Cameroon Politics: Maurice KAMTO condemns recurrent attack against non-natives of South Region, calls for immediate intervention
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Maurice Kamto
On 22 February 2025, Maurice KAMTO, National President of the CRM, Candidate of the CRM and the PAC in the forthcoming presidential election condemned recurrently attacks against non natives of the Southern Region of Cameroon. Read full statement as published on his Facebook Page below:
DECLARATION: STOP THE RECURRING VIOLENCE AGAINST ‘NON-NATIVES’ IN THE SOUTHERN REGION, THE ‘GRANITE BEDROCK’ OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC IN FUNCTION, ON THE EVE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF 2025.
Public opinion is still reeling from the shocking images of acts of rare violence that took place in the sub-division of Meyo, Ntem Valley division, Southern Region, on 20 February 2025, and which were widely circulated on social networks.
With all due respect, it would appear that these acts of hatred and vandalism against the businesses and other property of so-called ‘non-native’ people, considered to be foreigners in their own country, originated in a heinous crime that has yet to be solved. This crime which caused́ the death of a local resident́ waś preceded by the murder of a first resident only a few days before. But, curiously, this first crime would not have aroused́ the popular fury that was deplored on 20 February after the second murder.
On my own behalf and on behalf of the militants and sympathisers of the CRM, I send my sincere condolences to the families of the various victims. I wish the injured a speedy recovery.
I urge the Government to provide all necessary assistance to those who suffered material losses during this murderous madness.
The CRM recalls that crime has no tribe or ethnic group, still less language.
No tribe, ethnic group or linguistic group can be held criminally or morally accountable for an offence or crime committed by one of its members.
Moreover, no one has the right to take the law into their own hands, not even in the case of heinous crimes.
It is becoming worrying to note the recurrence of acts of hateful violence against ‘non-natives’ in the Sud region, the home region of the current President of the Republic, on various grounds, particularly after each crime in which the victim is presented as originating from this part of our country. It is appalling to see the totally unprofessional attitude of the security forceś during these various outbreaks of violence against Cameroonians from other parts of the country, for acts that are nothing other than crimes punishable under criminal law.
The administrative authorities and the security forceś give the impression that the Southern Region is a region apart from Cameroon, where they do not obey the same law and order requirements as in the other regions of our country; that the Penal Code which governs the actions of judicial police officers is different there from that which applies in the rest of the Republic.
The zeal with which these same administrative and security authorities are repressing CRM militants across the country, particularly in the Southern Region, contrasts with their passive or accommodating and guilty attitude during these acts of barbarism against ‘non-natives’.
The government must put an urgent end to this recurring savagery. Moreover, the political, economic, social, intellectual, traditional and religious elites of the region concerned must publicly denounce these acts, which do no honour to the people of the Southern Region, who have a long-standing reputation for welcoming other Cameroonians. These incomprehensible acts seriously undermine national cohesion and the living together that is so dear to all Cameroonians.
Their urgent public statement is all the more necessary as our country is only a few months away from a presidential election that is crucial to its future. The forthcoming presidential election is alreadỳ largely polluted by a growing and unabashed tribal and ethnic hatred that the Government is allowing well-identified individuals to distil all day long in certain media. I’ve said it elsewhere and I’ll say it again here: no communitý will be thrown into the sea. We have no choice but to reflect together on the conditions of our coexistence in republican fraternitý and peace between the communities that make up our nation.
Done in Yaoundé́ on 22 February 2025, Maurice KAMTO, National President of the CRM, Candidate of the CRM and the PAC in the forthcoming presidential election
Read original statement on his Facebook page HERE
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
