Interview: H.E Christopher john Lamora; Bites, blows on Yaounde-Washington relations.

The diplomat, who has been in the country for nearly four years, has also pointed out the good, the bad and the ugly side of Cameroon in terms of governance, rights violations, electoral system, the raging conflict in the English-speaking regions, unfavourable business climate, lack of independence in the judiciary and the fiscal policy, which, he says, scares investors. 

The diplomat made the assessments in an interview he granted The Guardian Post at the embassy in Yaounde on December 30, 2025. He spoke to Doh Bertrand Nua. Excerpts below.

Your Excellency, Merry Christmas in arrears and Happy New Year in advance. Can you begin by clarifying your government's position on the October 12 presidential election? The embassy issued a press release which attracted various interpretations. 

First of all, thank you, for coming for this afternoon. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. As you know, I'm getting ready to leave Cameroon soon.

The thing is that we were very clear. There's nothing to clarify. It was clear. We congratulated the president on being inaugurated for his new term of office. It's very clear. With regard to the election itself, it is the policy of the Trump administration, it is policy of the United States government, that elections are fundamentally something that is the domestic purview of the country in question. And it is not the place of the United States government to comment on the running of that election or the outcome of the election. It is for the domestic constituency of the country to sort out what they think happened.

What observations would you make with regards to the fact that it led to the arrest of citizens, and loss of lives during demonstrations? Would you be mute about that kind of situation that concerns a country that is a brotherly country?

Cameroon and the United States are very much brotherly countries and Cameroon holds a special place in my heart, as you know. I am concerned about what happens here in general. I'm concerned about the Cameroonian people and development, economic opportunity, and all of those things that I've been working on for four years.

The Cameroonian election was highly contested. We obviously had one opposition candidate who came out ahead of the pack of the opposition, and you had President Biya giving a very strong showing throughout the country.

Cameroonians went to the polls in the millions, and millions of Cameroonians expressed their opinion. And we are pleased to see, I'm always happy to see that kind of engagement by people in what they want the future of their country to be. And that's what we saw in October.

With regard to what happened afterwards, I think it's important to remember that, yes, it is tragic. It's 100% tragic that there was loss of life on the part of protesters, demonstrators, and there was loss of life on the part of security service personnel as well. Should property have been destroyed? No. Should buildings have been burned down? No. Should people have died? No.

It's for Cameroon and the Cameroonian people to decide how to address that aftermath of the election. But with regard to the election itself, I'm glad to see that millions of Cameroonians expressed what they wanted their future to be.

The USA is a country that upholds democratic principles. Freedom of speech, free and fair elections, freedom of the press, and so on. When you sound like you are indifferent, when these issues are abused in Cameroon, would you say that you are actually a friend of Cameroon?

Cameroon is a party to a number of international conventions that relate to human rights. There are certain rights that are enshrined in the Cameroonian Constitution, as well as in other Cameroonian laws, that relate to various freedoms and various liberties. And we would hope, and I send this message constantly behind closed doors, which I have found is a preferable way to get things done. And I've said that since I arrived here almost four years ago. I don't do megaphone diplomacy. I don't find it productive for the most part. But I have made clear repeatedly to the Cameroonian authorities over the course of my time here when we have had concerns, and I am confident that the embassy, after I leave, will continue to do that.

What are some of the key issues you will discuss with the Head of State during a farewell audience?

I think there are a couple of things. There are things that we would like to see improve in Cameroon. My fundamental message as I leave here and my fundamental message to the President is that the United States and Cameroon remain close partners in a variety of areas.  

In public health, a few weeks ago, we signed a public health agreement of about $900 million (about 503.3 billion FCFA). In security, we had the head of United States Africa Command here in September. That has been longstanding, that is continuing. Cameroon has been a good partner in counterterrorism, terrorism and maritime security. On the humanitarian front, Cameroon has been a very welcoming country for hundreds of thousands of refugees from its neighbouring countries.

We want to see more U.S. investment here. We need to work on improving the business climate. We need to make the business climate here such that American companies that want to trade, that want to invest, that want to help create jobs for the millions of Cameroonians who are underemployed or unemployed, will have those opportunities.

There are areas like security, health, economics and trade where we can and we have worked together and I would expect that that will continue under whoever succeeds me.

There are things that can be improved and as the conversation takes me with the Head of State, I will make my effort to convey those as well.

Mr. Ambassador, Cameroon is going through difficult times with the question of the North West and South West Regions that are in difficulty. What has been your contribution in helping Cameroon put hands on the troublemakers in the United States

I would first say that I was the first Western Ambassador to visit the North West Region in many years. What I saw there, the conversations I had there, informed much of the position and actions of the American government since then. I also visited the South West Region, I think, four or five times during the last four years. And each time I go to the two regions, I inform myself more deeply about what is happening at that time.

I take this information, these observations, I come back here, we discuss, we pass this information to Washington. I believe that as you have so well cited, the influence that the United States has had during the last four years and even about a year before my arrival here, was to put pressure for the conduct of criminal investigations, the prosecution, the imprisonment of people who have financed, who have encouraged, who have caused, to some level, the continuation of the crisis in the two regions of the North West and South West.

There are currently around 24 to 25 people already in prison in the United States for having committed crimes, offenses against American laws in the context of the North West and South West. The message that I have passed to the Cameroonian government since the beginning of my mandate is simply that we cannot prosecute for crimes, offenses that took place here, in the United States. There must be a link.

That means we cannot use the American banking system to transmit funds that will be used for criminal acts, terrorists, or violence like that. We prosecute when there is a connection with violation of American laws. I cannot talk about the investigations that may perhaps still be underway, but I am sure and confident that it will continue.

The approximately 25 individuals in detention are liable to what type of sentence if they are ever recognised as involved in this operation?

I do not have that in mind. It is something we could research and maybe my public affairs colleagues can find it for you.

Anytime you comment about the Anglophone crisis, you say the problem cannot be solved militarily and that you recommend dialogue. From your observation and from the conversations you have had with people in the administration, what is stopping this dialogue? 

Why should it be the United States or Canada or Switzerland or anybody else outside Cameroon to prescribe what that dialogue might look like and how to get there?

You made an opinion on what you think you could get to the root causes of the crisis and then to bring a permanent solution

Violence of any kind is never going to be the answer to whatever any crisis is. Did we see a resolution to the tensions that you referred to earlier in the aftermath of the most recent presidential election because people took to the streets? Did we see a resolution to the crisis in the aftermath of the election because some small percentage of those demonstrators became violent and burned buildings down?

Did we see a resolution to the crisis after the election because in some instances the security services may have reacted more strongly than they should have?

All of these actions that are something other than conversation did not solve a problem. And the same thing is true in the context of North West and South West. People need to keep talking. People need to keep looking at action.

As you rightly said, what are the root causes? What has been addressed? What hasn't been addressed? And how can the government, the local leaders, civil society, the general population address those issues? So, yes, I'm going to continue to encourage that people look at the root causes. Yes, I'm going to continue to encourage dialogue in some form, but it is not for me to prescribe what that dialogue may look like. 

How do you rate the state of Cameroon-US relations for the four years you have been here?

The relationship between the United States and Cameroon is strong and is positive. And the government-to-government aspect is part of that, but it is not the be-all and end-all of that.

The relationship is good because between US and Cameroonian businesses, US and Cameroonian academic institutions, US and Cameroonian people, and those all are component parts of the overall positive relationship. I think bilateral relation is in a very good place.

Some of you may remember the headline in Cameroon Tribune in December of 2022 after I had been here for about nine months and President Biya went to participate in the US-Africa Leader Summit that was hosted by then President Biden.

I will never forget the headline. It said in French, translated into English to mean "the calm after the storm". Because there was a recognition on both sides that the relationship had for a number of years been tense. I do not take personal credit for this, so please do not misconstrue it. It was a whole-of-embassy, all-of-US government effort together with the Cameroonian government to get us from a place of tension to the calm after the storm.

And that was three years ago that that headline appeared in Cameroon Tribune and I think that we have very much continued and built on that track. 

The Trump administration has tried to toughen the migration conditions compared to Africa and particularly Cameroon. Does this type of decision not impact the cooperation between the two States?

First, I would say that I do not agree with the basis of your question. The Trump administration has not toughened immigration towards Africa, nor the application of American migratory law towards Cameroon in particular, as you have noted. I would say that President Trump has said very clearly since the beginning of his mandate on January 20, 2025, that he was going to apply the laws that were already in place, in addition to adding restrictions to ensure the security of American territory and the American people. That's what he did. And that's what we do here through the consular section every day. That's what we do not only in Cameroon, but everywhere in the world, because we want to ensure that those entering the United States do not have interests which are contrary to the interests of the American people, the American government, or the United States in general. This is something that has always been in the laws. President Trump simply said we have reinforced and applied the laws in place and perhaps added other measures. It has nothing to do with Cameroon. Cameroonians, like any other persons in the world, are subject to American laws when they apply for visas.

And what about the American lottery, Mr Ambassador?

Yes, President Trump recently decided to suspend the visa lottery, at least for a certain period. This does not necessarily mean it will not resume in the future. I do not know for certain as I am not involved in the decisions made at the White House. 

However, as I was saying regarding visas and migration laws in general, he wants to ensure, and we all want to ensure, that individuals entering the United States are not going to cause problems or commit violations of the law.

Every country has not only the right but the obligation to its own people to protect its territory. The Cameroonian government does not allow just anyone to enter Cameroon. If I wish to come here as a private American citizen, I must apply for a visa and meet the criteria. That is the right and the obligation of the Cameroonian government, and the United States does exactly the same thing.

As you prepare to leave your post, what is your assessment of the actions and activities you have carried out in Cameroon?

That is a significant question. Firstly, I do not wish to take sole responsibility or praise myself for the successes we have achieved over these past four years. It is the work of the entire embassy team. If I speak of security cooperation, for instance, it is the defense attaché and the office of security and military cooperation who conducted training with the Cameroonian armed forces, the BIR, and others. There are Cameroonians who have travelled to the United States to study at our military academies. This is now part of the Department of War, as President Trump renamed what was previously the Department of Defence.

Regarding intercultural relations and education, it is the public affairs and public diplomacy section that handles exchanges. We have had hundreds, if not thousands, of Cameroonians travel to the United States over the last four years to benefit from training there, alongside thousands more who have done so here in Cameroon, either at the embassy library, the American Centre, or in our three outposts in Douala, Buea, and Garoua.

If we look at public health, we recently signed a transformative agreement on public health cooperation for the next five years. It is worth nearly 900 million US dollars. This is an incredible sum that will develop the public health sector in Cameroon until 2030 or 2031. This is built on the foundation of all the public health cooperation we have shared over many decades. Therefore, across health, security, and human relations, we have achieved a great deal, and I am proud of it.

Are there specific areas where you hoped to see improvement in relations during your four-year tenure?

There are many things that continue to be works in progress. I mentioned earlier in the conversation the business environment. I would very much love to see more US businesses coming to Cameroon, investing in Cameroon, developing trade relationships with Cameroon. I would love to see more corporate partnerships, joint ventures between US and Cameroonian companies. I think it's good for both countries. It gets to jobs in the United States. It gets to supporting US manufacturing, depending on the kind of goods we're talking about, which is very much a priority of President Trump.

If you look at the newly issued national security strategy that came out in November, the economic aspect of US foreign relations is front and centre. It's good for the United States, the US economy, but it's good for the Cameroonian economy as well. It creates jobs. If you get a major American company that comes here and invests, builds a factory, has a joint venture, that is going to mean jobs for Cameroonians, and we know that Cameroonians need to be better employed.

However, the environment here is not always conducive to the kind of trade and development relationships that we would like to see, and I think that both countries would like to see. I would like the business climate here to improve and encourage foreign investment.

In terms of our fiscal policy?

I think it is in terms of investor confidence. It's in terms of independence of the judiciary in the sense that if I am an American investor and I get into a dispute, either with the government or with a Cameroonian partner, that I believe I'm going to get a fair hearing. Many things of this nature.

Are you saying issues like this scare US investors?

I think you only have to look at the absence of US investors here to wonder why they are not coming. And we have a publicly facing statement. I'm sorry to continually return to, well, you can look at this, but there are things that we have put out there that talk about in very clear terms, the challenges that US companies face.

In terms of cooperation, Mr Ambassador, we know that the United States has supported Cameroon in the fight against Boko Haram. We recently saw American military intervention in Nigeria through targeted strikes. Is this level of cooperation equivalent to what you have with Cameroon, to the extent that the United States might deploy air forces to intervene?

I cannot speak to that, as I do not have information regarding the plans of those who organise such actions. What I can tell you is that Cameroon and the United States have been, and continue to be, very strong partners in security matters. As you rightly said, we have been partners against terrorist groups including Boko Haram and ISIS, the Islamic State in West Africa. Cameroon has shown repeatedly that the Cameroonian armed forces and the BIR are very capable. They can act against such groups with the benefit of past American training and an American presence that we do not have currently.

However, if the government, the Cameroonian military, or the Minister of Defence requested further assistance from us, I am certain it would be considered.

Can you discuss investors and specifically Cameroon's return to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA?

It is quite difficult because the US Congress has recently taken action regarding AGOA and its future status is not entirely clear at the moment but it is important to remember the context. While Cameroon was part of AGOA until the beginning of 2020, Cameroonian companies did not truly take advantage of the programme. AGOA provides African businesses with the opportunity to enter and sell their products in the American market with lower taxes and greater freedom. 

However, if you look at the volume and value generated by Cameroonians through AGOA and compare those figures with similar countries, the results were negligible. Consequently, while I am told that Cameroon wishes to rejoin AGOA, the country did not actually benefit from it when it was a member.

What efforts have Cameroon made to be re-admitted into AGOA? 

I have seen the efforts that the Cameroonian government and the Cameroonian military have made since 2019, 2020, when Cameroon was suspended from AGOA. We have seen significantly improved troop behaviour with regard to human rights norms. We have seen the BIR, for example, integrate International Committee of the Red Cross, human rights and law of war, international humanitarian law training into their basic training programmes.

We have seen more and more Cameroonian troops held accountable rather than getting away with impunity for having committed human rights abuses. I have the outcomes of many of these cases that have been presented to me independently verified. And that is not necessarily a perfect solution, but it demonstrates a willingness and evidence of progress.

What impression do you have of Cameroon as you prepare to leave? 

I leave Cameroon, first and foremost, proud of where we are in the bilateral relationship. The work that my team from the embassy has done over the past four years, about the improvement I referenced earlier to the bilateral relationship, particularly in the first year, and then been able to build on that over the three subsequent years. I have made friends here in the last four years, whom I know I will have for a lifetime.

I have been dedicated to this country on and off in various ways for almost 35 years. I started my career in Douala in 1992. I spent a year and a half in Douala. I've now spent four years here. That means I've spent five and a half years of my life in Cameroon. It is by far the longest I have lived in any country in the world except for my own.

How did you receive news that your time in Cameroon was over?

It was not just me who received the news in that way as I think you have probably all read in the newspapers and on social media that almost two weeks ago now, President Trump decided to request that several ambassadors return to the United States and I was a bit surprised, but something must be said.

Every ambassador of the United States of America anywhere in the world holds their position because the President wants them to be there. And as we say, ‘We serve at the pleasure of the President’. I have had the honour of serving as the Ambassador to Cameroon under the mandates of two American presidents. 

Firstly, President Biden who appointed me and under whom I served for three years and secondly under President Trump for this final fourth year. Having the opportunity to see how the philosophical and political changes in Washington affect how we do our work abroad was something that not every ambassador has the chance to experience, but it was an honour under both and especially to be here during these last four years.

We are still surprised because usually we know who the next ambassador is. For example, before you were sworn in by Congress or the Senate, we knew that you were the one who was to replace your predecessor. Why is it that this time we do not know? Will these diplomatic missions be closed? 

I have no information indicating that there will be closures either in Cameroon or in other countries in the world. It is extremely important that you understand that. Regarding my successor that is not a person I am currently aware of. I do not know who the Secretary of State or President Trump might have in mind, but at the moment they announce such a person you will probably find out at the same time as me. 

Has Cameroon regressed in terms of democracy and human rights compared to what you found four years ago?

What I can tell you is that whenever we have concerns regarding human rights, democracy, and so on, I have raised them with the relevant Cameroonian authorities. I am not going to recount every private conversation I have had with these government officials over the last four years; it would be inappropriate for me to do so in front of the media. 

What I can say is that the Cameroonian government clearly and perfectly understands the United States' position on the issues you have just raised, and they know these matters are important to the United States.

However, as I mentioned before, we have had a new administration in Washington for nearly a year. President Trump has a slightly different philosophy to that of President Biden regarding where the line of sovereignty lies and what is or is not appropriate for the United States to say concerning a country's internal developments, provided those developments do not directly affect the interests or security of our country or our citizens.

What have you done in this regard during your tenure about human rights protection, femicides, and arbitrary arrests?

Well, we expressed our concerns during my mandate regarding, for example, prison conditions. If anyone has visited a Cameroonian prison, they know it is not a place where I would personally wish to spend time. It is not my idea of a holiday destination. We produce our annual human rights reports on every country in the world.

Every year of the four years I have been here, I have personally gone to discuss the contents of these reports with representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of External Relations, and the President of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission to discuss how we believe Cameroon could improve in this regard. As I said before, sometimes it is better to have such conversations privately behind closed doors. 

However, reports like these, state the United States' position on the matter very clearly and publicly. I hope that in the future, this embassy and our government will continue to express these concerns when they arise and to keep pushing.

I am here amongst journalists. We have not touched on the case of Martinez Zogo, for example. From the very beginning, we were knocking on the Cameroonian government's door to pursue a full and open investigation, regardless of where it may lead. 

We issued public statements on the first anniversary of his death and so on, and we continue to follow up behind closed doors to ensure it is not forgotten. For two of my four years, I was the co-chair of the inter-embassy commission on press freedom in Cameroon, working with my Canadian, Swiss, and other colleagues on how we can act together so that journalists can do their jobs without fear of the results.

Aside the Martinez Zogo case, have you also challenged the authorities regarding the death of a prominent opposition leader in detention and the manner in which individuals are being apprehended?

Cameroon has laws, constitutional provisions that protect the right to due process. There are rules for how security services, including the police, are supposed to behave and there are things that are obviously violations of those rules. I am not a Cameroonian attorney. What I will say very clearly is this: we want the government of Cameroon, the security services of Cameroon, just as in any country, to abide by whatever the laws and protections are on the books in the country.

I am not an expert to interpret if this person got arrested and they went into this house, was that a violation? That's not my job. It's not my role to make those judgments. But is it and should it be the expectation of Cameroonian citizens that their government abides by the obligations it has under Cameroonian law or any international agreements to which Cameroon may be party? Yes. Do I convey that message? Yes, that is part of my job.

Let me come back to Anicet Ekane; the government has said that it is undertaking an investigation. I’ve not seen an outcome of that. So, my assumption at this point is that the investigation is not concluded. Until I know what actually happened, I’m not going to make a judgment on something where neither you nor I were there.

Can we not rely on information that his lawyers provided?

I am not going to dismiss the point of view that is expressed by somebody. I am not in a position to assert that that is a fact. Therefore, I reject the presumption as you framed your original question. That does not take away the fact that prisoners should have a right to medical care, that prisoners who have medical conditions should be given access to what they need. I'm not going to comment on an individual case when I don't know what happened, and neither do you. 

Are there any prospects that suspended USAID will be reinstated, considering that this is a critical humanitarian issue worldwide?

A large number of foreign assistance programmes around the world no longer exist. President Trump is very clear. The foreign policy of the United States is based on the concept of America first; which means that we need to see that the money that we've been spending and what we have been doing is not contrary to US interests, and that it actually supports a US interest in some way. 

Over the past 60 years or so that USAID and a lot of foreign assistance existed, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars around the world. Did those hundreds of billions of dollars do what they were intended to do? We're not taking away any life-saving anything in Cameroon or elsewhere. Even from the beginning of what we called, starting in February and March, the Foreign Assistance Review, there were always carve-outs for life-saving assistance. And our health assistance is continuing, as evidenced by the $850 million MoU we just signed a few weeks ago.

All the things we've been doing go in managing supply chains, in helping Cameroon and the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health, which is fundamentally responsible for the health of Cameroonians. To ensure that the drugs are there on time so people can take their medications and stay or get well. Those all still exist.

What caught your attention most in your four-year sojourn in Cameroon? 

Over the past four years, I have been to dozens of schools, I have been to dozens of NGOs. I have visited every one of the ten regions. I have been to Douala I think seven times and I am going again next week. I have been as far as Maroua, Mokolo, Yagoua in the Far North. I have been out to Bertoua, I have been to the South. I have been to Bamenda, Buea, Limbe. I have taken the train to Ngaoundere and back. I take the train every time I go to Douala, which allows me to see the country in a way that I would not if I were stuck in a car or if I flew everywhere.

There is so much that Cameroon has to offer. When I had my very first meeting with Minister Mbella Mbella, I said you know it is true that an ambassador is the representative of one government to another but as far as I am concerned, it is more important or equally important that the ambassador is the representative of one people to another and that he was going to see me in the halls of power, but also see me walking around the streets, on soccer pitches, at night clubs, at local food joints, and in places they did not think they would see the US Ambassador. And they did. And I relished every minute.

The press is one of the main pillars of democracy. What is your evaluation of press freedom in Cameroon? 

I think there is a lot of caution on the part of Cameroonian journalists who are concerned about not getting crosswise with the National Communications Council. I think there is caution about not getting crosswise and upsetting somebody in the government. I think sometimes there have been legitimate reasons for that caution. We have talked already about Martinez Zogo. But I also see a very vibrant press.

I see independent newspapers that flourish. I see independent television stations that flourish. I have been on them. I will be on them in the next week or two as I do some more interviews. I think the Cameroonian people benefit from there being such a wide array of options. If I want to find out what is going on in North West and South West I read The Guardian Post, The Post, I read the newspapers coming out of that area. I can go to L'Oeil du Sahel and I know I am going to get the northern perspective on something. There are many countries where that does not exist. It exists here. And are you sometimes constrained? Obviously. But you do a good job in the middle of that.

What next after Cameroon?

Don’t know [laughs]. When you have already spent four years in the best place you can think of doing the coolest job, they can give you what can be better. I have been Ambassador to Cameroon. What other aspiration can I possibly have that is going to top that?

Ambassador would you mind commenting on something substantive or personal not addressed in the questions?

The personal one would be is there anything I regret not doing here. Is there anything I wish I could have done that I did not? I would have liked to get out of Yaounde more. Like I said, I have been to ten regions. I have travelled all over the country. But if I could go back and do it all over again, I would do that more often. But it takes a lot to move me. It takes bodyguards, vehicles, support staff, sending people ahead of time to make the arrangements. It is also expensive.

I think we did what we could do within those constraints, but if I did not have those constraints, I would have travelled a lot more. I would have gone back to Bamenda. I would have spent more time in the North. I would have spent more time in the East Region where I only went once. I think that is the one thing I would do more of. I think I have an advantage over folks who do not get out of Yaounde or Douala but I would have done it more.

Thanks for accepting to talk to us.

Thank you, gentleman

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3666 of Wednesday January 07, 2026