Cameroon President’s rival is freed from police stakeout

Police in Cameroon have ended a two-day stakeout at the home of Maurice Kamto, a former law professor and the main opposition leader, according to the BBC on June 9th. 

The stakeout followed a political rally held by Kamto in France, where he made comments about the incumbent Cameroon President Paul Biya that prompted reactions from ruling party officials. Kamto promised to protect Biya and his family if he wins the presidential election in October.

“When you do me the great of honour of entrusting me with the reins, you can be sure that nothing will happen to Mr Biya and his family. Nothing. I guarantee it, I have no time for hatred. I [only] have time to build Cameroon with you,” he told Cameroonians living in Paris on May 31st.

This raised the question of why protection would be needed for the President. The Labour Minister Grégoire Owona asked in a Facebook post “what protection do they need? Which family are we talking about?,” adding, “Cameroon is not in danger.”

Upon his return to Cameroon, officers prevented Kamto from leaving his building in Douala to meet with his party members (the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM) on June 8th. He also called off plans to meet with them on June 9th.

Police and military officers also restricted access to the CRM party building in Douala that Kamto was planning on meeting members at on June 8th, with the justification that the meeting was unauthorised. Kamto has argued that the local authorities were in fact aware of the planned meeting ahead of time.

According to the BBC, police officers were instructed to watch the neighbourhood that Kamto was staying in, and that the media was not allowed to film. However, footage taken on the evening of June 8th shows Kamto talking to supporters who have gathered at the scene in Douala “as I speak, I’m still sequestered,” and he requests for his supporters to “go home in calm and dignity.”

Further reason for police interest in Kamto and his actions is that the opposition leader plans to contest October’s presidential election results if the incumbent Paul Biya wins. Biya has been in power in Cameroon for 42 years, and is now 92 years old- in 2024 the country banned reports on Biya’s health following false reports that he had died.

It is not uncommon in African nations for political leaders to ignore constitutional limits to stay in power for as long as possible, decades in some cases. The current president of Equatorial Guinea has been in power for 45 years, and the president of the Congo 27 years, for example. 

The last presidential election in Cameroon was in 2018, also contested by Kamto. He spent nine months in detention after authorities accused him of insurrection following his supporters protesting that the election had been rigged in favour of incumbent President Biya, which Biya’s government denies.

Cameroon law requires that if a political party’s leader wants to run for president, the party must have elected representatives in place. Kamto’s eligibility as a presidential candidate is being questioned, as during the 2018 election the CRM party had one senator but this year has none.

Kamto insists that there is “no legal obstacle” stopping his presidential bid. A representative from the CRM paty has told a French news agency that there was “a political manoeuvre by the regime to try to block the candidate they fear because he embodies real change.”

Another route to the presidency for Kamto would be to run as an independent candidate, although he would need 300 signatures from designated personalities in Cameroon.

Key issues surrounding the upcoming election include the government’s crackdown on dissent, which has been condemned by rights groups. There is also a deadly separatist insurgency in the country, with at least 6,000 people killed since it began and hundreds of thousands forced out of their homes. Separatist rebels are demanding independence for the two English-speaking provinces in Cameroon.

BBC/Maghrebi