By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Cameroon’s presidential hopeful, Maurice Kamto, says police have surrounded his home for the past two days after his return from France, where he held political meetings that angered the ruling CPDM party.
On Sunday, law enforcement officers blocked Kamto, 71, from leaving his apartment in the main city of Douala for a meeting with members of his Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party.
He later called off plans to hold the meeting on Monday over the high deployment of security operatives.
Kamto had announced his plan to contest in Cameroon’s presidential election later this year.
He is hoping to oust the 92-year-old Paul Biya, who has for four decades had a grip on power. Biya has not yet declared whether he will stand for re-election.
Kamto spent nine months in detention after contesting the 2018 poll, when the authorities accused the former law professor of insurrection following protests by his supporters. The opposition claimed that the poll had been rigged in favour of Biya, an allegation the government denied.
While in Paris last month, Kamto promised to protect Biya and his family if he wins October’s election.
“When you do me the great honour of entrusting me with the reins, you can be sure that nothing will happen to Mr Biya and his family. Nothing. I guarantee it. I have no time for hatred. I only have time to build Cameroon with you,” he told thousands of Cameroonians living in the diaspora who had turned up to his rally on 31 May.
This, however, did not go down well with ruling party officials, with some of them calling Kamto’s comments “pathetic”.
“What protection do they need? Which family are we talking about?” asked Labour Minister Grégoire Owona in a Facebook post, adding, “Cameroon is not in danger.”
Following Kamto’s return, security has been tightened in parts of Douala.
Police officers on the ground told the BBC on Monday that they had been instructed to watch the neighbourhood where Kamto was staying, and the media was not allowed to film.
Footage filmed in the city on Sunday evening showed Kamto telling supporters, “As I speak, I’m still sequestered.”
“Go home in calm and dignity,” he told chanting supporters who had gathered at the scene.
As the election approaches, rights groups have condemned the government’s crackdown on dissent in the Central African nation.
Parliamentary elections that were also supposed to take place earlier this year have been delayed until 2026.
Biya has been in power for 42 years and is one of the world’s oldest heads of state.
Last year, the country banned reports on the president’s health, following rumours that he had died.
