20, February 2024
Biya sacks his new Spy Chief Jean-Pierre Robins Ghoumo 0
91-year-old President Biya has sacked the Director General of External Research, Jean-Pierre Robins Ghoumo barely two months after he took over from Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.
The reason for sacking Ghoumo remains unclear but the external intelligence agency has struggled to steady itself following the arrest of former director Léopold Maxime Eko Eko.
Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from reliable sources in Yaoundé that Ghoumo is widely believed to be loyal to Eko Eko and not Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh who is currently running state affairs in Yaoundé. A well-placed source hinted that Ghoumo’s dismissal points to possible failure to execute his assignments satisfactorily.
Jean-Pierre Robins Ghoumo was appointed director of Cameroon’s intelligence service in December, but was told by Biya’s top aides that he will never be granted access to the files of his predecessor, Léopold Maxime Eko Eko, currently in jail.
By Rita Akana in Yaoundé
28, February 2024
Yaoundé: opposition hopes for a renaissance 0
The opposition in Cameroon has had a worrying trajectory since it was legalised in 1990.
Things looked positive at first. Vibrant parties emerged, such as the Social Democratic Front (SDF), led by the charismatic Ni John Fru Ndi. It won more than half of the seats in the National Assembly.
While President Paul Biya secured re-election, he beat Ndi by only 4%, and everything changed. Understanding how close he was to defeat, Biya clamped down. Repression became more intense, and restrictive measures such as bans on meetings and demonstrations were introduced.
Worse, Biya’s efforts to divide and rule the opposition by sponsoring some groups and co-opting others has led to damaging fragmentation. Today there are more than 300 opposition parties; none can compete with Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.
But Biya is not the only problem. A lack of common vision, underpinned by ethnic divisions, has prevented the emergence of a more coherent challenge to the ruling party’s hegemony. The SDF has also struggled to replace Ndi, and has suffered from the conflict in the English-speaking regions of the country, which has made it difficult to campaign in its stronghold.
Taken together, these challenges explain why the opposition holds only 28 out of 180 seats in the National Assembly and has no senators at all. Even the decision of Maurice Kamto to form the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) in 2012 failed to deliver political change.
Despite considerable fanfare, Kamto was controversially given only 14% of the vote in the 2018 presidential election.
Even in the darkest moments, however, there is hope. Having boycotted legislative and municipal elections in 2020, the MRC will take part in the 2025 polls.
Opposition parties have also started to draw together to promote a mass voter registration drive and form a coalition around the Alliance for Change. Biya remains in control, but opposition supporters can now dream of a renaissance.
Culled from the Mail & Guardian