Ahead of contentious presidential elections set for Oct. 12, many young Catholic voters in Cameroon say they’re seeking “generational change,” widely understood as a call to end the 43-year reign of 92-year-old President Paul Biya.

“It defies logic for someone of such advanced age to lead a predominantly young population,” said Omar Yusinyu, a member of the Catholic Men Association at St. Anne’s Parish in Obili, encapsulating a core sentiment driving the youthful dissent.

“In a normal society, aged people give way to young ones, especially their children, to manage most of their businesses,” he told Crux.

Biya is seeking an unprecedented 8th term in office. Should he prevail, he would be almost 100 years old by the time his term ended.

Biya recently left the country for what his office has termed a private visit to Europe. The trip comes a week after his daughter, Brenda, urged Cameroonians not to vote for her father, accusing him of causing enormous suffering for the country’s people. She has, however, since walked back on that statement.

Biya faces competition from 11 other candidates, including two former ministers who resigned to challenge their long-serving boss.

Catholic youth interviewed by Crux are increasingly vocal in their opposition to extending the tenure of the world’s oldest leader and Africa’s second-longest-serving president, after Equatorial Guinea’s Obiang Nguema.

Yusinyu said he has not yet made up his mind on who to vote for, but Biya isn’t among those he’s considering.

“Biya seeking another 7-year term is an insult to the youth,” he said.

“It’s sometimes shameful to see a young man in Cameroon claiming that a 92-year-old man is the best Cameroonians can have. For more than 40 years in power, there is no single achievement that his government can boast of. This is a man who took Cameroon from somewhere and has brought the country to its knees,” he said.

But it is not only the President’s age that has become a major turn-off for youth. Decades of poor governance are also driving Catholic youth to seek alternative leadership.

“The country is not well-governed, and it is so because of the current president,” said Divine Kwansu.

Yusinyu starkly states that after more than 40 years in power, “there is no single achievement that his government can boast of.”

Many young Cameroonians believe the nation has been brought “to its knees” by leadership which, according to Divine, has increasingly been ruling by proxy, with decisions made on the president’s behalf that have not benefited citizens. This growing frustration among youth reflects a broader desire for accountability and effective governance that has been absent for decades.

While youth have not identified the candidate they want to vote for, Yusinyu said he is cautiously considering Biya’s former minister who resigned earlier this year to challenge the incumbent for the top job, Issa Tchiroma.

Tchiroma had served as Biya’s minister for about 20 years, but Yusinyu believes that of the 11 candidates challenging the incumbent, Tchiroma remains “the lesser evil.”

“It’s clear that Issa Tchiroma Bakary seems to be the lesser evil that people should go in for. He has made some interesting steps since his candidacy was [approved] by the elections management body. If he stands the promises he’s made, there could be some significant change,” he told Crux.

Yusinyu explained that despite Tchiroma’s 20-year history with the same regime he now opposes, his calls for opposition unity and apologies for past actions as Minister of Communication are attributes of leadership that should guide the electorate.

“Giving him a chance, even if just because Cameroonians are tired of hearing the name Biya for over four decades, will be good for me,” Yusinyu said, reflecting a pragmatic approach rooted more in desire for change than absolute confidence in the opposition candidate.

The emerging political consciousness represents a significant challenge to the established order, as young Cameroonians demand the opportunity to shape their nation’s future beyond the shadow of a presidency that has spanned most of their lives.

Catholic bishops in the Central African nation have been calling on the electorate to actively take part in the presidential polls.

In a September 26 pastoral letter, the Bishop of Bafoussam in Cameroon’s West region urged Christians not only to vote, but also to “defend” their vote.

Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province in August described voting as “an act of grave moral responsibility” and called upon the electorate to be guided by principles of truth, justice, and the common good.

“Elections represent significant moments that engage the attention of all citizens, while at the same time, an occasion for the people to assert their sovereignty through the free and deliberate choice of their leaders,” the bishops said.

“The exercise of the right to vote is an act of grave moral responsibility,” they added, before urging “all duly registered voters to exercise their civic responsibility during the presidential election by voting in accordance with the dictate of their conscience.”

Source: Crux

Cameroon’s churches and mosques are intensifying efforts to promote calm and civic responsibility as the country prepares for its 12th October presidential election, amid fears that rising tensions could trigger violence.

The Central African nation has been rattled by years of unrest, including a separatist insurgency in its English-speaking regions and widespread allegations of corruption. Economic hardship and deepening mistrust in state institutions have heightened anxiety ahead of the polls, with analysts warning that online hate speech and political rivalries could inflame unrest before or after results are announced.

Catholic bishops have been among the most vocal religious voices calling for peace. In August, Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo of the Diocese of Yagoua ordered all parishes to ring bells daily at 12:30pm for the Angelus prayer, calling on the faithful to pray for stability.

“As pastor of this diocese, I ordain that all the faithful recite the Angelus together each day to ask God for peace and entrust the elections to the Virgin Mary,” Hourgo said, adding that peace “is a gift from God but also the fruit of our daily commitment.”

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala used his pastoral letter to denounce what he called “anti-Gospel acts,” including corruption and bad governance, which he said are fueling public discontent.

“Our country is thirsty for social justice expressed through respect for human rights,” he said. “Every Cameroonian must resolve to do his or her bit in the fight against the many ills that are destroying the country.”

During Bafoussam’s annual Peace Pilgrimage, Bishop Paul Lontsié-Keuné reminded Christians that their prayers must translate into action. “If we are sincere and really Christians, our prayer for peace must inspire our action – and our action must also be prayer,” he said.

The Council of Protestant Churches of Cameroon (CEPCA) has pledged to mobilise congregations against hate speech and promote peaceful participation in the vote. In late August, a 15-member delegation led by Rev Hamadina Salomon met with Minister of State Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh at the Unity Palace. Ngoh Ngoh, representing President Paul Biya, praised the initiative and urged clergy to act as “apostles of peace” and “guardians of stability.”

Muslim leaders have also organised a national “peace and stability” conference and collective prayers for unity, encouraging worshippers to see peaceful participation in the election as a religious duty.

Pastor Emmanuel Ngang, a traveling preacher in Cameroon’s western region, has been holding services in both city churches and rural chapels to spread a simple message: unity is stronger than division.

Ngang said he keeps his message brief and practical so congregants can take it to heart. “I remind people that peace starts with each of us,” he said. “We must speak carefully, vote honestly and keep the country together.”

His visits often include meetings with youth groups, where he encourages young people to avoid spreading inflammatory posts online.

“Many of them fear what will happen if things turn violent,” he said. “I tell them fear can paralyse us, but faith can guide us.”

Observers say that religious leaders play an outsized role in Cameroon’s public life, often serving as moral voices in a country where political trust is low. But they also walk a fine line: some critics argue that their close contact with government officials risks undermining their independence.

Still, analysts agree that their combined influence could help shape the tone of the electoral period. Faith leaders say they are not endorsing candidates but trying to keep the peace.

“My task is not to tell people who to vote for,” Ngang said after a recent service. “It is to remind them that Cameroon will still be here the day after the election – and we will still need to live together.”

Source: sightmagazine

Days after suspected separatist fighters killed nine Cameroonian soldiers in the South West region, Bishop Michael Bibi of Buea condemned the relentless bloodshed plaguing Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

On Friday, the separatist group Fako Unity Warriors claimed responsibility for an explosive device near Malende that killed the soldiers. This attack underscores the elusive nature of peace in the Anglophone regions — a reality deeply troubling to the bishop.

“War is not something to be encouraged,” the cleric told Christians during a Sunday teaching. “God did not create us to fight each other and to kill each other,” Bibi said.

“Human life is sacred because it has its source and origin in God. When it comes into existence, it continues to have a relationship with God,” Bibi said referencing the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

“Only God, who gives human life, has the right to take it away,” the bishop emphasized.

“Those who fight and take life must know this is wrong. That is why the Church calls us to be advocates of justice and peace, ensuring our communities are free from fighting and killing,” he said.

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions have been embroiled in conflict since 2016. What began as peaceful protests by teachers and lawyers against perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government descended into a brutal separatist war following a harsh government crackdown.

This conflict, however, is deeply rooted in Cameroon’s colonial past. Once a German colony, the territory was divided between Britain and France after Germany’s defeat in World War I. The two powers administered their respective regions — first as League of Nations Mandates and later as United Nations Trust Territories — until independence. In 1961, a UN-supervised plebiscite led to the reunification of the two Cameroons under a federal system. This federation, however, was short-lived. In 1972, it was abolished in favor of a unitary state, concentrating power in the Francophone-dominated central government.

For Anglophone Cameroonians, this dissolution marked the beginning of systemic marginalization. The grievances that fueled the 2016 protests were not spontaneous; they were the culmination of decades of pent-up frustration over the erosion of their political autonomy, cultural identity, and economic opportunities.

The human cost of the war that has been going on now for nearly nine years is staggering. Beyond the recent soldier casualties, the conflict has claimed at least 6,500 lives according to the International Crisis Group. About a million others have been forced to flee their homes to escape indiscriminate violence, burning villages, and widespread human rights abuses committed by both sides.

There are legitimate fears that more violence lies ahead as the school year begins, given separatists have long made a school boycott a cornerstone of the separatist struggle, and as the country heads to a presidential election in October.

Already, separatists have imposed lockdowns, saying they want to disrupt the new school year as well as the October presidential poll.

“Apart from the Monday lockdowns [for long, separatists had imposed lockdowns in the two regions every Monday], the ‘boys’ have said that beginning Monday September 8 when schools reopened for the 2025/2026 academic year, the two regions will be on a complete lockdown until the election in October,” taxi man and Catholic Christian, Ernest Shu Tegha told Crux.

“How do I survive for over a month if I cannot work,” he said.

Catholic bishops in the two regions have continued to plead with the separatists to allow kids back in school.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya told Crux that “it is unethical for Children to be used as a weapon of war.”

“We continue to plead that our children should be allowed to go back to school,” he said. Government officials have also been front and center in the effort to get kids back to school in the two regions.

“It is the right of every child to be educated; to have free, equitable and inclusive education,” said Dr. Asheri Kilo, the Secretary of State for Basic Education, in an interview of the Cameroon state broadcaster, CRTV.

“Why would anybody want to stop that,” she asked.

For some time, there had been an uneasy calm in both regions. In an exclusive interview on local Television channel, Equinox, Nkea said “a bit of social life has been returning to Bamenda.”

The archbishop said four years ago, the streets went quiet before 6 Pm every day. Today however, “you can see people drinking right up to ten PM. People are now free to organize funerals and weddings,” he said, but warned that such moments should not be confused with a return to peace.

“The situation is still very volatile,” Nkea said.

“I have made this distinction before. The fact that people are coming back, the fact that shops are opening more and more, the fact that people are beginning to celebrate funerals, more marriages openly and go right into the night does not explain the end of the crisis,” he explained.

“It is simply telling us that either people are getting used to the crisis or there is an uneasy detente. There’s an uneasy calm and we don’t know what can happen at any time. Let us not be deceived by social life returning to our communities and interpret that as the end of the crisis,” the archbishop added.

That warning is now materializing with the current lockdowns.

Source: Crux

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda in Cameroon’s North West region says priests serving in the war-ravaged English-speaking regions of Cameroon “are ready to die for the Gospel.”

Nkea was speaking to Crux on the sidelines of the 78th Ordinary Meeting of Bishops of the Bamenda Episcopal Conference that took place in Bamenda from Aug. 16-22.

The Archdiocese of Bamenda oversees the suffragan dioceses of Buea, Mamfe, Kumba, and Kumbo and covers the entire English-speaking regions of Cameroon, areas devastated by nearly nine years of ongoing conflict.

The conflict stems from the complex colonial legacy and post-independence political arrangements in the country.

Following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the German colony of Kamerun was partitioned under League of Nations mandates, with France administering the larger eastern section and Britain governing two smaller non-contiguous areas – Northern and Southern Cameroons – adjacent to Nigeria.

In 1961, a UN-sponsored plebiscite resulted in the reunification of the British Southern Cameroons with the former French territory to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

The federal structure was dismantled in 1972 following a controversial referendum in favor of a centralized unitary state dominated by a Francophone majority government.

This centralization led to decades of perceived marginalization among Anglophones, which make up roughly 20 percent of the population, who felt their distinct legal and educational systems based on British common law, cultural identity, and political participation were eroded.

Resentment festered over the systematic appointment of Francophones to key positions in Anglophone regions, the exploitation of their rich natural resources, and the perceived imposition of French language and practices in Anglo-Saxon schools and courts.

The pent-up frustrations erupted into large-scale protests in 2016 led by lawyers and teachers demanding reforms.

The government took a hardline, ultimately escalating the crisis into a violent armed conflict with separatist groups declaring independence for the self-proclaimed republic of “Ambazonia.”

The conflict has led to at least 6,500 deaths, according to the International Crisis Group. Nearly a million people have been forced to flee from their homes, with over 70,000 people seeking refuge in Nigeria.

The conflict has also made investments in infrastructure difficult, worsening an already dilapidated road network.

Nkea told Crux that amid the conflict and the social difficulties, Catholic priests and Bishops in the region have kept faith with their mission of spreading The Good News.

“Priests have given their lives for the faith. They are ready to die for the gospel, and therefore, where there is a Christian, there is a priest,” the archbishop told Crux.

“The priests are determined, and we have very heroic priests and nuns who are running hospitals, running health centers, schools and other social services,” he said.

The archbishop noted that while conflict and inaccessibility present real challenges, they are external to the core mission of the Church.

“Those two problems are not problems of evangelization. They are social problems, but they don’t touch our spreading the gospel,” he told Crux.

“Personally, when traveling to areas inaccessible by car, I park the vehicle and continue by bike. For places even bicycles cannot reach, we proceed on foot. We see videos and accounts of priests and bishops walking great distances to connect with their communities. I want to emphasize that these transportation challenges are social problems, not obstacles to evangelization itself,” the archbishop explained.

“Wherever there is a Christian, we make every effort to reach them,” he said, emphasizing the determination of the clerics and religious in the two regions to leave no believer “without spiritual support,” regardless of their location or the challenges involved in reaching them.

Youth education and economic empowerment

The bishops during their meeting also addressed what Nkea called the “desperate situation” of unemployed youth amid the socio-political turmoil, and said the Church was revolutionizing education access to ensure that no youth is left behind.

He said this is done not only by making sure that schools are open, but through the establishment of diocesan-wide Education Funds.

These funds, supported by benefactors and friends of the dioceses, specifically target underprivileged children who cannot afford school fees, as exemplified by the Archbishop’s Education Fund in Bamenda covering costs for students in places like Mbesa.

“If you go to St. Agnes School Mbesa, there is an archbishop’s batch there. And from the first year…and they are now in their fourth year, the archbishop pays a percentage of their school fees every year just to ensure that these children have the opportunity to go to school,” Nkea said.

Recognizing the limitations of purely general education, the bishops have also emphasized a strategic pivot towards technical and professional training. They are adding technical sections to existing colleges and developing vocational training centers across dioceses, aiming to equip those who dropped out due to the crisis or other reasons with practical skills for self-reliance and establishment in life.

The bishops toured the sprawling campus of the Catholic University of Cameroon (CATUC) in Bamenda, to assess its significant infrastructure modernization.

Nkea said it has been equipped with WiFi-connected classrooms, large digital screens enabling international lectures, like recent medical training from Dallas, and new facilities designed to ensure competitiveness and sustainability.

These upgrades, he said, are essential to accommodate rapid growth and position CATUC for the future in the digital age.

Justice and peace in an election year

The bishops during their meeting also prioritized the critical issue of justice and peace, acknowledging its significance, especially in a year in which some 8.2 million Cameroonians are expected to vote for a president.

Drawing inspiration from the National Episcopal Conference, they resolved to actively engage in the upcoming presidential and other elections.

“We are going to deploy election observers in all the polling stations in our ecclesiastical province to have a feel of what Cameroonians will go through in these elections and be able to make an evaluation after,” Nkea told Crux.

He urged Cameroonians to foster a sense of peace before, during and after the elections, noting that he has witnessed too much death and devastation in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and it won’t be a good thing that “our country witnesses such devastation again.”

Source: Crux

Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo of the Catholic Diocese of Yagoua in Cameroon has directed daily Prayer of Angelus and other forms of prayer for peace as the Central African nation approaches October presidential election.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Thursday, August 21, Bishop Hourgo invites all institutions in his Episcopal See, including Parishes and communities of women and men Religious to unite in prayer to be marked by bells scheduled to “ring each day at 12:30 p.m. sharp.”

“As the Pastor of this Diocese, concerned for peace, justice, and the unity of our nation, considering the gravity of the moment our country is experiencing as the presidential election… I decide and ordain that at the signal of the bell, all the faithful are required to recite the Angelus Prayer, in unity with the entire Diocesan Church,” he says.

The Cameroonian Catholic Bishop recalls that the mission of the Christian is to be a peacemaker and a witness of hope in the world and directs that the Angelus prayer be said at the end of each Eucharistic celebration.

The particular intention of the Angelus Prayer, he says, is “to implore from God the precious gift of true peace for our country and to entrust to the Virgin Mary, through her grace, the hope of a peaceful and just political alternation.”

Bishop Hourgo explains that the Angelus Prayer seeks to ask for the “Lord’s blessing so that our Nation remains stable before, during, and after the presidential election of October 12, 2025.”

“I recommend to Priests, men Religious, women Religious, and leaders of Christian communities to ensure the strict application of this decision and to raise awareness among all the faithful,” he says.

He appeals, “May each of us take to heart this spiritual endeavour, convinced that peace is a gift from God but also the fruit of our daily commitment.”

Catholic Bishops in Cameroon have been vocal in expressing their concerns for peace as the country heads for the presidential election.

Source: aciAfrica