it is possible to build on it.”

And it is not just South Africa.
“I come from the uppermost north of the continent,” says Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi.
“I can assure you that people there feel extremely strongly about these games and think these are their games.”

It is not just this first World Cup on the African continent that gives this year an aura of history. This year, 17 African nations mark 50 years since independence. It has been a mixed performance.
“When I see our collective performance I am very, very critical - self-critical,” reflects Brahimi who was part of the violent struggle that won Algeria its independence from France in 1962.

Looking at his three fellow Africans, he says: “You and I who were around in those dark days can say: ‘It is not too bad, we have made some progress,’ but the young man born 20 years ago does not know about that... and says my life is no bloody good.”

Kofi Annan adds a more hopeful note: “If you look around the continent and see the generational change taking place, you are going to see fewer and fewer presidents who are going to stay around for 30 to 40 years. They are not kings.”

But these African Elders express frustration, if not flashes of anger, when they talk about what they see as a double standard when it comes to their continent.

Graca Machel wags an accusing finger: “The problems with the eyes of the rest of the world is successful stories do not count as progress. Two or three wrong stories define 53 countries.”
It provokes a history lesson from Archbishop Tutu.

Pointing to low points across centuries of Western history, including the Holocaust and slavery, the Arch, as he is widely known, says: “The history of the West actually gives you hope - if you came out of the mess that you made of things and become as you have become.”
He insists on the need for “people to evolve.”

But like all these Elders, he also points out: “We are some of the sharpest critics of our own people, we tell them: ‘Look here, if you are a leader you must be accountable to the people.’”

The Elders’ work has taken them to a number of African countries, including Sudan and Zimbabwe.
True Africans they may be, but this is competitive sport.

“Come on Graca,” urges the archbishop as he strikes the ball with his bright purple boots and sends her running in her elegant attire across a makeshift football pitch.

There is a roar of laughter as Kofi Annan deftly kicks the ball back.

Archbishop Tutu broke into a spirited cheer for “Bafana Bafana!” - South Africa’s national team.
“We may surprise ourselves.”

That evoked a sympathetic reply from Ghanaian Kofi Annan: “It is good to dream…”

On 10 March 2010, Cyrille Germaine Ngota Ngota was arrested and detained at Kondengui, the Yaounde Central Prison for forgery of official documents.

This is a bail able offence, but he was refused bail until 22 April 2010, when he finally died. The first question that comes to mind is why was he refused bail?

My late friend barrister George Eyombo had a fantastic sense of humor. His ancestral origins are from Mbangasina although he was an out and out Muyuka boy. He always referred to the President as his uncle because they all hail from the Centre Region. He was an objective guy although he militated in the CPDM and rose to the rank of Section President. He constantly spoke like an opposition chieftain and expressed ideas like any normal Cameroonian. His constant mantra was that all these bad things were happening in the country because our Mr. Biya was constantly kept in the dark about the real issues. He usually told me, “. My uncle lives in splendid isolation in his marble palace and he is totally unaware about how bad things are.”

George believed that if President Biya knew about some of the things happening in this country he would as the good son of a catechist kick some ass. When he started throwing his cousins, in-laws and cohorts in prison in the ‘Epervier’ cleanup, George was vindicated and he called me up in a fit of ecstasy and said “Ngalson you haven’t seen anything yet, I told you my uncle was a good guy only the bloody sycophants, and circus clowns around him fighting for positions constantly misinform him to keep him in a comfort zone which is bad for the country.”

A columnist or a writer is like a town crier. We are reminders and we have the advantage of looking back in time.
When Mr. Biya appointed his twelve anti-corruption apostles, I wrote in this column that we should not expect much from them. One of them collapsed on the day they were slated to be installed and I said it sounded like an ill-omen.
Time has proven that the Anti-Corruption Commission with French acronym, CONAC, is just another incompetent non-performing organ set up by this government as a means of satisfying foreign donors that we mean business about fighting corruption. It operates only in Yaoundé the capital and does not have a national spread.

"Paul Biya’s longevity in power has been due to the tactical and strategic mistakes made by his many adversaries”  - Susan Kalla Lobe   

      
By all stretches of imagination the most urgent issue to be addressed in this country at this point in time, is the next presidential election. It is important because if Mr. Biya were to win it would be business as usual for the next seven years. It is frightening that we shall be subjected to the continuous suppression of popular will, the orchestrated denial of democratic ideals, and shall continue to be led by this select mediocre hegemony, which is resolved to remain in perpetual control of our lives.

For most of his nearly three decade reign Mr. Biya and the Roman Catholic Church have been jolly good friends. We remember very well Christian Cardinal Tumi telling us that there was a Cameroonian who had so much money it was disturbing. We remember the letter of the Bishops denouncing corruption and telling us that about one third of the country's resources went up in the consumption of alcoholic beverages. All of these were taken in stride by the Teflon Biya government and it was business as usual.

Nobody would have expected that the government of South Africa which personifies the struggles of the human race would have acted the way it did by refusing an entry visa to the Dalai Lama.
Who is Dalai Lama? The Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious leaders of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the Political Head of the Tibetan government in exile. Since 1959, the central Tibetan administration had been based in Dharamshala, a small town at the foot hills of the Himalayas in Northern India. In 1959, the Chinese Military Forces occupied Tibet the country of the Dalai Lama.

Lo and behold the Pigmies gave the Pope the gift of a turtle. I have been thinking about the significance of this gift. I believe in signs and wonders. When the Pope landed at the Nsimalen airport on that faithful day, it took thirteen good minutes to pry the door of the airplane open; my spirit was filled with foreboding. Not just because 13 is an unlucky number but also because the door refusing to open for a guest is a bad sign. Things, however, seem to have gone swimmingly well until the Pigmies foisted a turtle upon the Holy man. A group of 15 Pigmies from the Baka ethnic group descended at the Pope's residence at the Apostolic Nunciature, they built a ceremonial hut out of leaves in the garden of the residence and the Pope came out to greet them.

“Mammy shwine”, which is meant to be pronounced “Mammy Swine”, because he wished to be known as a female pig who ate its young ones after delivery, if it was not given food in time; was the pet name of a well-to-do administrator/businessman in Victoria.
“Mammy Shwine” was a society man, full of energy. He was jovial and appeared to be extremely soft-handed and kind-hearted in the presence of women. He drank with care and spent wisely, talked only when spoken to and hardly offered an opinion in the presence of men. In business, he was hard and shrewd and over-bearingly strict, if not wicked, as an administrator.

A few years ago, I had a case before a Magistrate in Kumba High Court. Before the case was called, my client informed me that as a matter of fact his opponent and the said magistrate were in the same “njangi”. My client said he was not comfortable with this fact and as such wanted us to object to the Magistrate hearing the case.
I went to the Magistrate’s chambers and informed him about this. I told him that since he was in a position where his neutrality and objectivity was doubted by my client, he should transfer the matter to another Magistrate because we did not want to follow the procedure of formally objecting to his hearing him.