Cameroon Accuses Opposition Leader Bakary of Fueling Deadly Post-Election Violence
The Cameroonian government has accused opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary of instigating deadly violence that erupted across the country following the announcement of President Paul Biya’s re-election.
Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, said the unrest, which left several people dead and property destroyed, was directly linked to Bakary’s actions after he prematurely declared victory in the disputed October 12 election.
“Many buildings and vehicles have been set ablaze nationwide,” Nji told reporters in Yaounde on Tuesday evening. “Several people have died and some members of the security forces wounded,” he added, emphasising that Bakary would be held responsible by the courts.
According to Agence France-Presse, at least four people were killed on Sunday in clashes between security forces and Bakary’s supporters in Douala, the nation’s largest city. The report cited Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, the regional governor, as confirming the deaths.
The election results, announced Monday, handed 92-year-old President Paul Biya an eighth term in office with 53% of the vote. Bakary, a former cabinet minister, had been Biya’s closest challenger and rejected the results as fraudulent.
Biya, the world’s oldest sitting president, has ruled Cameroon for 43 years. His upcoming inauguration on November 6 underscores the country’s enduring political continuity one that many young Cameroonians, whose median age is 18, have known all their lives.
