Cameroon archbishop urges 91-year-old president not to seek re-election

DOUALA, Cameroon

The Archbishop of Douala called on President Paul Biya of Cameroon not to stand for re-election in October this year.

President Biya, 91, has held his office for 42 years. Although he has not officially declared his candidature for the election, his New Year message to the nation suggested he was committed to leading the country beyond 2025.

“I have heard your calls and encouragements, and I remain dedicated to serving our beloved nation,” Biya said, responding to calls from his supporters to seek re-election.

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala warned that a new term for the frail leader would be a mistake, telling RFI that it was “not realistic”.

“People are worried,” he said, and called for a “peaceful transition” to a new government. Such a transition, he argued, could only be guaranteed through a free election with an outcome accepted by all.

The archbishop’s intervention met a divided response from the Cameroonian political class.  Jean-Michel Nintcheu, an opposition parliamentarian and chairman of Front for Change in Cameroon, echoed his view, noting that Biya turns 92 in February and “should be thinking of taking a well-deserved retirement”.

The president’s supporters denied these claims. Gregoire Owona, Minister of Labour and Social Security in Biya’s Cabinet, accused Archbishop Kleda of exceeding his clerical responsibilities and acting as an opposition figure, becoming “a prelate who has taken his side”.

“He sometimes feels obliged to take political positions, without analysing all the consequences. So he has taken his position as a citizen, and his flock who want to follow him will follow him,” he said.

Biya first took office in 1982 following the resignation of Cameroon’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who had held power since independence in 1960.

As a young president Biya promised democracy, and in 1992 Cameroon held its first multi-party presidential elections in which the opposition leader John Fru Ndi claimed victory, with backing from national and international observers, but the Supreme Court declared Biya the victor.

Every Cameroonian election since has seen challenges to the result and allegations of irregularities. Archbishop Kleda has said that “democracy doesn’t exist in Cameroon”.