Protest bans, arbitrary arrests….is Yaoundé scared of ‘Petit parti politique’?

On Friday, September 11th, 2020, the governor of the littoral region Samuel Diboua signed a release banning all unauthorized public protests in his region. His decision comes barely two days after his counterpart in the center region, Naseri Paul Bea issued a similar order banning protests till further notice The predicted moves come amidst reports of an arrest in some neighborhoods in Douala and troops spotted in others as the MRC strongholds prepare for protest What’s the background? Opposition leader Maurice kamto had warned government to shelve plans of convening electorates for regional elections till the electoral laws are revised and the Anglophone crisis solved The troublesome opposition leader had warned he will lead a massive nation-wide movement to topple the regime if the elections for regional elections are called and his pre-conditions not met He would later issued a series of tweets, addresses online, and statements targeting different groups of his militants; from diaspora, to those at home and even soldiers of the republic He followed on with his rhetoric with a cabinet appointments on September 3rd 2020 appointing officials in different positions including education, health defense and many more in a move  which mirrors that of a government in waiting Kamto’s rhetoric’s were met with mild condemnation from some members of the ruling class and on September 7th 2020, President Biya convened the electorates for the regional elections scheduled for December 6th 2020, snubbing Kamto’s concerns and ignoring his threats The election date was considered a slap on the face of kamto and many political observers say it’s either kamto made good of his promises or the election will bury his political career already suffering from the effects of boycott Territorial administration minister Paul Atang Nji later ( that same day September 7th 2020) hastily organised a press conference, warning potential protesters of dire consequences if they break the law The minister brandished the controversial 2016 anti-terrorism law, promising life imprisonment to anyone found guilty trying to destabilize the state. His threats didn’t slow kamto and his militants as September 22nd was scheduled as the day of national protest by kamto’s spokesman and an unannounced date for kamto’s address to militants Small political party? In February 2020, President Biya ridiculed kamto and his party for their electoral boycott strategy and its impact on the national agenda, labeling it ‘petit party politique’ and says power is not gotten from the streets or on social media but through the ballot box, Kamto responded with his dis of his own, with a record pulling crowd in Douala after returning from his trip abroad, touting his support and popularity in the process The trend of events are beginning to raise many questions in the mind of many as to how can a small political party in the president’s own voice be troubling Yaounde this much     The post Protest bans, arbitrary arrests….is Yaoundé scared of ‘Petit parti politique’? appeared first on TeboPost.