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Biya regime closes borders ahead of presidential polling day

10, October 2025

Biya regime closes borders ahead of presidential polling day 0

The Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji on Friday announced the closure of national borders ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.

“National borders shall be closed 48 hours to polling day. They will be reopened the following day after voting,” said Atanga Nji in a statement.

He said the circulation of goods and persons within the territory by road, railway, and air is banned on polling day until 6:00 p.m. local time.

Over 8,000,000 registered voters are expected to vote during Sunday’s presidential election, according to Cameroon’s electoral body Elections Cameroon.

Incumbent President Paul Biya, leader of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, is seeking to extend his 43 years in office by winning a new seven-year mandate.

Source: Xinhuanet

ELECAM: Over 8 million to vote in presidential election

10, October 2025

ELECAM: Over 8 million to vote in presidential election 0

Cameroon’s electoral body Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) said Friday that 8,010,464 people have registered to vote in the country’s upcoming presidential election.

The voters include 3,716,567 women and 4,293,897 men, ELECAM said in a statement, adding that the vote will take place on Sunday at over 31,000 polling stations nationwide. Twelve candidates, including incumbent President Paul Biya, are competing in this election.

More than 6,500,000 people voted in the country’s last presidential election in 2018.

In a press conference on Friday, Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji warned that plans to disturb the poll “will not be tolerated and will face the full force of the law.”

Source: Xinhuanet

Due to mammoth crowd disorder, Tchiroma’s Maroua rally annulled

9, October 2025

Due to mammoth crowd disorder, Tchiroma’s Maroua rally annulled 0

NUDP SG, Flambeau Ngayap suggests coalition still possible even this weekend

Issa Tchiroma Bakary’s vehicle drove out of the venue of what should have been his final rally in the Far North Region at about 7 :30pm this Thursday, abandoning thousands of supporters at the venue. Party officials say his motorcade left because of crowd disorder.

The Marche La Comice, which is now a cattle market in Maroua was filling up with supporters and FSNC militants since the afternoon, though the party’s candidate only arrived after nightfall. A security cordon put in place by local party officials and volunteers, and rehearsed to ensure Tchiroma was not mobbed as has been seen elsewhere, was broken by excited supporters when candidate’s motorcade drove into the venue. Security was overwhelmed.

For about an hour, Tchiroma waited in his car for calm to return to permit him to step out and mount the podium. When he stood up to face the crowd through the slide roof-top of his vehicle, supporters went wild with excitement. The more security pushed the crowds back, the more they surged forward. The candidate was forced to return into his car.

At about 7:30pm, Tchiroma’s vehicle slowly drove out of the venue without a word about what next: event posted to the next day or definitely cancelled? 

Fight for the Northern Regions

Tchiroma arrived in Maroua this Thursday from Mora and other parts of the Far North Region where he campaigned since he returned to the northern regions on Tuesday. He had campaigned in the West, Bamenda, Buea, Limbe and Douala last weekend before, pulling mammoth crowds everywhere.

His northern rival, Bello Bouba Maigari, who could become his ally at the end of the campaigns if declarations, even hushed, by certain party, can be taken seriously, has also been criss-crossing the northern regions, especially the vote-rich Far North, both men about on each other’s tracks.

This week of campaigning by both men looks like they are in a dog fight for dominance in their traditional fief. An observer in Maroua said yesterday, “The way Bello and Tchiroma are focused on the northern regions, especially the Far North, it looks like they are campaigning for local elections, for whose party would win more parliamentary and municipal council seats.”

Reacting, a journalist covering both campaigns said, the reason is likely because of the huge northern vote because, though the Far North Region alone accounts for over 16 percent of the national electorate, second to the Centre Region, the three northern regions together hold over 33 percent of the electorate and have similar voting patterns. Hence, “who the three northern regions vote for, could emerge the winner in this election,” the journalist said.

Coalition Still Possible?

Political commentators across the country and on social media are still hopeful that Bello and Tchiroma can pull together even at the last minute, though a statement issued by Bello’s NUDP on Wednesday, expressed bitterness over a remark on Monday by Tchiroma over Equinoxe TV, decribing Bello as a political lightweight. That notwithstanding, a comment by NUDP’s Secretary General Pierre Flambeau on Wednesday over Equinoxce TV might has rekindled hopes of a possible normalization of relations between the two northern rivals, paving the way for a last minute coalition. Ngayap said he did not want to divulge behind the scenes actions.

Bello Bouba is expected to hold a campaign rally in Maroua tomorrow, before moving back home to Garoua for his closing rallies, like Tchiroma. All eyes are on Garoua this weekend for the last ditch hope of a coalition between the two northern heavyweights.

By Franklin Sone Bayen on special assignment in Maroua

Bafaw Monarch apologizes to Cameroonians

9, October 2025

Bafaw Monarch apologizes to Cameroonians 0

The Bafaw paramount leader and CPDM stalwart, Nfon Mukete IV Ekoko, has done the right thing by apologizing to Cameroonians for statements he made during a rally where he told CDC workers to vote for President Paul Biya or be called “thieves.”

He made the statement following the government’s disbursement of salary arrears owed to CDC workers from 2018 to 2022. His remarks drew widespread flak as they were considered by critics and human rights activists as an   attempt to coerce workers into voting for the ruling CPDM.

The Bafaw paramount chief who believes in democracy promptly issued a statement on October 9, 2025 in his palace in Kumba, Southwest region wherein he said that:

“First and foremost, I recognize and fully respect the constitutional right of every Cameroonian citizen to vote according to their conscience, free from coercion or intimidation. Any words I may have expressed that appeared to suggest otherwise were unfortunate and do not reflect the spirit of unity, dignity, and democratic values that I have always sought to uphold.”

The statement added that “My intention was never to threaten or divide, but to encourage civic participation. However, I understand that the phrasing and tone of my remarks were inappropriate, and for that, I offer my sincere apologies.”

“I take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to respecting the free will of all voters.”

It should be underscored that Nfon Mukete did the right thing by apologizing as many other politicians would not have apologized. Apologizing is not cultural in Cameroon and the chief should be appreciated for his humility.

This is the type of chief the Southwest region in particular and Cameroon in general need. Acknowledging your mistakes does not in anyway diminish you. To err is human and to forgive is divine. Southwesterners in particular and Cameroonians in general should therefore forgive a chief who is humble.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

Queen of the Rosary College, Okoyong Alumni: Happy Feast Day

9, October 2025

Queen of the Rosary College, Okoyong Alumni: Happy Feast Day 0

I recently heard on the grapevine that the indefatigable women who graced the paths of the all girls secondary school named after Our Lady of the Holy Rosary raised over one hundred thousand dollars during their AGM to renovate their alma mater. This is an incredible milestone. This is a testament, an eloquent one to the deep appreciation each member has of the role that institution played in their lives. Never forget that this used to be the lone Catholic girls school in the South West Region. In fact, it is the first girls secondary school in Cameroon. For each decade of the rosary, I would like to celebrate ten OPSAN Characteristics. If your mother, sister, wife, friend, colleague is an OPSAN, check this out.

OPSANS are proud, I mean very proud of their alma mater. I don’t want any controversy but if you did not go to QRC Okoyong or Lourdes, pray for your parents. The envy of every child. Between the 60’s and 90’s, if you didn’t have a girl friend in one of these two schools you were playing in third division League. These girls and women have earned their stripes. After all, they claim Mary, the Mother of God as theirs. Please am talking of Catholic schools oh!

Next, OPSANS are very enterprising. They are very business oriented. The Bible tells us Joseph, Mary’s husband was a carpenter but tells us nothing of Mary’s occupation. Don’t mind that bible. Show me an OPSAN who is not entrepreneurial and I can bet you she is OPS – Okoyong Past Student but not an OPSAN.

Third, they are very generous. If you are drawing up a list of donors and you don’t have an OPSAN on your list, then you are barely scratching the surface. They know how to give! They learnt from the generosity of Our Lady who so graciously accepted to take the risk to become the mother of God.

They are prayerful. If you know an OPSAN who doesn’t know how to pray especially the rosary, she needs deliverance. Those who want to, are great prayer warriors and those who don’t have time for it, just do not have time. If you have problems and do not have an OPSAN prayer warrior, you are toast.

Their school motto is semper fidelis – Always Faithful speaks to a quality that is so rare to find today. If you are looking for partners who can be faithful, if don’t get an OPSAN, na you know! Don’t ask me if I have one? The answer is no! Why not? I knew this late. But I hail, OPSANS. They know how to remain faithful in marriage. I know what am talking about. I know two of my SHESAN brothers married to OPSANS and a Birocolexsan married to an OPSAN. If one cocoyam can spoil a whole pot then I don’t need to know many OPSAN girls to draw my conclusion. If your experience is different, write your own. Even though, I guess many more OPSANS are married to SOBANS as LESANS are to SHESANS. If you want to argue, check Dr Omer Yembe and Faustina Yembe.

Hmmm. Who sent me to take on ten and am only on the fifth and already doing “cherchez le mot.” The devil is a liar…

These women are Queens! So “show-show” for them is just normal. Remember we have women, ladies and then queens. They are classy and classic! You must be of a certain class to go to QRC. “Amba” has pressed spoil on this but nothing can take away the fact that they imbibe and exude the Queenship of Mary. When you go to a school named after The Queen you cannot be anything else but Queens.

They like gossips, fights but remain true sisters. We watched the “palapala” that led to a divided kingdom of OPSA America. Beneath this was the cry for excellence, each wanting to outsmart each other in doing the best. That’s why that conflict did not last long. If you doubt it check your sister Alumni mothered too by Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary. Theirs is thawing now but you blazed the trail and led by example and today you are better, bigger and stronger. Over one hundred thousand dollars raised in 2025? That’s strength, Unity, generosity, Queenship and you name it.

OPSANS know how to enjoy themselves. I have often wondered how these women trained by Rev Sisters ended up not becoming Rev sisters? I know an OPSAN nun, a no- nonsense sister who hired me and fired me after one year and then I chose her to be my spiritual director. How did this story end up here? Have you attended an OPSAN party? Try! You go dance “Bayangi” dance and enjoy yourself until…I don’t know why they are not organizing more parties?

They are roses and like every rose they have thorns. You cannot have one without the other. Give them their roses!

Tenth…. Add yours! Let me spare you: They know how to organize.

Happy Feast Day OPSANS

By Bobe Lambert Mbom

CPDM Crime Syndicate: 42 terrible years for the press, 10 major obstacles to journalism

9, October 2025

CPDM Crime Syndicate: 42 terrible years for the press, 10 major obstacles to journalism 0

As the presidential election set for 12 October approaches and the possibility of re-election for nonagenarian President Paul Biya is high, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is publishing its alarming assessment of the press freedom situation in Cameroon, outlining the major obstacles to journalism in ten key points.

“Five journalists killed, one arbitrarily detained for nine years and sentenced to 32 years in prison, a national media regulator subservient to the government, press offences still punishable by throwing journalists behind bars… The 42 years in power of President Paul Biya – who is 92 and running for an eighth term – have been dark for the press. RSF looks at ten major attacks on journalism during his time in office that illustrate the gravity of the press freedom situation in the country – one of the most dangerous in Africa for the profession – and the magnitude of the task awaiting the next president. We call on the future president to make press freedom a priority issue, giving Cameroonians real access to their right to information.

1. Murder of Martinez Zogo (2023)

The Amplitude FM host was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, his mutilated body found on 22 January 2023 on the outskirts of Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital, five days after his abduction. After revealing that several members of the Cameroonian intelligence services were involved in this heinous crime, RSF exposed the gruesome details of this state affair. Two-and-a-half years after the opening of the trial against secret services members and a businessman close to the government, the substantive hearings finally began on 2 September 2025. To reconstruct the circumstances of the murder, the Yaoundé military court must now hear all 44 prosecution witnesses. The next hearings are scheduled for 13 and 14 October.

2. Samuel Wazizi’s death in custody (2019)

Arrested on 2 August 2019, in Buea, capital of the English-speaking Southwest Region of Cameroon, Chillen Music Television (CMTV) journalist Samuel Wazizi died a few days later under unclear circumstances. The journalist was arrested after he criticised the management of Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis. Photos taken in Yaoundé on 13 August 2019 show he had numerous injuries, giving valid reason to believe he had been tortured. His death was concealed for nearly ten months by the authorities, “as a result of severe sepsis,”  they claimed. No investigation report has been made public into the circumstances of his death. His case sadly illustrates the opacity of the procedures and the absence of independent justice.

3. Amadou Vamoulké case (since 2016)

The former director of Cameroon’s national radio and TV broadcaster, CRTV, Amadou Vamoulké, has been arbitrarily detained for nine years. He was sentenced in 2024 to 20 years in prison after 178 successive postponements – a world record – and to 12 years in prison in December 2022 — a total of 32 years. Both cases were based on wrongful accusations that lack tangible evidence of “embezzlement of public funds” for the benefit of the media outlet he ran for 11 years. His first conviction came after nearly seven years of pretrial detention, even though the law only provides for a maximum of 12 months, renewable once, for such crimes. The 75-year-old journalist, recognised for his integrity by his peers, suffers from at least six medical conditions requiring advanced care. As far back as 2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared itself “deeply concerned” by the “gravity of the journalist’s condition.”

4. Presidential censorship

Any media discussion on President Biya’s health is prohibited in the name of “national security.” A ministerial circular dated 9 October 2024 ordered each regional governor to establish “monitoring units responsible for monitoring and recording all broadcasts and debates in private media and identifying the authors of biased comments”. At the same time, the presidency issued a reassuring statement on the health of Paul Biya, the world’s oldest elected leader, who had not made any public appearances since the beginning of September 2024.

 5. A punitive media regulatory body under orders

The National Communication Council (NCC) is issuing a series of suspensions and warnings. The latest example dates back to 23 July, when the satirical newspaper Le Popoli and its editor, Paul Louis Nyemb Ntoogue, were banned from circulation and operation for six months after publishing a caricature depicting a minister. The NCC’s lack of independence is an open secret: its nine members are appointed by decree of the President of the Republic.

6. Harsh laws used against the press

Press offences are criminal in nature and punishable by prison sentences. But beyond this major problem, in recent years, various laws have been widely circumvented to explicitly repress journalism. The 2014 anti-terrorism law has been repeatedly used to prosecute journalists critical of authorities before military courts: in 2017, the Yaoundé military court sentenced Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Ahmed Abba to ten years in prison and a heavy fine after his coverage of attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram; in 2018, Thomas Awah Junior, the northwest correspondent for the private radio station Afrik 2 Radio, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on multiple charges; and in September 2024, independent journalist Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka was sentenced to ten years in prison for “secession and complicity with armed gangs” due to publications dating from 2020 that took a critical stance on the “Anglophone crisis” in the northwest of the country.

7. Impunity in northern Cameroon

Journalist Anye Nde Nsoh was shot dead in Bamenda, a northwestern city, in May 2023. He was only 26 years old. His murder reveals the extent to which journalists in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions operate in a state of complete insecurity, caught between armed separatist groups and the Cameroonian armed forces. As in many other cases, the investigation remains at a standstill, fueling a climate of fear in a region where the press is increasingly absent. Kidnapping is also among the risks facing the region’s journalists.

8. Open conflict between the authorities and Equinoxe TV

Founded in 2006, Equinoxe TV is one of the most popular private channels in Cameroon — and most critical of the authorities. This positioning has brought the media various problems, including the suspension of its director and one of its flagship programs on several occasions and accusations and threats against the channel by members of the government. This harassment is part of a context of widespread media repression in the country.

9. Increased pressure ahead of the 2025 presidential election

Ahead of the election scheduled for 12 October, the authorities have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to hinder journalists’ work. The NCC has asked media outlets to suspend political debate programs as of 27 September, replacing them with campaign news programs. Media professionals are subject to a dual accreditation process and are required to present a press card, even though these are almost never issued. Journalists have been repeatedly prevented from covering public events, particularly those organised by the opposition.

10. Serious drop in the World Press Freedom Index

Cameroon ranks 131st out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index. Ranked 83rd in 2005, the country has fallen 48 places in twenty years. For the past ten years, Cameroon has stagnated around 130th place, reflecting both the authorities’ lack of effort to improve the situation and the hostile climate encountered by media professionals. Cameroon continues to be one of the most dangerous countries on the continent for the practice of journalism.

Dolly Parton posts ‘I ain’t dead yet’ after sister sparks health concerns

8, October 2025

Dolly Parton posts ‘I ain’t dead yet’ after sister sparks health concerns 0

Dolly Parton has released a video, telling fans “I’m not dying”, a day after her sister asked for the public to pray for her, sparking concerns about the US country star’s health.

“I know lately everybody thinks that I’m sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard,” the musician said in a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, which she filmed while shooting commercials for the Grand Ole Opry music venue in Nashville.

The video came after her sister apologised for scaring fans in her initial Facebook post about Parton’s health.

Parton, 79, was recently forced to pull out of a Dollywood event after being diagnosed with a kidney stone.

In her video, Parton thanked fans for their prayers, and explained that “I didn’t take care of myself” after her husband died earlier this year.

“So I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of,” she said. “So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctors said ‘we need to take care of this’ and ‘we need to take care of that’. Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things.”

Parton also laughed about an AI photo she had seen, which shows fellow country star Reba McEntire at her death bed.

“We both looked like we need to be buried,” she laughed.

“There’s a lol of rumours flying around, and I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I’m ok,” she said.

She ended by assuring fans: “I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me, and I ain’t done working.”

It comes after her sister Freida Parton posted that she “hasn’t been feeling her best” and asked fans for their prayers.

But in a second post on Facebook, she clarified: “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly.

“She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister.”

In the previous post, her sister said she had been “up all night praying for my sister”, who, she said, “hasn’t been feeling her best lately”.

Freida Parton did, however, ended her message on an upbeat note.

“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine,” she wrote. “Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”

Parton had been scheduled to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in December.

But she postponed the gigs until September next year, telling fans she needs “a few procedures” to deal with ongoing “health challenges”.

Kidney stones are a common ailment, with more than 1 in 10 people affected according to the NHS. Larger kidney stones can cause considerable pain, and can lead to infections and other issues if not treated.

Earlier this year, Parton lost her husband Carl Dean after nearly 60 years of marriage.

She later dedicated a new song, If You Hadn’t Been There, to his memory.

The musician is best known for a string of country crossover hits including Coat of Many Colors, I Will Always Love You, 9 To 5 and Jolene.

Her Las Vegas stint would have been her first visit to the Strip since the 1990s, when she performed alongside her Islands in the Stream duet partner, Kenny Rogers.

Source: BBC

Race for Etoudi: Biya stages first appearance

8, October 2025

Race for Etoudi: Biya stages first appearance 0

President Paul Biya on Monday made his first major appearance of the election campaign in his run for an eighth straight term as the world’s oldest head of state.

With five days to go before the vote, Biya — aged 92, and in power since 1982 — addressed supporters at a stadium in Maroua, in the Far North region. It was his first public appearance since May of this year.

“My determination to serve you remains intact,” he told the crowd of several hundred supporters from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement. “I ask you once again for your precious support.”

His 25-minute speech focused on youth, women and infrastructure.

“My goal is for every young person, wherever they are, to easily find a job or start a business. No young person, whether they are a graduate or not, will be left behind,” he said.

Organizers said nearly 25,000 people were expected at the rally, but only a few hundred showed up, AFP correspondents present estimated.

Maroua, a city bordering Nigeria and Chad, is a key electoral battleground with 1.22 million registered voters, but regularly affected by attacks from the jihadist group Boko Haram.

Maurice Kamto, an opposition figure whose candidacy was rejected in August, has called on voters “to vote freely” after the failure of discussions for a unified opposition candidacy.

Source: AFP

October Presidential Election: Can a political miracle ever happen in Cameroon?

8, October 2025

October Presidential Election: Can a political miracle ever happen in Cameroon? 0

Presidential election campaigns are underway in Cameroon and from every indication the results of the elections are a foregone conclusion.

Elections in Cameroon have never been free and fair and this year’s election will certainly not be an exception. There is a lot of excitement in Cameroon about the possibility of change coming to Cameroon. Have regime hawks become saints or have Cameroonians forgotten the past and has ELECAM, the country’s election body and the constitutional council changed their ways?

Cameroon is a country wherein there are no political miracles and the same personalities who robbed John Fru Ndi, the premier SDF chairman of blessed memory whose party beat Cameroon’s ruling party, the CPDM in 1992 in an election whose results could have transformed Cameroon’s political landscape in 1992 if John Fru Ndi had been given a chance.

The same political actors are still in place in the country. In 1992, they were younger, leaner and hungrier. After thirty three years in power, many of them are older, bigger and even nastier and are even determined to mess up the country before quitting the scene. To them, the messier, the merrier!

The incumbent, President Paul Biya is very likely to win the election. He is a player, a referee and a match delay in a game in which he has no intention of losing. His desire to stay in power is even stronger than it was in 1992 and from every indication he is in no rush to leave this planet. Those who think Mr. Biya will leave power simply do not know the man’s mindset. Some people even think he should be tired of power but real political analyst with insight knowledge of the political game know that power only tires those who do not have it. Biya has been a steady fixture on Cameroon’s political landscape for forty-three years and he is determined to make it fifty as he believes that his ancestors will be proud of him.

Mr. Biya and his men have their game plan which is unfortunately unorthodox and they are counting on the fact that the CPDM is the only party with a national presence. The CPDM is not a popular party but the fact that it is in every nook and cranny of the country gives it a massive advantage in this election which is considered by observers as a two-race horse.

Mr. Biya and his men have already rigged the election to their advantage. By controlling ELECAM and the constitutional council, the ruling party has put the odds to its side.

The rigging does not start and end with controlling the election bodies. Disqualifying candidates with the potential to threaten the senile Biya was part of the game plan. Prof. Maurice Kamto, the main opposition leader who many thought could topple Biya in the election was surgically removed from the election by a constitutional council led by a Biya protégé. Atanga Nji Paul, the country’s territorial administration minister, a man noted for his ruthlessness and uncouth behavior, was responsible for kicking Prof. Kamto out and since poverty hardly breeds virtue, Atanga Nji found a hungry and desperate person in Manidem, the political party which endorsed Kamto’s candidacy, to challenge Prof. Kamto’s candidacy and this trick worked like a charm leaving Kamto with a bloodshot eye and his supporters with broken hearts.

With Kamto out of the way, the ruling party felt the election would be a walk in the park. Little did the ruling party know that there could be another dark horse in the race and the dark horse which has turned out to be Issa Tchiroma, a man who has held many ministerial portfolios in the Biya government. Issa Tchiroma, the northerner who had been imprisoned by Mr. Biya after the April 6, 1984 coup d’etat in Cameroon has triggered a wave of insomnia among CPDM supporters.

Currently, Cameroon has run out of sleeping pills as Issa Tchiroma is rally Cameroonians. His program includes a three-year transition which will engineer a new constitution and a total revamping of the malicious system Mr. Biya has set up in his own interest.

Yaoundé has been caught up in whirlwind of fear as Issa Tchiroma knits effective alliances. Tchiroma is even prepared to sign a pact with the devil. He has already reached out to secessionists in the country’s two English-speaking regions and his visits to Bamenda and Buea over the last week have put the government in a talespin.

Tchiroma is apologizing to the country’s English-speaking citizens for all the humiliating and mendacious statements he made at the peak of the crisis when he was Biya’s communication minister. Tchiroma is even prepared to ally with the dead. He understands that a snake which does not cast its skin will not live long. His objective is to win power and pull Cameroon from the brink although many Biya supporters see him as a man full of vengeance. They suspect that if power falls into Tchiroma’s hands, he might take his pound of flesh and he will surely look for that which is closest to the heart.

The Biya regime has exhausted all its tricks. The public is aware what Mr. Biya and his ruling are capable of. Their tricks know no bounds and since the ruling party controls the country’s national assembly, it used the parliament to delay council and parliamentary elections to ensure Prof. Kamto’s party, MRC, which did not any parliamentarians and councilors did not qualify as a presidential candidate.

Despite all these tricks, the truth is that the Biya regime is on its last leg. Its free fall has commenced and its life span is maximum two years. All the numerous political maneuvers, including the SDF senator joining Atanga Nji in a CPDM campaign in Up-Station, Bamenda, are all vain attempts to postpone the CPDM’s agony.

Akere Muna and Joshua Osih, well known French Cameroon surrogates who have a track record of obstructing the Southern Cameroons cause have been told to take part in the October 12 election to give legitimacy and a semblance of Southern Cameroons’ participation. This is also failing and will certainly give the government and the elections a very bad name.

Thousands of eligible voters were reluctant to register, citing fears of election rigging or retribution from soldiers loyal to the regime in Yaoundé.

ELECAM has excluded candidates without providing clear reasons. The process for candidate vetting is shameful, disgusting and disgraceful.

The constitutional council is a Beti/Bulu tribal institution seen by critics as insufficiently independent and only makes decisions that favour the 92-year-old Biya.

There are concerns that elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) often used to suppress dissent, protests, or opposition activities are no longer willing to play the nasty role they have been playing.

The deployment of gendarmerie officers to protect ELECAM officials and prominent judges of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council has already taken place, signaling the Council’s readiness to declare Biya the winner.

Millions in French speaking Cameroon now see the outcome as a foregone conclusion, voter apathy in Southern Cameroons is very high, which tends to favour President Biya now known as the picture candidate.

Mr. Biya’s use of state resources to shape public perception, limit opposition campaigns, and control the flow of information has pushed Cameroonians to the brink.

Interfering in vote counting during this October election and using the Constitutional Council to declare Biya as the winner might be a grievous mistake that might trigger the end of a regime which has overstayed its welcome.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

“AFCON will go ahead in Morocco despite anti-government protests”

7, October 2025

“AFCON will go ahead in Morocco despite anti-government protests” 0

African football boss Patrice Motsepe said on Monday he is “absolutely confident” the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead in Morocco, the scene of daily anti-government protests for more than a week.

Young Moroccans took to the streets on Sunday for a ninth straight night of protests, calling for an end to corruption and a change of government.

The protesters have demanded reforms to social services, especially health and education, and voiced anger over social inequality.

Morocco is scheduled to stage the Cup of Nations (AFCON) from December 21 to January 18 at nine venues, with 24 national teams competing in the premier African football competition.

Stars like Egypt and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah and Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi are among the players set to participate.

Speaking during an annual gathering of African football bosses in Kinshasa, Confederation of African Football president Motsepe said: “We (CAF) are absolutely confident the AFCON will go ahead as planned.

“Morocco is plan A, Morocco is plan B and Morocco is plan C,” he told his audience, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

“CAF will co-operate and work with the government and all the citizens of Morocco to host the most successful AFCON in history,” said Motsepe, a South African billionaire businessman.

Morocco hosted the 1988 AFCON – then an eight-nation tournament – and withdrew as hosts of the 2015 version citing Ebola virus fears.

Source: AFP

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