A former member of Cameroon’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), has openly condemned President Paul Biya’s leadership in a powerful letter, accusing him of plunging the country into violence and political stagnation. Léon Thieller Onana, a former CPDM councillor and member of the Patriotic Movement Organization (OMP), broke ranks with the party after rejecting Biya’s candidacy in the recent presidential election, in which the 92-year-old leader was controversially declared the winner for an eighth consecutive term.
In his “Open Letter to President Paul Biya: The Bloody Legacy of Denial”, Onana accuses Biya of systematically silencing dissent, rigging elections, and turning his back on the Cameroonian people. He describes Biya’s 43-year rule as “an eternity petrifying for a people forced to see the same figurehead at its summit.”
“This blood, Mr. President, is not the result of an unfortunate coincidence,” Onana wrote. “It is the direct consequence of your deafness.”
The councillor links the deaths of protesters in Douala, Garoua, and other cities to Biya’s refusal to heed popular calls for change, arguing that the president’s “obsession with power” has cost innocent lives. He challenges Biya’s long-held claim of being a democrat, asking pointedly:
“How can a democrat justify violence, executions, and arbitrary arrests as the preferred response to citizens open to dialogue?”
Onana’s letter—published as post-election protests spread across Cameroon—marks one of the most significant public rebukes of Biya from within his own party. It underscores growing internal dissent within the CPDM, long seen as monolithic and loyal to the president.
In the document, Onana warns that “each bullet fired and each innocent life taken will irreversibly stain [Biya’s] legacy,” declaring that the president’s silence and stubbornness now “carry the debt of blood.”
The statement has sparked strong reactions among Cameroonians on social media, with many praising Onana’s courage for speaking out against the entrenched regime. Analysts say his defection signals a rare crack in the CPDM’s internal unity and could embolden others who have grown frustrated with Biya’s decades-long grip on power.
