The supposed winner of the October 7 presidential poll, Prof. Maurice Kamto, on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, made an impassioned appeal to members of the Constitutional Council for justice to be done in a hearing on post-electoral fraud in Cameroon.

Prof. Kamto, who had already declared himself the winner of the poll, said it was time for members of the Constitutional Council to understand that Cameroon needed to move away from the neo-colonial straight jacket that had been worn on the country for more than five decades.

The learned professor of law who spoke in the afternoon session of the hearing pointed out that Cameroon needed to change and he was prepared to be the flagbearer of that change given that the people had chosen him to lead the process in a poll that was marred by fraud and irregularities just to meet the needs of the incumbent.

He underscored that taking the right decision to grant the people’s wish would be the surest way to deliver the country’s youth from the damnation and hardship imposed on it by the regime of the out-going president, Paul Biya.

Prof. Kamto also pointed out the danger in not listening to the wishes of the people. He stressed that he would defend the mandate granted to him by the people and that the struggle would continue regardless of the outcome of the hearing.

He said he had been accused of arrogance and tribalism just to make him look bad. He charged that the whole notion of tribalism in the country was a government fabrication, adding that he would be the leader of all Cameroonians and would fight for the common man regardless of the person’s tribe.

He reiterated his commitment to solving the Southern Cameroons crisis, adding that a sincere and an inclusive dialogue would be the surest way to get the country out of the pretty mess in which it found itself.

He expressed surprise at the indifference displayed by the out-going president regarding the crisis in the two English-speaking regions of the country, adding that for Cameroon to be one and indivisible, a new and innovative approach to problem-solving needed to be adopted.  

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Prof. Kamto’s team had produced more evidence to convince the Biya appointed Constitutional Council to understand that a decision other than the one that confirms the people’s choice might plunge the country into a spiral of violence and destruction.

The Kamto team, consisting of the country’s finest lawyers, proved that the country’s laws had been designed to favor a particular presidential candidate, as all their complaints before and during the presidential election had been clearly ignored by ELECAM, the country’s election-organizing body.

But the icing on the cake came when Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla spoke to the Constitutional Council, urging its members to listen to the people’s wishes and aspirations, as there could be consequences that might come with lots of regrets.

He called on the Constitutional Council to understand that when the people do not get listened to, there will always be adverse consequences. He recalled that since the government failed to listen to Southern Cameroonians lawyers and teachers in October 2016, the country has been going through a tough time and that the fear of a separation was real.

He underscored the point that no law or ordinance could be mightier than the will of the people. He recognized the capabilities of the members of the constitutional Council, urging them to prove that the country was bigger than any individual.

He pointed out that many leaders would come and go, but Cameroon will always be around and it will be prudent and wise for the Constitutional Council to take a decision that would give members of that august body an enviable place in the country’s history.

Another brilliant barrister who distinguished himself as a legal force to reckon was Barrister Ikome Mbella of the Southwest region who drew the Constitutional Council’s attention to the tragedy unfolding in the two English-speaking regions.  He advised Constitutional Council members to do justice to the people of Cameroon to prevent the country from being caught in the throes of chaos that might destroy and interrupt lives.

Other lawyers weighed in on the matter, urging the Constitutional Council member to do the right thing. Some advised them to understand that though they had been appointed by the country’s President, Paul Biya, they still had the right and obligation to exercise their right to apply the law as expected by the people of Cameroon.

It should be recalled that the Constitutional Council had been created by Mr. Biya and all its members are supporters of the ruling CPDM. The wife of the president of the Constitutional Council, Clement Atangana, is a CPDM parliamentarian, the wife of Mr. Fouman Akame is also a CPDM parliamentarian, and Professor Joseph Marie Bipoum Woum was a minister under President Paul Biya and chairman of the board of directors of several state-owned corporations.

For her part, Justice Florence Arrey, another member of the Constitutional Council, is the recognized long-term girlfriend of the country’s current justice minister, Laurent Esso, and the two have a couple of children from a relationship that has lasted decades. Laurent Esso, it should be underscored is President Paul Biya’s closest collaborators and he played a significant role in the establishment of the Constitutional Council and the appointment of its members.

This therefore compels many Cameroonians to think that the hearing at the Constitutional Council is indeed an exercise in futility as all members of the Constitutional Council are related to the ruling part and have all been compromised.

Prof. Kamto’s impassioned address might fall on deaf ears, but its impact will linger for a long time. The outcome of the hearing may already be known, but the people’s reaction is what is keeping the government awake all night, especially as the learned professor keeps on underscoring that he would defend the mandate conferred on him by the people of Cameroon at all cost.

By Kingsley Betek and Sama Ernest in Yaounde

Cameroon is moving slowly but surely into the abyss of civil war with troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime attacking leaders and militants of the opposition over the October 7 controversial presidential election.

The Sub Saharan nation is already in a civil war situation, according to the leader of the MRC party, Prof Maurice Kamto who reportedly won the disputed polls. The Kamto Campaign observed that more than 4000 Southern Cameroonians have been killed and approximately 2,000 wounded by gunfire since the crisis in the English speaking regions started three years ago.

With the political crisis apparently set to deepen following a Constitutional Council decision to throw out Kamto Campaign’s application for recusal, the US government recently sounded a note of caution to the 35 year old Biya regime, urging the electoral commission to respect the will of the Cameroonian people. The United States called upon Cameroon election body to urgently release election results to avoid suspicion of cooking the outcome.

Cameroon held elections on the of 7th October, but up until 17^th of October, the Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) was yet to finalise announcement of election outcome raising great suspicion President Paul Biya’s governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) were working with the election body to cook the election results.

The 85 year old dictator came to power in 1982 and is defying pressure to step down. Members of his ruling tribal political structure have warned Prof Maurice Kamto the internationally recognised election winner, and his supporters to leave the nation’s capital Yaounde.

The regime in Yaounde has placed Kamto in some form of house arrest and the man widely believed to have won the October 7 polls was recently prevented from holding a press conference and many members of his campaign have been arrested on widely discredited claims that he declared himself winner.

The UN secretary general, Antonio Gutteres has been maintaining a kind of deliberate silence on the happenings in Cameroon.  With the genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons, there are fears that any attack on citizens from the Bamilekes extraction who are massively behind Kamto could provoke widespread violence that could reignite civil war.

Cameroon government spies are currently standing outside Prof. Kamto’s residence and at his political headquarters disguised as news reporters or motorcycle taxi drivers. The Biya spies have been following everyone in the Kamto coalition in Douala, Yaounde and Bafoussam.

There are widespread complaints of police disrupting or shutting down meetings involving the Maurice Kamto Campaign. Recently, Senior Divisional Officers have started demanding that press conferences and political meetings should be banned. The UN was yet to comment on the disputed vote. By some strange happenstance,

World leaders have also turned a blind eye on the atrocities being committed by Francophone soldiers loyal to the regime in Yaoundé.  The UN representatives and the International Crisis Group in the Sub Saharan region have voiced alarm that hundreds of Southern Cameroonians have been rounded up, with some being held incommunicado and facing the risk of torture. The UN has also been denied access to the Southern Cameroons territory.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The United States has called upon Cameroon election body to urgently release election results to avoid suspicion of cooking the outcome.

The US argues for Cameroon’s elections to be free, fair and credible, the central African country should immediately announce all outstanding results.

Cameroon held elections on 7th October, but up until 16th October, the Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) was yet to finalise announcement of election outcome raising great suspicion President Paul Biya’s governing Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) were nicodemously working with the election body to cook the election results.

Already opposition leader Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement argued he won the polls before challenging the incumbent to hand over power to him.

“I call on President Paul Biya to ensure a peaceful transition and avoid situations that may be ugly for Cameroon,” Kamto said

On Monday, the US said it would continue playing a neutral role but urged the Cameroon election body to release the election results.

“We encourage Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) and the Constitutional Council to release results polling site by polling site to enhance transparency and citizens’ confidence in the outcome. Any disputes should be resolved peacefully and through established legal channels. The United States remains a committed partner on electoral, political, economic, and human rights reforms in Cameroon,” said the US.

The US also called for calm and peace in the country as it waits election body to exercise non-partisans conclusion of the remaining phases of the vote tabulation process.

“We appeal to all Cameroonians to exercise patience and avoid hate speech,” the US said.

Source:  CAJ News

Cameroon’s Constitutional Council that started hearing applications from opposition parties on election malpractice and irregularities today has rejected Professor Kamto’s request for recusal of Constitutional Council members on the basis that he did not have the capacity to raise the incompatibility of the members of the Constitutional Council. It was however said he could challenge the incompatibility of the person who appointed Council members and the person in question is President Paul Biya who himself was also a candidate in the October 7 presidential poll.

Knowing well that the outcome of the application could not be otherwise, Maurice Kamto felt it was necessary for him to follow the legal procedure as the best way to expose the Biya regime to the international community as being the judge and jury in a case on the country’s future and stability depend.

The debates are continuing, but what happened today during the hearing was just a foretaste of what will be playing out in the days ahead. In opening statements by Prof. Kamto’s legal team, the various lawyers called on the chair of the constitutional council to exercise justice, reminding him that the future of the country depended on whatever decision the Constitutional Council would take.

First to fire was Barrister Yondo Black who pointed out that all the members of the constitutional council were also members of the ruling party whose role in the just-ended election had been called to question. He added that the person who appointed them was himself a candidate in the election and it would be challenging to accept that the Constitutional council would be impartial in a case in which members of the constitutional council stood to gain.

For his part, Barrister Akere Muna added that Cameroon had never known a smooth transition as the country switched from a single party state to a single party democracy wherein the ruling party was in control of everything. He urged the President of the Constitutional Council to exercise sound judgement in taking a decision that could make or mar the peace of the country.

Other lawyers also pointed out the inconsistencies and the conflict of interest that would make it hard for the Constitutional Council members to be impartial. It should be recalled that the wife of the president of the constitutional council is a ruling party parliamentarian and the president of the constitutional council is still working as a lawyer and defending state interest with the latest situation taking place on September 30, 2018.

They also pointed out that various members of the constitutional council were either members of the central committee of the ruling party or had been appointed to serve as chairmen of the boards of directors of various state-owned corporation; a situation that made it hard for them to be impartial in addressing the post-electoral conflict in Cameroon.

With the application for recusal rejected, the debates on the various electoral irregularities will therefore continue and Cameroonians are looking forward to justice although many argue the outcome of the hearing is already known. With a Constitutional Council set up by Mr. Biya and comprising mainly members of his party, it is clear that many of the complaint on electoral fraud will be thrown out to give the incumbent another 7-year term.

Meanwhile, as the political crisis in Yaounde continues, the country has continued with its descent to chaos. In the English-speaking region of the country, the killings have continued and soldiers loyal to Mr. Biya are continuing with their rampage. They have shooting carelessly in major cities in the region and this has led to the death of many young men.

Cameroon’s downward spiral seems to be unstoppable. As the political situation continues to decline due to the presidential election, some people are secretly amassing weapons in preparation for a battle that might plunge the entire sub-region into chaos.

A cache of weapons was found yesterday on a bus heading to Foumban from Yaoundé. The bus company is known as “Super Confort” in French but, yesterday, the bus’ contents were something that could not provide any comfort to the country’s military.

It is interesting to know that arms are instead coming from the nation’s capital to the west. All the passengers on the bus had been detained at the Foumban police station yesterday, pending an investigation. All passengers on board had denied ownership or knowledge of the origin of the arms and this was indeed a cause for concern to the police who have been victims of firearms in Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon is currently awash with weapons ever since the government declared war on the English-speaking minority.  Presently there is a lot of killing going on in Southern Cameroons, especially by a Beti Mafia unleashed by the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, who is the architect of the military violence.

The violence was stepped up two weeks prior to the presidential election that is causing more tension in the country. The country’s presidential election is splitting the Francophone majority, with the Betis holding that power belongs to them and that it will be an aberration for Bamilekes to take over from the incumbent, Paul Biya, a native Beti himself.

From results obtained by Cameroon Concord News Group, it is clear that Prof. Kamto has won the election and since declaring himself president, the government has been arresting his party members and stationing troops around his house.

Prof. Kamto has promised that he would defend the mandate the people have conferred on him and that he would stop at nothing to ensure that the people’s wish is respected.

A view reiterated yesterday by his campaign director, Paul Eric Kingue, during a live broadcast on Facebook. He challenged the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, advising him that no intimidation would stop the people from realizing their objective.

It should be recalled that the country’s presidential poll has been marred by many irregularities and some opposition parties have already taken up the matter with the appropriate authorities while other parties have simply called for a cancellation of the poll.

The results of the poll will be made public on October 22, and opposition parties are calling on their supporters to pour onto the streets if the Constitutional Council hands the victory to Mr. Biya who did not even campaign due to age and illness.

Mr. Biya has been in power for 36 years and has nothing to show for his time in power. The country is bereft of roads and its hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics. The country has no reliable infrastructure and roads accidents in the country are amongst the highest in the world.

Unemployment has reached alarming rates and many Cameroonians are looking outwards for opportunities.  If Mr. Biya wins, he will be ruling the country for another seven years and this implies the conflict in the two English-speaking regions will continue as he is in no mood to dialogue with the separatists.

Over the last years, the world has been calling for an inclusive dialogue but all the calls have fallen on deaf ears. Some 4,000 Cameroonians have lost their lives, including over 1,000 army soldiers as a result of the conflict, while more than a million people have been displaced both internally and externally. About half a million English-speaking Cameroonians are currently seeking refuge in Nigeria.

For those internally displaced, they are mostly in East Cameroon, but with the tension  rising in East Cameroon following the presidential poll, most of those who sought refuge in major East Cameroonians cities are already heading back home to avoid any confrontation that might occur after October 22.

Cameroon is on the brink. The world might be ignoring a situation that could complicate things on the continent. With Boko Haram still an active threat in the North and Southern Cameroons separatists giving the government a run for its money, it is clear that the country might implode if the political crisis borne out of the October 7 poll is not addressed very fast.

By Kingsley Betek, Sama Ernest and Rita Akana in Yaounde 

A cache of weapons has been caught in Foumban on a bus coming from Yaoundé. The bus company is known as Super Confort in French but, yesterday, the bus’ contents were something that could not provide any comfort to the country’s military.

It is interesting to know that arms are instead coming from the nation’s capital to the west. All the passengers on the bus are currently being held in the Foumban police station, pending an investigation, as all passengers have denied ownership or knowledge of the origin of the arms.

Cameroon is currently awash with weapons ever since the government declared war on the English-speaking minority.  Presently there is a lot of killing going on in Southern Cameroons, especially by a Beti Mafia unleashed by the defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, who is the architect of the military violence.

The violence was stepped up two weeks prior to the presidential election that is causing more tension in the country. The country’s presidential election is splitting the Francophone majority, with the Betis holding that power belongs to them and that it will be an aberration for Bamilekes to take over from the incumbent, Paul Biya, a native Beti himself.

From results obtained by Cameroon Concord News Group, it is clear that Prof. Kamto has won the election and since declaring himself president, the government has been arresting his party members and stationing troops around his house.

Prof. Kamto has promised that he would defend the mandate the people have conferred on him and that he would stop at nothing to ensure that the people’s wish is respected.

A view reiterated yesterday by his campaign director, Paul Eric Kingue, during a live broadcast on Facebook. He challenged the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, advising him that no intimidation would stop the people from realizing their objective.

It should be recalled that the country’s presidential poll has been marred by many irregularities and some opposition parties have already taken up the matter with the appropriate authorities while other parties have simply called for a cancellation of the poll.

The results of the poll will be made public on October 22, and opposition parties are calling on their supporters to pour onto the streets if the Constitutional Council hands the victory to Mr. Biya who did not even campaign due to age and illness.

Mr. Biya has been in power for 36 years and has nothing to show for his time in power. The country is bereft of roads and its hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics. The country has no reliable infrastructure and roads accidents in the country are amongst the highest in the world.

Unemployment has reached alarming rates and many Cameroonians are looking outwards for opportunities.  If Mr. Biya wins, he will be ruling the country for another seven years and this implies the conflict in the two English-speaking regions will continue as he is in no mood to dialogue with the separatists.

Over the last years, the world has been calling for an inclusive dialogue but all the calls have fallen on deaf ears. Some 4,000 Cameroonians have lost their lives as a result of the conflict, while more than a million have been displaced both internally and externally. Some half a million English-speaking Cameroonians are currently seeking refuge in Nigeria.

For those internally displaced, they are mostly in East Cameroon, but with the tension  rising in East Cameroon following the presidential poll, most of those who sought refuge are already heading back home to avoid any confrontation that might occur after October 22.

By Kingskey Betek