When DOs ridicule Biya regime!.

Some of its officials, especially Divisional Officers DOs, who are required to be "notified" when an event is being organised in "a public place", have on a number of occasions ridiculed the Biya regime by proscribing even meetings planned in private halls.

A ridiculous situation happened in Yaounde at the weekend. FECAFOOT had planned its Elective General Assembly at the CAF Excellence Centre in Mbankomo. 

The Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, the supervisory ministry of FECAFOOT, wrote to MINAT to cancel it because it didn't meet specific legal issues. 

However, it took place with MINAT represented!

In a sharp paradox, the extraordinary convention of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, was scheduled on the same day on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at its office in Odza, Yaounde. 

The main objective was to renew the party's leadership and reinstate Prof Maurice Kamto as the party’s National President. It was, however, banned. 

A fiat signed by the Divisional Officer of Yaounde IV, Akondi Elvis Mbahangwen, based his decision mainly on a letter signed by Okala Ebodé Joseph Thierry, a co-founder of MRC, who is said to have been expelled from the party, who reportedly alerted the authorities to the risks associated with the convention.  

The interim leader of MRC, Mamadou Mota, denounced the measure as "surprising and unjustified", while some members of the party advocated caution to avoid any confrontation with security forces.

Mota then announced the postponement of the convention, without specifying a new date. 

Nonetheless, the ban had just stirred the hornet's nest as it gave Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who is claiming to be president-elect from his exile in Banjul, The Gambia, the chance to get into the sensitive skin of the Biya regime.

In expressing solidarity with the MRC, he said Prof Kamto’s residence was surrounded by security forces who "effectively placed him under house arrest".

In a release posted on the social media, Tchiroma denounced the “illegitimate orders” and the “unacceptable violation of the right to freedom of association and individual liberty” of the MRC leader.

He pointed out that the proscription adds to the political violence and harassment observed during post-election demonstrations and called for the unity of the forces of change and the continuation of the “demand for the truth of the ballot”.

The exiled opposition leader condemned any move that could, in his view, legitimise the “organised wrongdoing by the regime...the Cameroonian people expect cohesion and courage. He called for a sense of duty, reaffirming his solidarity with MRC and Maurice Kamto; urging all forces of change to remain united for the “liberation of the country”.

Even CPDM apologists like Prof Owona Nguini, have criticised MINAT with focus on the FECAFOOT Elective Assembly, which was held even when organisers had been informed in advance of the legal and security implications.

In a social media communication, he wrote: “It is clear that government solidarity suffered a blow when the Minister of Territorial Administration did not heed the request of his colleague, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education”.

Owona Nguini added that: “On this type of issue, government solidarity must be strictly upheld. This means that the Prime Minister, as head of government, must clarify the government’s position. It is understandable that the Minister of Territorial Administration did not respond to the request of his colleague, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education”.

He explained that such inaction is "...precisely because there is a breach of government solidarity. The government must clarify its position, either stating that it will follow the request of the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, or that it will not. FECAFOOT's presence in the Cameroonian public sphere is toxic. Because FECAFOOT exemplifies a phenomenon that calls into question both government coordination and solidarity".

There isn't just a question of lack of coordination but that of double standards. How could an MRC meeting in the confines of their headquarters be banned just because an expelled member wrote to MINAT?

Were CPDM meetings banned when Léon Theiller Onana, a former municipal councillor, openly challenged the legality of its leadership?

Why did MINAT not direct the expelled MRC co-founder to court as it was the case with expelled SDF and PCRN members, rather than being led by a reportedly co-founder of the party, who had long been flushed out?

However, MINAT, in a self-examination answers the questions. The truth remains that the image of the government has been tarnished for restricting freedom of assembly and double standards by overzealous Divisional Officers, DOs.

Such incoherence in government action provides media ammunition for opposition leaders like Tchiroma, to press the throttle of post-electoral tensions, which Yaounde is still grappling to control.

Self-serving administrators should not inadvertently indulge in decisions that put the regime in the hall of ignominy, which scares foreign investors needed for development.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3643 of Tuesday December 02, 2025