October 12 poll: Kamto's loud, disturbing silence!.

The interpretations of that Constitutional Council ruling and how Kamto has been reacting since then are what continue to split hairs. 

For some, the name Kamto is still a silence influence in the upcoming election but the certainty of his swaying effect at the poll is at least for now, still a matter of conjecture.

Kamto had before now, thickened the nation’s political cloud, first as leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC. 

Yet, legal, administrative and what some continue to say are regime-sponsored moves to block him from the race, saw him shifting to the platform of the African Movement for New Independence and Democracy, MANIDEM. 

But the Constitutional Council put an end to Kamto’s new path to getting a Presidential candidacy ticket.

Weeks on from that ruling, Kamto, whose actions in the last seven years have kept the regime edgy, has now gone mute. 

His silence, observers are saying, has become unexpectedly loud and disturbing, leaving even those who dislike him worried.

When the ruling of the Constitutional Council was still fresh, anti-riot and combat ready security officers were spotted at major road junctions across the nation’s capital, Yaounde. 

Even without any official declaration, political analysts say the moves were not unconnected to quelling a possible protest from Kamto’s supporters.

But against administrative and political calculations, Kamto, who called for protest, claiming he won the 2018 presidential election, did not utter a word when the Constitutional Council frustrated his Presidential ambition. 

He has rather been watching developments across the board like every ordinary citizen. His current posture of silence, which is contrary to the combative option he had taken against the Biya regime since pushing for change, is at best perplexing, pundits say.

Regime uneasy with Kamto’s silence 

Kamto, who had become the subject of most government releases before now, is no longer overtly mentioned. 

Notwithstanding sources within government circles say the usually- panicky Biya regime is still not oblivious of his popularity and the huge following he commands across the country.

It is said that even though regime apologists will make public declarations to claim Kamto doesn’t really enjoy any popular support, they know the extent to which the former Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals can upset things for the country if he decides to.

Aware of Kamto’s dense political capital, which is still fallowing, the regime is said to be watching things closely. 

That he has not announced his plan of action, if there is any, with regards to the October 12 presidential election, many are saying, is also still giving government sleepless nights.

With the situation of things, analysts are positing that by barring Kamto from the poll, government may have won the battle and not the war, which is the election itself, come October 12. 

The political leader still has the possibility of entering the race as a major catalyst to boost the chances of an opposition candidate of his choice. 

Analysts say if Kamto decides to throw his ring in the box for any opposition candidate, the development will give Biya a run for his money. But the question remains, what is Kamto up to now?

Silent even in face of unending alliance rumours

Since it became clear that Kamto will not contest the election, the political rumour mill has been active about his next move. 

On different occasions, Kamto has been rumoured to be working on possibly throwing his weight behind Bello Bouba Maigari of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, UNDP.

The same rumour mill has also mooted that Kamto is working out something with Issa Tchiroma Bakary, candidate of the Cameroon National Salvation Front, FSNC. 

In all the reported engagements, discussions are said to have been stalled at the level of who is going to get what in case the alliance produces a Head of State.

Debates over key positions such as the Prime Ministry, ministries of defence, finance, justice and national security, are said to have been key. 

Nothing official has ever filtered in such light. Bello Bouba and Issa Tchiroma have meanwhile been working solo.

One good that should beckon another

Irrespective of what Prof Kamto does or is planning to do, another thing which many say he must not forget is the support he got from Akere Muna, during the 2018 presidential election. Akere had dropped out of the race in support of Kamto.

Today, things have not gone the way Kamto planned. Many are beginning to concur that it is time for Kamto to show Akere Muna that one good turns deserves another. 

On this premise, many of Akere Muna’s supporters are also dreaming that if Kamto were to endorse any of the 11 opposition candidates in the race, Akere Muna should naturally be his priority.

That argument is said to be on shaky grounds, especially given the geopolitics of Cameroon. With a majority of potential voters in the three northern Regions, there are those who say Kamto would easily go in for Bello Bouba or Issa Tchiroma, either of whom can harvest votes from the North combined with those from the Southern part of the country, where Kamto is most popular.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3548 of Friday August 28, 2025