This is an offensive-toned opinion piece just published by Tiriane Noah, president of the Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon (MRC), which contains the party’s resentment towards the maneuvers of the authorities.
Entitled “When the State Acts as Judge and Party in the Life of Political Parties,” Tiriane Balbine Noah’s opinion piece, president of the MRC, reviews what the party calls systematic administrative harassment since its creation in 2012. It also justifies the surprise resignation of Maurice Kamto and Mamadou Mota on September 8.
Read more New Generations Prefer Online Entertainment
For Tiriane Noah, the withdrawal of Kamto and Mota is not an admission of weakness. It is a “strategic approach” to, in her words, “escape the trap set by the territorial administration through administrative and judicial contestation.” She recalls that the issue is not who leads the MRC, but why leading the MRC has meant for 14 years “enduring permanent administrative pressure.”
The MRC announces that the process leading to the designation of its new presidium will take place on October 17, and requests that it be conducted “without interference.”
The Account of Documented Harassment
The opinion piece outlines a chronology: between 2013 and 2017, several dozen declared demonstrations were banned. In 2018, an election year, Maurice Kamto and nearly 300 activists were imprisoned 9 months after the presidential election. In 2020, another election year, activists were arrested for distributing masks and gel during Covid-19. Between 2023 and 2026, a meeting was banned in Ebolowa, the ceremony for new activists was interrupted in Bafoussam, the regional assembly was dispersed in a private home in Bertoua in August 2026 for “undeclared public meeting.”
Besides these bans and detentions, the party denounces a two-tier justice system. For example, an MRC complaint in 2023 against two RDPC communicators who mentioned a coup d’état in case of MRC victory went unanswered. While a complaint against Maurice Kamto in June 2025 for remarks in Paris was brought before a military tribunal “within days.”
The Heart of the Dispute: Minister Paul Atanga Nji’s Letter
The most recent point concerns the MRC national convention. Banned in November 2025, it was held via videoconference on December 21, 2025, and confirmed Maurice Kamto’s return as party leader. Unexpectedly, on August 19, 2026, eight months later, the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji sent a letter refusing to acknowledge the resolutions, citing article 3 paragraph 2 of law 90/055 of 1990.
For the MRC, this letter suffers from a “procedural defect.” Article 5 of the same law provides 3 months to make observations. The deadline would therefore be widely exceeded, making the letter “legally ineffective.”
The party links this letter to the actions of Joseph Thierry Okala Ebode, a former official excluded on November 7, 2025, by the Mediation and Arbitration Committee after a complaint from Prof. Alain Fogue, who now contests the resolutions.
Read more Decentralization: ARC and CVUC seal a historic partnership in Garoua
MANIDEM, CPP, UPC: “A Method”
Tiriane Noah broadens the discussion beyond the MRC, speaking of an “institutional practice” aimed at weakening political parties. The CPP of Kah Walla reportedly saw in 2020 the MINAT attempt to disavow its president in favor of a dissident, a move thwarted by the judiciary. The UPC reportedly experienced the designation of a “single leader” by ministerial decision in July 2018, suspended two years later by the administrative court for “illegal interference.”
The most cited case: MANIDEM. On the night of July 21 to 22, 2025, the name of Anicet Ekane, the legitimate president, reportedly disappeared from the MINAT website in favor of Dieudonné Yebga. A few days later, Yebga submitted a MANIDEM candidacy for the presidential election, creating a “plurality of endorsements” which served ELECAM on July 26 and the Constitutional Council on August 5 to reject Maurice Kamto’s candidacy endorsed by MANIDEM. The opinion piece mentions an audio recording attributing to Yebga that he acted “with the minister’s approval.”
Finally, the opinion piece denounces the electoral calendar: legislative and municipal elections scheduled for February 2025, postponed once to July 2024. Then again extended until December 20, 2026, with the removal of the 18-month limit for municipal elections. “Three postponements in two years! A regime confident of its victory does not do that,” she writes.
An Image Issue
Beyond the MRC, Tiriane Noah believes that it is “the civilization of political morals” and “Cameroon’s image” at stake, a few weeks before the Universal Periodic Review of human rights in October, and while the 2027 budget already shows 200 billion less in revenue.
“A country that needs to reassure its creditors cannot afford to cast doubt on the rule of law. A strong party is not a risk, it is a signal of maturity sent to investors,” she argues.
The opinion piece concludes: “We do not expect favors. We demand the strict application of the texts. A government that lets its people choose their leaders only writes in history the proof of its strength.” The president seems to maintain in this opinion piece the line of combat of Maurice Kamto and Mamadou Mota.
Read more International Day of Peace: Cameroon focuses on dialogue to invest in daily peace