At 76, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has voluntarily stepped down from government after serving in various ministerial roles for over two decades. The timing comes shortly after a series of strong public criticisms against the very regime he had consistently supported for years.

Tchiroma, the former Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, has recently re-emerged at the center of Cameroon’s political scene. His impassioned speech in Garoua denouncing the current administration, a subsequent meeting with the French ambassador, and now his formal resignation just months before the October presidential election have all fueled speculation about his motivations.

A Calculated Exit?

For many political observers, Tchiroma’s departure was anticipated. What has drawn attention is the dramatic nature of his exit. Some view it as a carefully planned move. One political analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, noted, “He’s staged his return to the opposition the way one would launch a campaign.”

Once nicknamed the “griot of Paul Biya” for his enthusiastic defense of the president, Tchiroma’s sudden change in tone has unsettled even his colleagues. Within Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute’s cabinet, some react discreetly, while others, like Minister Delegate for Justice Jean De Dieu Momo, have taken to social media. Momo wrote on Facebook, with an ironic tone reflecting the discomfort within the ruling elite, “My brother Issa Tchiroma really surprised me. And now, how is President Paul Biya going to look at me? As if I’ll do the same thing? Come on! You don’t do that.”

Since his return to government in 2009, Tchiroma had been one of Biya’s most vocal supporters. This new political shift is particularly striking given that between 1996 and 2009, he was among the regime’s fiercest critics. That stance disappeared the day he was appointed Minister of Communication on June 30, 2009. At the time, Jeune Afrique editor François Soudan described him as a “minister of communication in vuvuzela mode,” highlighting the dramatic nature of his political turn.

A Tumultuous Political Path

Tchiroma’s political journey has been far from straightforward. Trained as a railway engineer, he began his political activism in the 1970s with the Cameroon National Union (UNC) while studying in France. Upon his return in 1977, he worked at Regifercam before being arrested in 1984 for suspected links to a failed coup against Biya. He spent several years in detention without trial in Yoko prison.

Freed in 1990, he organized a protest in Garoua and co-founded the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), becoming a Member of Parliament in 1992. That same year, he was named Minister of Transport but was expelled from the UNDP in 1995 for joining the government. He later co-founded the ANDP with Hamadou Moustapha but was ousted from government again in 1996.

He returned to the political scene in 2007 with the creation of the Cameroon National Salvation Front (FSNC), and in 2009, he regained a ministerial post under Biya, becoming one of the regime’s most ardent defenders.

An Opposition of Convenience?

By resigning now, Tchiroma appears to be returning to his opposition roots. Yet his pattern of oscillating between government and opposition has created skepticism. Each withdrawal has been followed by a return; each alliance by a reversal. By blurring these lines so frequently, he has come to represent not so much change as ambiguity.

His current criticism of a system he once championed, with no admission of his own role in its governance, makes it hard to view this break as anything more than a tactical move. As the election approaches, his political reinvention seems driven less by ideological conviction than by opportunity. What emerges is a portrait of consistency in inconsistency, one that ultimately undermines his credibility.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Célestin Djamen officially announced his candidacy for Cameroon’s upcoming presidential election in Douala on June 17, 2025. He will run under the banner of the Alliance Patriotique Républicaine (APAR), the party he leads. This declaration comes amidst a tense political climate, where the legal criteria for presidential candidate admissibility are generating debate, criticism, and conflicting interpretations.

Many are recalling Djamen’s earlier opposition to Maurice Kamto’s candidacy. Djamen had argued that Kamto’s Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) lacked elected officials after boycotting the 2020 municipal and legislative elections. Now, attention has shifted to APAR, a party with no known electoral base, raising questions about whether it meets the legal requirements.

Djamen has not publicly clarified whether APAR has any municipal or regional councilors. However, on May 8, David Eboutou, a university lecturer and political activist known to be close to Djamen, posted on social media that two municipal councilors would soon join APAR. Eboutou wrote, “Good news for Célestin Djamen’s APAR party, which will welcome two municipal councilors in the coming weeks. The party will thus have a presidential candidate.”

A Stir of Controversy

Eboutou’s statement quickly sparked a wave of critical, often mocking, online commentary. Many users pointed to the apparent inconsistency in Djamen’s stance. “These are the same people who kept shouting ‘inadmissible’ at the MRC, and now they’re using the same strategy,” one user wrote. Another remarked sarcastically, “So, Mr. Djamen, you’re now invoking the same constitutional provisions you so loudly opposed when it came to the MRC?“

Some users directly addressed Eboutou, accusing him of double standards. “David, aren’t you ashamed? When it’s APAR, it’s good news. When it’s the MRC, Kamto is manipulating the law.”

In an effort to clarify the issue, Eboutou also shared an opinion piece by Djamen. In it, the APAR leader re-examines the interpretation of Article 121, paragraph 2 of the Electoral Code, frequently cited in the ongoing debate. According to Djamen, the law does not require the political party itself to “have elected officials.” Instead, it stipulates that a candidate must be endorsed by a party represented in the National Assembly, Senate, or an elected council, whether municipal or regional.

Based on this reading, Djamen argues that his party can legitimately field a candidate, provided it includes elected officials, regardless of their original affiliation, and follows proper endorsement procedures. He concluded with a touch of irony: “All that remains for APAR, which has yet to contest any election, is to exercise its right to nominate a candidate by simply recycling a few excluded officials from across the country.”

Although legally reasoned, this position has not silenced critics, particularly concerning political coherence. By seeking to exploit loopholes in Cameroon’s electoral framework, Djamen now appears to be adopting a strategy he once vehemently denounced. His reversal raises questions about the principles guiding political competition in a country heading into what promises to be a contentious presidential race.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Ahead of the October 2025 presidential election, prominent Cameroonian figures are calling on citizens to use the ballot box to reject long-time President Paul Biya.

A coalition of university lecturers, civil society members, and traditional leaders issued a public appeal urging Biya, in power since 1982, not to stand again — or to be voted out if he does. They argue that at 92 years old, Biya’s continued rule symbolizes a stagnant political system ill-suited to address urgent crises such as the Anglophone conflict, economic hardship, and endemic corruption.

These collective voices have sparked fresh debate: while some local mayors and traditional chiefs insist Biya embodies stability, others — including church leaders — describe his candidacy as “unrealistic” and warn it threatens democratic progress .

Human Rights Watch and other observers have also criticized the regime for cracking down on opposition and independent groups in the lead-up to the vote, citing arrests and restrictions on political activity .

With a sizable youth population — more than 65% under 30 — and rising disillusionment over repeated calls for change, the upcoming election is shaping up as a defining moment for Cameroon’s future — a choice between the entrenched old guard and a new path forward.

Source: Africa News

On June 10, 2025, Jean Nkuete, Secretary-General of the Central Committee (SG/CC) of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), released an 11-point statement addressing the increasingly polarized national political climate in the run-up to the presidential election. In the document, the Deputy Prime Minister directly targeted the opposition, specifically the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), accusing it of escalating public tension.

Jean Nkuete wrote, “We are observing that, as the presidential election approaches, some political parties, several of which are grappling with their own internal contradictions, are feeding the public with false debates that create confusion.” His message became clearer as he denounced “calls for the preparation of a sacrificial and deadly insurrection,” referencing a third country whose situation, he argued, is incomparable to Cameroon’s.

The Shadow of the Paris Rally

This criticism is a thinly veiled attack on CRM leader Maurice Kamto, who delivered a controversial speech at a Paris rally on May 31. Kamto declared, “If we fail in 2025, it will be Cameroonians’ own fault.” The former Minister Delegate for Justice elaborated, “If we miss the opportunity for the change Cameroonians have been yearning for over decades, it will be our own fault. Don’t wait for anyone! Look at Senegal, what you saw there came after young Senegalese fought throughout 2023 and 2024, and there were nearly fifty deaths. Yes… Don’t think people just lie down and change happens. Transformation takes struggle.”

For Jean Nkuete, these remarks indicate a deliberate strategy to use confrontation as a political tool. He called for the rejection of all forms of violence, writing, “Cameroon is a mature nation, whose fundamentally republican people bear the scars of violence from the independence war, the dark years, and, more recently, the atrocities in the Northwest and Southwest regions.” He concluded by stating, “Cameroonians, who more than anyone know the cost and value of peace, will not allow personal ambition to endanger lives or jeopardize the peace, stability, and coexistence they have so dearly secured.“

CRM’s Response

In response to the accusations, CRM condemned what it called an attempt to criminalize political expression. According to barrister Désiré Sikati, a party member and lawyer at the Cameroon Bar, Kamto’s comments have been intentionally misrepresented. He asked, “Is it not legitimate and common in a democracy to call for public protests against illegality?” In his view, the May 31 speech should not be equated with a call for insurrection, but rather a lawful civic mobilization. He added, “Can a call to protest be interpreted as a call to die in a democratic state?“

The lawyer then reversed the accusation, implicitly pointing to the government’s suppression of political protests. He concluded in a pointed tone, “Should live bullets be fired at peaceful demonstrators in a democratic country?“

Source: Business in Cameroon

President Paul Biya’s once-solid alliances in Cameroon’s Greater North region are fracturing as the 2025 presidential election draws near. Political heavyweights in the region are breaking ranks, threatening the longstanding pact that has delivered Biya massive electoral support.

Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training and leader of the National Front for the Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), fired the loudest warning shot. On June 13 in Garoua, his home turf, Tchiroma delivered a blistering speech against the regime he officially supports. He stood before a loyal crowd and spoke in the local language, blaming the government for the North’s misery—rampant unemployment, grinding poverty, and institutional neglect.

“How can people work when they apply for jobs, but never get hired, never get help, and nothing is done for them? We are in misery. Someone seeking happiness will tell you to vote to stay poor. Isn’t that a misfortune? It is a misfortune,” Tchiroma declared. He added, “If one day, I, Issa Tchiroma, ask you to vote for what brings you misery, then I am wicked.”

Tchiroma’s message went further. He called on Northerners to unite and break free from 42 years of hardship. “We haven’t solved your old problems. But if we unite now, we can solve them for good. The Lord has awakened us—it’s time to act. When the time comes, put in your envelope what will end our misery,” he urged, his words carefully coded but clear.

RDPC Reacts: Calls for Tchiroma’s Ouster

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) erupted in outrage. Hervé Emmanuel Nkom, a senior party official, demanded Tchiroma’s immediate removal from government. “We must draw consequences from shifting positions. We can’t move forward with uncertain allies,” Nkom said on Bnews. “After this statement, the minimum is that Issa Tchiroma Bakary leaves the government,” he insisted, arguing no one can serve inside the system while attacking it from outside.

Political analyst Philippe Nsoa called Tchiroma “consistently inconsistent.” On Le Club, Nsoa noted, “For 16 years as minister, Tchiroma only praised Paul Biya. Now he makes a dramatic U-turn, but it’s not his first.”

Wider Political Realignment in the North

Tchiroma’s stance signals a deeper shift in the Grand North. The region’s near-automatic support for Biya is fading as new voices call for change. The National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) will meet on June 28 in Yaoundé, with internal factions demanding a split from the RDPC. Bello Bouba Maïgari, UNDP’s leader, faces mounting dissent.

Abdouraman Babba Hamadou, a prominent Northern figure, recently called for a “national republican surge” ahead of 2025. In a widely shared op-ed, he wrote, “To reclaim our country in the next election, we must unite supporters of change from all backgrounds. Let the wind of change blow across Cameroon!”

Tchiroma and Babba Hamadou may not share a party, but both urge the Grand North to rally for change, challenging its reputation as a regime stronghold.

ANDP Remains Loyal to Biya

Not all Northern leaders are abandoning Biya. The National Alliance for Democracy and Progress (ANDP), another longtime RDPC ally, stands firm. Party president Hamadou Moustapha declared unwavering support for Biya on August 3, 2024, in Tokombéré. “We will go to the presidential elections. Now is the time to thank the president. In the next election, President Biya will be our candidate. We have supported him and will support him again and again,” Moustapha said.

Despite the RDPC’s deep roots in the North, the open dissent of figures like Tchiroma, internal UNDP rifts, and activism from leaders like Babba Hamadou and Guibai Gatama raise a critical question: Can Paul Biya still count on the Grand North to keep his grip on power?

Source: Business in Cameroon

Cameroon is counting down to a presidential election with key questions over the health of 92-year-old veteran leader Paul Biya, separatist violence in its English-speaking regions and ethnic tensions all unresolved.

With less than four months until the first ballot is cast, any prospective challenger will have to soon announce their tilt at taking over the central African nation at a tough time for the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on May 9 predicted that should Biya run he would win the upcoming vote, “guaranteeing political and policy continuity” at a time of upheaval for many ordinary Cameroonians.

In the capital Yaounde, Biya’s likeness is plastered — as usual — on billboards all over the city, while his critics are nowhere to be seen.

Yet Biya, who came to power in 1982, has kept schtum on whether he will run in October’s election to extend his more than four-decade rule.

Given Biya is already the world’s oldest head of state, questions over his health and capacity to govern have dominated debate over the vote.

Cameroon’s opposition appears more fragmented than ever, undermining its ability to oust the longtime leader despite the favourable political winds.

That Biya’s critics have been unable to agree on a unity candidate is largely down to “the egoism of the players, the lack of humility of the leaders, ideological fractures and the whiff of tribalism”, said Simeon Ekodo Mveng, a political researcher at Laval University.

University of Yaounde 1 professor Charles Romain Mbele said that the opposition had decided to band together in various groups “to give itself a chance”.

“We see that that is laborious, while the ruling party is firmly rooted across the nation, with alliances with other parties in government,” he added.

Since 2016 Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions have been riven by conflict between English-speaking separatists and the government.

Many Cameroonian English-speakers say they face systemic discrimination in the majority French-speaking country.

But what began as a civil rights protest quickly descended into armed insurrection.

According to the latest estimates by Human Rights Watch, the fighting has killed at least 6,000 civilians so far.

Separatist groups have carried out kidnappings and attacks on civilians and officials, while the army and police are accused of launching raids aimed at punishing alleged separatist sympathisers.

All the while Boko Haram jihadists have been sowing terror at the other end of the country in the Far North region, where the group has been active since 2009.

The various security crises have uprooted many Cameroonians from their homes and pose a challenge to the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Beyond the fighting out in the open, Cameroon also faces the more insidious menace of ethnic rivalry.

Fractures along identity lines have deepened, while at times the political debate has regressed to an ethnic mud-slinging match.

“In election periods, stereotyped rhetoric resurfaces, pitting the ‘Bamileke’ often considered to be economically dominant against the ‘Beti’, the group which President Paul Biya comes from,” said Baba Wame, a professor at the University of Yaounde II.

“These narratives are sometimes amplified by anonymous accounts or local influencers,” Wame added.

The official line, which Biya has taken to social media to repeat, is that ethnic discrimination must be fought.

But, although Cameroon has had a law against hate speech and tribalist rhetoric on the books since 2019, its enforcement has only ever been hesitant, while perpetrators never face prosecution in the courts.

As Cameroonians prepare to head to the polls, the nation’s economic difficulties will have hit many voters in the wallet.

Many are unemployed, including nearly three-quarters of the country’s young people, according to Gabriel Fandja, who heads the National Assembly’s education commission.

Inflation, which according to official statistics hit five percent in 2024, has eaten away at their purchasing power.

Access to safe drinking water, healthcare and decent education remains out of reach for many.

Those tensions have worried Cameroon’s households and the country’s international financial partners alike.

Whether on social networks or during televised debates, ordinary Cameroonians have raised their voices to criticise the cost of living and the lack of basic services.

Increasingly vented in the open, the frustrations reflect a profound social malaise in the run-up to the presidential ballot.

Culled from AFP

The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party has expressed concern about growing threats of violence and uprising ahead of the presidential election in the Central African country.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Jean Nkuete, secretary-general of the Central Committee of the CPDM, said there are increasing calls from some political leaders “for the preparation of a sacrificial and murderous insurrection” as the country prepares to hold the election in October.

“The CPDM remains attentive and vigilant … and denounces with the utmost energy these behaviors and speeches of intimidation and incitement to hatred and violence,” Nkuete said.

He called for restraint, urging party members and peace-loving Cameroonians to shun violence and remain patriotic.

According to the country’s electoral calendar, presidential candidates will begin to deposit their files for scrutiny next month.

Source: Xinhuanet

Tempers flared Sunday in the city of Douala, as activists and supporters of Maurice Kamto’s MRC party fought to access their headquarters blocked off by security forces.

Since Saturday, parts of the city and the airport had been off-limits to motorcycle taxi drivers, as authorities anticipated Maurice Kamto’s arrival in Douala, where he was due to hold a meeting at his party’s regional headquarters.

“They say Professor Maurice Kamto is arriving. I don’t understand why the CPDM needs to advertise it. Is it the government’s or the army’s role to promote Maurice Kamto?,” asked Kouati Robert, a supporter of Kamto.

On Sunday, the MRC leader posted a video stating he was being held at his residence and prevented by police from reaching his party headquarters.

Cameroon is due to hold a presidential election in October and tensions are high. President Paul Biya’s party has held power since 1960.

Kamto officially garnered 14 percent of the votes in the disputed 2018 presidential election.

Biya who is Africa’s second-longest serving leader is expected to seek his eighth presidential term in the October elections. The months leading up to the election have also been marked by an increase in arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and a ban on demonstrations.

Source: Africa News

The CPDM Central Committee’s anticipated decision to announce Biya as its candidate for the October presidential election is like spitting on 7000 graves in Southern Cameroons, our senior political man Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai has said.

Soter Agbaw-Ebai told a German radio host during his recent trip to Mulheim in the Nordrhein Westphalia region of Germany that any decision by the ruling CPDM party allowing the 92-year old Biya to seek another term is making a mockery of the more than 7000 Southern Cameroonians that troops from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) have killed in Anglophone Cameroon since 2016.”

Mr Soter Agbaw-Ebai stated that “it will be a complete mockery and it will be like spitting on 7000 graves, extending Biya’s mandate.”

Soter Agbaw-Ebai (53) was a teenager in 1982 when President Paul Biya took over from the late Ahmadou Ahidjo.

“Biya has been a political disaster that has been around since November 6, 1982” he noted.

“As a victim of bad governance imposed on Cameroonians by the failed regime, I believe that it is time for a young soldier to kick Biya and his corrupt gang out,” Mr Agbaw-Ebai said.

“The fact that elections are in October and Biya has still not come out to say he will be running speaks volumes in relation to his bill of heath” Agbaw-Ebai furthered.

The genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons has had a terrible and enduring effect on the entire English speaking community, Mr Agbaw-Ebai noted.

“Prime Minister Dion Ngute’s recent visit to the South West was simply trying to whitewash and romanticize the difficult situation for the younger generation who should be more than ready this time around to chase Biya and his men out of the so-called Unity Palace” Agbaw-Ebai concluded.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Elections Cameroon (Elecam) rejected calls from the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC) and the United Party for Social Renovation (PURS) to hand over election management to an outside group. Elecam signed a CFA3 billion technical assistance deal with the United Nations but insisted it will keep full control.

Enow Abrams Egbe, Chairman of Elecam’s Electoral Council, said, “It is important to specify that in Cameroon, electoral operations are entirely financed by the public treasury.”

The agreement, signed on May 9 in Yaoundé, aims to tap into the UN’s “proven electoral expertise.” It follows a recent African Union mission in Yaoundé from May 12 to 17 to explore electoral cooperation. Egbe explained that the UN assistance will involve six agencies, including UNDP, UN Women, and UNESCO. The support covers the 2025-2027 electoral cycle, which includes the presidential election, regional council elections, and the legislative and municipal polls.

The MRC and PURS sharply criticized the deal. On May 14, Maurice Kamto’s MRC called the initiative risky and warned of a repeat of the 2010 post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire. The party said, “Africans in general, and Cameroonians in particular, still remember the UN’s regrettable interference in the electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire in December 2010, which helped to accelerate one of the worst post-electoral crisis in Africa in the 21st century, resulting in thousands of deaths and the desolation of many Ivorian families.”

The MRC also condemned the secrecy around the agreement, noting, “several days after the signing, neither Elecam nor UN officials deemed it necessary to officially communicate on this event.” The party called the timing “unseemly,” especially as the presidential election campaign period approaches.

PURS, led by Serge Espoir Matomba, echoed the criticism. In a May 16 statement, the party “vigorously denounces the interference of the United Nations in Cameroon’s electoral process.” PURS warned that the move threatens national sovereignty. The party asked, “Why is the United Nations, which has never resolved an electoral crisis, intervening here and now?” It added, “How can we understand that in the 21st century, a sovereign country still accepts such foreign tutelage?” PURS called for “a Cameroonian electoral system that responds to the interests and respects the will of the Cameroonian people.”

Despite the backlash, Egbe stood firm. He signed the agreement alongside Issa Sanogo, the UN resident coordinator in Cameroon. Egbe urged Elecam’s mixed commission members to “become more involved in the implementation of the 2025-2027 electoral cycle.”

Source: Business in Cameroon