Mamadou Mota Hands CRM Presidency to Kamto, Denies Manipulation

By Njodzeka Kernyuy

Mamadou Mota, who had taken over the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party leadership on an interim basis, has handed it back to Prof Maurice Kamto, who has rejoined the party after he resigned to contest the 2025 presidential election.

The handover occurred during the party’s online convention on Sunday, December 21. Mota has now returned to his former position as first vice president of the party.

Addressing comrades that Sunday, he stated that he was not manipulated by anyone and that his decisions were independent. To him, the handover was in line with the party’s statutes.

Maurice Kamto had left the CRM and joined the MANIDEM Party to contest the 2025 presidential election, from which he was ultimately barred. He had to join the party because the CRM did not fulfill the eligibility criteria.

Mota Pays Tribute to Fallen Political Heroes

Beyond welcoming colleagues and conducting the handover, Mota also paid tribute to Anicet Ekane, the Manidem President who died in military detention.

“We also think of our allies, arrested and brought before Military Tribunals. Some have since passed away; ‘Every death is an assassination,’ as JPS (Jean-Paul Sartre) once said. The passing of leader Anicet Ekane calls out to us and should invite us to be ready. This treatment inflicted on all dissenting voices is a mirror of the oppression that strikes anyone who dares to challenge the status quo. Their courage is our strength,” he said.

He reassured members that they are the very image of the commitment, resilience, and hope that drive the CRM.

He also revealed that the CRM party has welcomed new members over the past months. “Through relentless fieldwork, we have enrolled new militants—ordinary citizens who decided that inaction was no longer an option. Their membership is proof that our message resonates and that our vision of a New Cameroon is shared by an ever-growing number of our compatriots,” he stated.

Sovereign Will of People Taken Away

Reacting to the presidential election in which Paul Biya won despite widespread allegations of rigging, Mota said they cannot move forward without naming the injustice that has bruised them all.

“The presidential election, which should have enshrined the sovereign choice of the people, was tainted. An institutional hacker, whose identity is still protected by the high spheres of power, orchestrated the elimination of our candidate, Professor Maurice Kamto. This power grab, an act of unheard-of cowardice, has caused immense harm not only to our party but to the very idea of democracy in our country. It is an act that history will judge, and that we will never forget,” he said.

He reassured that the CRM is and shall remain a republican party. “We have never, ever acted outside the legal framework defined by the Constitution. Our good faith and our attachment to the law have always been our shield. But in the face of this good faith, the government has offered only oppression and ostracism,” he stated.

He called for unity and forgiveness within the party, stating that no one should be considered an enemy. He urged that grievances be resolved through dialogue.

“Dear friends, we are doing what is necessary! We are laying the foundations of a Cameroon where justice will no longer be an empty word, and where change will no longer be a utopia.”