By Boris Esono Nwenfor
BUEA, Cameroon – Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the opposition leader who has rejected official results of Cameroon’s October presidential vote, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the release of “hundreds and thousands” of people he says were arbitrarily detained in the post-election crackdown, warning that “the consequences will be yours” if the government does not comply.
In a video message released to supporters on his official Facebook account, Tchiroma, who has described himself as the country’s rightful winner and has led calls for mass protest since the vote, accused President Paul Biya’s administration of operating “state-based terrorism, state-based gangsterism” and of carrying out ethnic, political and regional “cleansing” through mass arrests.
“On November 6, the Cameroonian people witnessed a hold-up of their state. It is a terrible shame,” Tchiroma said. “I give the Biya regime 48 hours to release all prisoners arbitrarily arrested for their opinions or for supporting the truth. After 48 hours, the consequences will be yours.”
Tchiroma’s statement amounts to the most forceful challenge yet from the opposition since tensions flared after the Constitutional Council declared Biya the winner of the October 12 election on October 27. The veteran president was sworn in for a new seven-year term on November 6, but opposition parties, civil-society organisations and parts of the public have widely contested the vote.
In his address, Tchiroma condemned what he called the “profanation” of the oath-taking, criticising the use of the Bible at the ceremony, and accused the government of detaining people “out of any lawful, legal procedure.” He urged the international community, and democracies in particular, to wake up to what he termed an “unlawful, dictatorial” turn in Cameroon.
Tchiroma warned that if detained supporters were not released within two days, Cameroonians would be “in a legitimate position to defend themselves” and “free to undertake whatever will enable them to recover their freedom.” He called on citizens to remain “tall and strong” until the situation is resolved.
The opposition leader’s rhetoric is likely to further raise tensions in a country already rocked by post-electoral protests that, according to various opposition and civil-society accounts, have seen mass arrests, roadblocks and clashes between security forces and demonstrators. Official tallies and statements from government authorities on the number of detainees and the causes of recent unrest remain limited.
In previous weeks, authorities have defended the election and said security measures were necessary to restore order after what they described as attempts to destabilise the country.
Human-rights groups have repeatedly warned that arrests and crackdowns can deepen divisions and fuel further unrest. Cameroon’s fragile political environment, compounded by an eight-year conflict in the Anglophone North West and South West regions and ongoing security threats in the Far North, raises the stakes of any escalation.
Tchiroma, a former minister and long-standing figure in Cameroonian politics, has been one of the most vocal critics of the vote outcome. He and his supporters maintain they have documentary evidence and parallel tallies showing a different result from the one proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.
International actors have expressed concern over reports of violence and urged restraint from all parties. Calls for a credible, transparent accounting of the vote have intensified as tensions persist.
