October 12 poll: Akere petitions Constitutional Council to disqualify Biya.

A document bearing the stamp of the courier service of the Constitutional Council on the same issue flooded social media networks Tuesday.

In the document, Akere Muna, a former Bar Council President, anchored his prayers on Articles 118 (1), (2) and (3) of the Electoral Code.

Section 118 (1) on eligibility holds that: “All persons, who by their own doing, have placed themselves in a position of dependence on or connivance with a foreign organisation or power or foreign State, shall not be eligible” to run for the office of President of the Republic.

 Biya, Akere Muna argues, no longer meets the conditions of independence, which 118 (1) of the Electoral Code requires of anyone seeking to occupy the highest office of the land. He claimed Biya has in recent times showed “… alarming behaviour, revealing profound physical and cognitive dependence”.

‘Biya missing in action’

In the document contextualising his plea to the Constitutional Council, Akere stated that since engagements for the October 12 poll went underway, Biya has not been spotted anywhere. 

The incumbent Head of State, he writes, did not personally drop his documents at the level of Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, or attend pre-electoral litigations at the Constitutional Council, where his candidacy was being challenged.

Biya, he writes, has all along relied on his proxies to do the bidding for him. Even to declare his candidacy for the election, Akere Muna said Cameroonians only read through Biya’s official social media handles without hearing from him.

The international lawyer further writes: “Each public appearance is now choreographed to mask his dependence and physical limitations. Protocols are adapted not to serve the people, but to accommodate a man whose condition requires constant assistance…”

He insisted that the “…situation is not just a matter of age: It is a flagrant violation of Article 118 of the Electoral Code, which prohibits anyone, by virtue of their own situation, from placing themselves in a state of dependence incompatible with the independent exercise of power”.

Akere also builds his case file on grounds that Biya has in the last 10 years not overseen any meeting to renew organs of his Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM, where the mandates of officials have since expired. 

At the level of the Higher Judicial Council, Akere writes that six batches of young magistrates from the National School of Administration and Magistracy, ENAM, have not been posted because Biya has not performed his role as required by law.

Biya, he contends, has been present at only three summits of the African Union, AU, in his 43 years of leadership of the country. Another instance cited in the petition is the US-Africa Summit of December 2022, in the United States of America.

During the meeting, Akere states that images of what transpired showed Biya as “a leader who was clearly disoriented, seemingly unaware of where he was or why he was there”. 

Akere in his petition drives an argument that on that occasion, “Biya appeared surprised when told he was to deliver a speech, as if he had only found out about the event at the last minute”. 

“Pattern of systematic dependence”

Beyond citing incidents raise the bar for his case, Akere Muna also argues that Biya has set a pattern of dependence, which must be checked. 

He added to the list of his points what he says are “Biya’s prolonged hospitalisation abroad, particularly in Switzerland, where he regularly stays for medical reasons that are not transparent”.

Akere who has across his celebrated career served as counsel for Biya insists that, “…these factors demonstrate that Biya no longer meets the conditions of independence required by Article 118 in question”.

“A President who cannot, without outside assistance, decide whether to sit or stand during an official speech is incapable of performing the demanding duties of Head of State,” he writes.

Why seek Constitutional Council?

Besides insisting that there is need for the Constitutional Council to rule on his petition urgently, Akere Muna paints a broader picture of the significance of his push. 

He says “…it is to prevent a presidential candidate from being under the control of another person, making it impossible for them to exercise their functions independently and sovereignly”.

Akere also adds that he is praying the Council, “…to prevent a leader from becoming a mere puppet, incapable of making autonomous decisions for the nation”.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3539 of Wednesday August 20, 2025