2025 Presidential Elections in Cameroon: MAURICE KAMTO’s Statement on the Forgotten Hostages of the 14 August 2025 Kidnapping on the Kousseri-Maroua Road
Below is the Official Statement as published on his Facebook page
Despite the heinous murder of one of the five children of a family, for which the perpetrators and their accomplices will sooner or later be held accountable, I am delighted that four of these children have been released alive.
I express my deepest sympathy to the family of the young compatriot who was cowardly murdered.
I congratulate all those who, in any way, contributed directly or indirectly to the release of the first ten hostages.
According to initial reports that circulated in the early hours of that fateful day, 14 August, 17 people were kidnapped.
During his speech on 21 August on the occasion of the release of the first ten hostages, the Governor of the Far North Region referred to fifteen people being kidnapped and promised that the public would be kept fully informed of developments in the case.
Several days after this statement, what has become of the other hostages, how many are there and who are they?
Admittedly, in its own particular way of governing, the ruling power has not deigned to speak out since 14 August to inform Cameroonians, reassure them and even officially console the family whose son was coldly murdered.
How long will those who govern us continue to show such contempt for the people of Cameroon?
They owe explanations to the families of the other hostages who are believed to still be in the hands of the kidnappers. They also owe them to the people of Cameroon. Politics is for the benefit of one’s fellow citizens, not for oneself, or simply to enjoy power. It is therefore urgent that those who govern us remember this and show the families of the hostages and the people of Cameroon that they too still have a heart and that they are sensitive to the suffering of the people.
My thoughts go out in particular, first of all, to the families of the hostages, of whom we have heard no news to date; secondly, to the people of the Far North, who face daily insecurity – the reasons for which will one day have to be explained to the people of Cameroon, given the many questionable situations and public statements on this subject; and finally for the women and men who, sometimes without the necessary means, are trying to stem a systematic insecurity that is largely political in nature.
Done at Yaoundé, 27 August 2025
MAURICE KAMTO
Click HERE to read the official statement on his Facebook Page
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.
