Cameroon: Pro-Biya Protest in Douala puts Yaounde in a tight corner.

Some few motorbike riders surprised the public today September 17, 2020, as they marched to the Littoral Governor’s office to protest against Kamto and his forthcoming September 22nd 2020 protest which has kept Yaounde on the edge. The small group of protesters carried President Biya’s portrait and a few others held the national flag as a show of their support to the country’s President. The move, experts say shows government’s frustration and desperation to end the planned protest as intimidation and bullying has failed to slow down the momentum and Kamto’s train. Ever since the announced protest by the opposition leader, Yaounde has lost its calm and legendary unpredictability which has characterized Biya’s 38-year reign. Government Ministers and Regional administrators are scrambling to outsmart the other with a press release which either bans the planned protests or threatens protesters with unimaginable sanctions that ensue.

The threats and administrative bans have so far done little or nothing to slow Kamto as members of his party continue to deposit letters of authorization in different administrative authorities across the country in a political de Ja bus to threats from the government. But government’s use of a handful of motorbike riders to protest in front of the Governor’s office today, defiling its own ban on public protests in that city and the region at large indirectly tells the world that protest in Cameroon is the exclusive right for supporters of the regime. This in effect might be yet another huge political miscalculation born out of desperation and confusion to contain a towering Kamto. Cameroonians have taken to social media to ridicule the protest, calling them paid protesters while many say the size of the protest is disgraceful and shows the unpopularity of the government. Others wonder if the motorbike riders obtained the required authorisation.

The question of whether the protesters received the authorisation is one that will definitely lavish shame on the government and provoke mockery of its much-touted democracy. Observers argue that the protesters might have violated the Governor’s ban on public gatherings or obtained authorisation at short notice, making it difficult for the government to crackdown on September 22nd protesters. The international community is already raising concerns about the protest with the German Ambassador to Cameroon already warning citizens to cancel all flights on that day, adding that Cameroon’s airports might experience a shutdown on September 22nd 2020.