The renowned anti-corruption crusader and presidential aspirant, Barrister Akere Muna, has promised to rule for only five years if elected Cameroon’s third president in this October’s election.
He says he wants to dismantle the “president-for-life syndrome” in Cameroon, where the Constitution allows a president to rule for a seven-year term with infinite renewal.
Barrister Akere says if he wins the election, he will need just years to combat systemic corruption, reform the education system and spur sustainable industrialisation.
In a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday, April 22, Barrister Akere, who has received endorsements from at least three political parties, says he is the candidate of a single transitional term.
“5 years, no more,” he wrote, challenging the current Cameroon Constitution, which puts presidential terms at seven years with indefinite renewals.
He promised that, in those five years, he would lay a good foundation for the nation.
Akere Muna said he is rejecting the “president-for-life syndrome” in Cameroon and will be leading a “clear transition” that will “hand over power after laying foundations for a new Republic”.
He said his presidential term will be “action-focused”, during which he will “eradicate systemic corruption, launch green industrialisation, and guarantee free quality education”.
Scaling Up Anti-corruption Crusade
Barrister Akere Muna is a well-known figure not only in Cameroon but in Africa and the world at large in the fight against corruption.
He has incessantly decried corruption in Cameroon, which he says has become systemic under President Paul Biya’s 42-year rule.
Biya has been president since 1982, and both his political critics and religious leaders and civil society advocates say corruption has been one of the hallmarks of his government.
This October’s presidential election will not be the first time for Akere Muna to challenge the 92-year-old.
Akere comes from a very politically conscious family. His father, Solomon Tandeng Muna, was Prime Minister of West Cameroon and Vice President of the Republic of Cameroon. He was also the first Speaker of the Cameroon National House of Assembly.
The Muna family has been instrumental in shaping the political landscape of Cameroon. Akere Muna’s sister, Ama Tutu Muna, was a one-time minister of arts and culture under the Biya regime.
His brother, the renowned lawyer and magistrate Ben Muna, equally tried to be president of Cameroon in 2011 but never succeeded. He died in 2019.
While Barrister Akere is being hailed locally for his anti-corruption strides, his promise of relinquishing power after just five doesn’t sink well with many Cameroonians, who are not used to seeing politicians quit.
Many are hoping Barrister Akere Muna will not go the way of The Gambia’s President, Adam Barrow, who promised to serve a one-year term, but after taking power, he has remained there.
