Mystery of what Tchiroma can do!.

The international attention is not just about his self-proclaimed victory but about the unprecedented violence leading to dozens of casualties, destructions and looting.

At a security meeting in Douala last week, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, minced no words in his unequivocal indictment of Tchiroma as the mastermind of the post-election hostilities.

Media reports quoted him as saying Tchiroma orchestrated a destabilisation strategy by "giving cannabis to young people not concerned by the electoral process".

Referring to Tchiroma as a "corrupt politician", Atanga Nji divulged at the Douala meeting that 829 protesters were in detention while the  law enforcement and security forces had "professionally neutralised in self-defense" 13 "assailants" during the post-election clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

It should be noted, however, that international organisations like the UN, EU, AU, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, including countries like France, United States etc, have criticised the use of "excessive force" during the fatal protests and called for investigations.

Despite being accused of felonious crimes, especially by the Minister of Territorial Administration after he declared himself winner, Tchiroma remains unrepentant, an enigma of a kind.

"There are now two Presidents: the President elected by the Cameroonian people, which is me, and the President appointed by the Constitutional Council, whom you know," he declared on his social media accounts last Wednesday. 

So, how is he a "President" when his whereabouts remain a misery? 

Tchiroma is not the first to declare himself winner after the presidential election in Cameroon.

The late John Fru Ndi of SDF did so in 1992 and was placed under house detention in Bamenda. 

Former MRC leader, Prof Maurice Kamto, emulated Fru Ndi after the 2018 poll and was locked up in prison until French President, Emmanuel Macron, said he intervened before he was released.

Foxy and uncanny Tchiroma had his Garoua residence under surveillance and even guarded by his supporters to prevent him from being arrested to face the excruciating ordeal Fru Ndi and Kamto had gone through before him.

But he sneaked into neighbouring Nigeria, claiming and thanking "loyal" security forces that "escorted" him to a safe place from where he spewed an order for three days of ghost town with devastating impact on the economy.

Since then, no one has heard from him while his location is not precise. Some say he is in Nigeria, others Gambia and some Senegal. But as one of his key supporters, Eric Chinje, a former CRTV veteran, declared in a video last week: "The regime in Yaounde is doing everything to get rid of Issa Tchiroma Bakary. He needs to be in the safest possible location before addressing the Cameroonian people".

Chinje added that: “As soon as we are certain he is safe, Tchiroma will speak, outline his political agenda, and explain how to change the system”. 

Last Tuesday, one of his spokespeople told AFP that he was "on the move". 

The government has on a number of times announced its intention to initiate legal proceedings against the opposition leader, denouncing in particular his "repeated calls for insurrection".

As the International Crisis Group has noted: "With neither side willing to back down, the risk of the unrest escalating is high".

However, only those from a different planet can perceive a country with two official Presidents - one at home and another in exile.

But being able to scurry out of the country, despite the web of security, gives Tchiroma some kind of metaphysical connotation with capacity to inflict harm in the country from exile. 

In hiding and backed by legal and media teams abroad, he is engaged in a media war with the government.

Historically and also based on empirical research, media battles "significantly impact public perception and can escalate conflict by spreading propaganda, misinformation, and biased reporting. This can lead to polarization, radicalization, and a distorted understanding of events, while also affecting public opinion, military strategy, and the well-being of civilians through trauma and psychological harm".

Isn't that the situation in Cameroon with a polarised society, skyrocketing cost of living and some troops "loyal" to him as he said with the coming of post electoral violence?

The Guardian Post is at home with the understanding that the media can inform and promote peace. On the other side of the coin, news organs, especially in the social media sector, can equally be weaponised to fuel conflict through manipulative framing, agenda-setting, and rapid dissemination of unchecked information as is now being experienced in the country, making Tchiroma look like he has some celestial powers even if limited in time and space. 

To stop him, the government should treat the violence as a political issue rather than an "insurrection" that gives him an aura of mystery.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3627 of Monday November 17, 2025