Human Rights Watch frowns at government’s attempt to weaken opposition

By Tata Mbunwe

International non-governmental organization, Human Rights Watch (HRW), has criticised a recent Cameroon government ban on an opposition political coalition, calling on the ban to be lifted.

In a release published March 21, HRW sees the ban on the pro-Maurice Kamto coalition as an attempt to mute public debate and weaken the opposition in Cameroon ahead of the 2025 presidential elections.

The HRW reaction comes nine days after the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, banned the activities of the Political Alliance for Change (APC), led by Jean-Michel Nintcheu, and the Political Alliance for Transition (APT), led by Olivier Bile.

Both associations had been leaning towards the foremost opposition leader and Chairman of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement party, Maurice Kamto.

Kamto, who was the runners-up at the 2018 presidential elections, has also been promoting a political alliance called Political Alliance for Change (PAC).

PAC, he said in a speech in December, seeks to rally Cameroonians to unseat 91-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for over 40 years.

In his restrictive communique, Atanga Nji linked the coalition ban to a recent visit by its members, particularly Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu, to the Kondengui prison in Yaoundé, where Nintcheu allegedly met with separatist leaders with the aim of forging a political alliance.

Nintcheu has refrained from publicly communicating details about his Kondengui meeting.

However, HRW says the coalition ban is an attempt by the government to limit the chances of the opposition.

“The action taken by the government against these coalitions shows how Cameroonian authorities are acting to close space for opposition and public debate in the run-up to the 2025 presidential elections,” said Carine Kaneza Nantulya, Deputy Director of the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch.

Nantulya added: “The authorities should immediately lift the ban and allow opposition parties to continue working without harassment.”

The ban has continued to raise concerns among Cameroonian political stakeholders, some of whom are doubting its legality.

Among them is Emmanuel Simh, lawyer for the Cameroon Renaissance Movement.

“This decision is not based on any legal texts. No law in Cameroon prevents legally established parties getting together to establish a coalition,” he told Human Rights Watch.

“It’s just repression and another attempt to muzzle the opposition, to prevent it from organizing ahead of the next presidential elections.”

Political observers and analysts say President Paul Biya’s government has succeeded over the years to capture power through deliberate actions that inhibit the growth of the opposition.

Political leaders and activists like Edith Kah Walla, who is the first woman to have contested for the Presidency (in 2011), lamented government crackdown on discerning voices, including her association Stand Up for Cameroon.

In a TV interview on March 4, she regretted how authorities banned a meeting the association was supposed to hold in Douala two days earlier, forcing them to resort to a virtual meeting.

“We don’t have freedom of speech; we don’t have freedom of assembly. We don’t have the possibility to meet. How are we supposed to convince voters? How are we supposed to build our political parties if we’re not allowed to hold meetings?”

Beatrice Manka’a contributed to this report

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