Nsimalen airport: Presidency blocks Tchiroma from travelling abroad!.

The one-time Minister of Communication and Government's Spokesperson, was blocked by police officers at the airport, said to be acting on firm instructions from the Presidency of the Republic. 

It was not immediately disclosed why the former Biya ally was prevented from jetting out of the country. 

However, in a recorded audio message which has been making rounds on the social media, the now staunch critic of the regime, said the development wasn’t unconnected with his bid to challenge Biya at the forthcoming presidential election.

The presidential candidate of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, FSNC, recounted that: “This morning (yesterday), as I was on my way to Senegal, for a visit, whose purpose was to pay my respect at the tomb of Cameroon’s first President, His Excellency Ahmadou Ahidjo, whose remains still rest in Senegal…I was abruptly…prevented from boarding my flight at the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport, by a Commissioner, claiming to be acting on the firm instructions from the Presidency of the Republic”

Tchiroma was blunt that: “Let me say this with utmost clarity; when a presidential candidate is prevented from traveling abroad, it is an entire people being denied the right to breath”.

Tchiroma, who resigned recently from government, said the drama, yesterday, at the Nsimalen airport was “clear proof that the current system fears the truth and dreads the transition we are advocating”.

He then questioned rhetorically: “Do they want to silence me? Do they want to humiliate me? Do they want to make you believe that fear will divide us? I tell you this…those who embody change are always persecuted. This is an evidence that our fight strikes where it hurts the most. “I remain determine, more than ever, I will fight for Cameroon to regain its dignity. The transition we are proposing is not against anyone. It is for you, for all of us and our children,” Tchiroma declared in his message, while recounting his ordeal at the Nsimalen airport in Yaounde yesterday.

He insisted that: “This is the time to unite; opposition, civil society, the diaspora, patriotic citizens, let us stand together and say stop to the confiscation of power”.

“I call on you to stay mobilised. Share this message, raise your voice and together, let us prepare the new leadership Cameroon has waited for far too long. They have the force, but we have the people and history is on our side,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued yesterday following the Yaounde Nsimalen airport incident, Cameroon’s foremost human rights activist and legal luminary, Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla, condemned the development, describing it as “deeply concerning”.

The lawyer was categorical: “At a time Cameroon stands at a critical democratic crossroads, the freedom of movements for political actors, especially presidential candidates, must be respected and protected”.

“The absence of transparency and due process in this matter undermines public trust and raises serious questions about the credibility of our electoral process,” he said.

“We call on the competent authorities to immediately clarify the reason(s) behind this travel band and to guarantee the fundamental rights of all political leaders, regardless of their affiliation,” Agbor Balla added.

He then noted that: “Cameroonians deserve a democratic process that is free, fair, and transparent. Silencing or restricting opposition voices through administrative tactics is not only unjust, it is undemocratic”.

Ahidjo's daughter strikes Tchiroma 

Meanwhile, in a statement issued after the Nsimalen Airport drama, one of the late President Ahidjo's daughters, Aminatou Ahidjo, who doubles as the Board Chair of the Yaounde Conference Centre, wrote: "...I want to, as the daughter of the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo, strongly denounce the political crockery of a man who has never presented condolences to our family, despite numerous deaths...". 

She said it was also scandalous, and smacks of lies-telling, for a former member of government, who she said, knew it too well that as a former minister, he needed authorisation from the Presidency of the Republic to leave the country.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3520 of Friday August 01, 2025