Police in Cameroon’s commercial capital, Douala, have intensified surveillance at the headquarters of the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP), the party’s president, Edith Kah Walla, has said.
Photos she recently shared on X show police officers in blue uniforms reportedly keeping watch around the CPP headquarters, some standing on the rooftop.
The CPP has usually faced scrutiny each time the party is planning to organise an event or a protest activity. But the party has not communicated plans for organising any of them.
Kah Walla, who is a former presidential candidate, said police officers are now constantly monitoring activities around the party’s headquarters.
“We don’t know why they are there. They seem to be bored,” she said.
She condemned the action as an intensification of “dictatorship at the highest level.”
The intensified surveillance has prompted speculation about the government’s motives. Some observers believe it is an attempt to intimidate and suppress political opposition in the lead-up to the presidential elections next year.
Kay Walla has been at the forefront of advocating for change and political transition in Cameroon, a country ruled by President Paul Biya for 41 years now.
She also champions the Standup for Cameroon movement, which denounces malpractice and injustice in the country.
The CPP was almost taken away from her when she was dismissed by the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, but she won the case in court.
In the build-up to next year’s elections, it is suspected that the government is making subtle moves aimed at weakening the opposition.
The Social Democratic Front (SDF), a prominent opposition party, recently saw its authorized political tour blockaded by pro-regime protesters in the South Region. The protesters frustrated the tour, and the authorities refused to intervene despite having been informed.
Kah Walla, who contested for the presidency in 2011 and quit the SDF, has not indicated any intentions to participate in next year’s elections.
