By Tata Mbunwe
Veteran lawyer and human rights defender, Alice Nkom, has endorsed Issa Tchiroma Bakary, leader of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), for the October 12 presidential election.
The choice, made in a statement published this Friday, comes after her initial candidate, Maurice Kamto, was disqualified from the race.
Citing her extensive discussions with Maurice Kamto, she emphasized the need for experienced leadership, declaring, “By supporting Issa Tchiroma Bakary, I choose unity over division, justice over chaos, hope over fear.”
The lawyer, whose robe she describes as “a weapon of truth, justice, and freedom,” praised Tchiroma’s experience in statecraft and commitment to dialogue, contrasting it with divisive rhetoric.
“A nation is not built with tweets or impossible promises. A nation is built with experience, discipline, and courage,” she said, apparently criticism incumbent President Paul Biya who has not addressed Cameroonians since declaring his candidacy via a tweet in July.
Barrister Nkom has been a fervent critique of the Biya regime, which has ruled Cameroon for 42 years, and has urged the President not to seek re-election, just says before Biya, 92, declared his bid.
She now backs Issa Tchiroma Bakary, a three-time government Minister under the Biya government, who resigned in July this year, citing the regime’s failure to meet the aspirations of Cameroonians.
Tchiroma has since then garnered a huge public following, and was recently chosen by some political leaders as the opposition consensus candidate.
Alice Nkom joins the list of Tchiroma’s growing supporters.
Invoking figures like Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, she called for a united Cameroon and urged citizens to vote for Issa Tchiroma to “write the future.”
This high-profile endorsement comes just days to the start of the official campaign, which begins on September 29.
