Kamto, Akere Muna tackle gov’t over ban on PCRN congress.

The decision, which emerged November 23, through a decision of the Divisional Officer, DO, of Kribi II Subdivision, Bitanga Bebga Marie Suzanne, has left the political class perplexed.

In a comment on the development, international lawyer and anti-corruption icon, Barrister Akere Muna, said as a man of wig, he could not keep calm.

 “As a lawyer, I can't just keep quiet after reading about the canceled Congress of the PCRN political party. This is troubling. The local authority gave them permission to hold the convention, showing fairness and good faith. It is clear that someone has clearly influenced this ban,” the revered legal mind stated.

Ban against separation of powers

Going by Akere Muna, the ban on the PCRN congress has a more darker reading and sends across a message that there is no separation of powers in Cameroon. 

“The worst part is that it goes against the principle of separation of powers. The ban itself mentions that the matter is currently being dealt with in court. If anyone is unhappy with the current PCRN leader, they should follow proper procedures and seek a temporary suspension until a final judgment is made,” the international lawyer underscored.

Action biased, frustrating

Further reading into the twist, Akere Muna, declared that “this biased action by the administrative authority is not only frustrating but also crushes our hopes for the rule of law in our country. It's enough to make even the most foolish of believers lose faith!”.

Barrister Akere Muna:  Global lawyer, anti-corruption icon

Kamto says didn’t believe ban true

For another legal heavyweight and major political voice, Prof Maurice Kamto, of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, he didn’t believe news of the ban until he got a copy of the administrative edict.

“Until I got the full text of the decision, I didn't believe it,” Kamto wrote, adding that: “This is yet another serious attack on public freedom and unacceptable interference in the internal functioning of a legalised political party”.

Why not count dissensions within CPDM?

According to the former Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, administrative authorities have no  moral authority to talk about  dissention within other parties when they are turning a blind eye to shakings within the ruling  Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM.

The CPDM, he said, has suffered numerous incidents of internal dissention but it has never, alongside its allies, suffered any ban on public rallies.

In the thinking of Prof Kamto, the administrator should have rather asked for security officers to be dispatched to the venue of the congress rather than, “anticipating serious disturbances to public order on a speculative basis”.

Prof Maurice Kamto:  MRC National President

Decision caricature of democracy

He lamented that with close to 400 political configurations in Cameroon, the development in Kribi II subdivision plays out to a routine of only the CPDM and its allies always being granted permission to hold rallies.

He also regretted that it is happening weeks after the State authorised 40 new political parties. Kamto has qualified the ban as making a caricature of Cameroon’s democracy.

‘DO should change his mind’

The politician, varsity don and global lawyer, urged the DO of Kribi ll, to reverse the ban and allow the PRCN hold its congress. The DO, he opined, “still has time to change his decision and let the PCRN hold its meeting for which she had already issued an acknowledgement receipt…”.

PCRN blames ban on manipulation, pressure

In a statement dated November 24, the PCRN National Secretary for Press, Information and Propaganda, Arman Okol, said the U-turn of the DO is due to political and administrative pressure. He claimed the DO was given “firm instructions” to ban the planned congress.

He stated that supporters of the party are unperturbed while promising an official outing on the development.

Hon Cabral Libii: PCRN National President in the eye of a storm?

Context of DO’s U-turn

The ban is a U-turn from an earlier authorisation which the same administrator had granted the political party on November 16. The congress of the PRCN had been slated for Kribi from December 15 to 17.

In the decision banning the political activity, the DO cited threats to public order and peace, owing to what she said is dissention within the PCRN. 

To note that the ban comes after one of the founders of the PRCN, Robert Kona, filed a suit against Cabral Libii, at the Kaele Magistrate Court in the Mayor Kani Division of the Far North Region. 

Kona is seeking to reclaim the leadership of the party from Cabral Libii. The case has been programmed for hearing on January 4, 2024.

The complainant also said, since the 2020 twin polls, none of PCRN’s five Member of Parliament, MPs has visited him as founding father of the PCRN. He also claims to be out of touch with developments within the party. 

On this score, he is banking on the court to cancel the resolutions of the May 11, 2019 congress in Guidiguis, Mayo-Kani Division of the Far North Region. It was during the same congress that Cabra Libii was voted PCRN National President. Kona is now pushing a new agenda of wanting to take the leaders of PCRN to make certain adjustments.

Cabral Libii says time will tell

In an interview granted Radio France Internationale, RFI, on the trouble affecting PCRN, Cabral Libii, said time will reveal what is behind the current development.

"My mind has no more time to spend on conjectures about what might be behind this or that. I fundamentally believe in God, and I believe that time will reveal what lies behind,” Cabral is quoted as having told RFI.

On November 25, he tweeted on the social media platform X formerly Twitter, appealing to supporters to remain focused on field work, boosting voter registration and training of supporters on vote monitoring.