Edith Kah Walla , CPP leader, has returned to the limelight by joining in the condemnation of Minister Atanga Nji’s abuse of power through banning discussion on President Biya’s health which he claims is a matter of national security.
In a powerful open letter addressed to the Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji , the activist and politiciancalled for a radical change in approach. Mixing sharp criticism with a fraternal tone, she urged the minister to stop threatening citizens, to renounce illegal declarations, and to act effectively in the face of the crises shaking the country. This piece, both personal and political, highlights the urgent challenges Cameroon faces, from urban insecurity to the Anglophone crisis, to floods in the Far North. Kah Walla forcefully reminds the minister of his duties to his people and the necessity of separating state functions from partisan interests. Following is the open letter in its entirety:
Mr. Minister of Territorial Administration,
My dear brother from Abakwa,
I am writing you a public and personal letter. Public because it concerns the ostentatious public actions you have taken and not taken. Personal because yes, you are my brother.
This letter aims to ask you to stop, renounce, and take action.
Stop.
As a Cameroonian citizen, I ask you to immediately stop two things.
First, you must stop threatening and insulting us, the Cameroonian citizens. The use of terms like “moulinex,” intimidating language, and tone must stop immediately. You are a Minister of the Republic of Cameroon. I invite you to reread Article 2 of our Constitution.
We, the People, hold the national sovereignty that we choose to exercise through the President of the Republic. You are appointed by the President of the Republic. In the hierarchical order, we, the People, are the boss of your boss. Under no circumstances are you supposed to insult or threaten us in the exercise of your official duties. Our taxes pay your salary and that of the President of the Republic. You work for us.
As a Minister of the Republic, you must always demonstrate professionalism, etiquette, and respectability. We pay you to represent us with dignity and decorum.
Unlike many Cameroonians, I have met and talked with you. During a 3-hour conversation, we disagreed more than 90% of the time. Not once did you threaten or insult me during this conversation, despite our diametrically opposed views. I know, therefore, that you are capable of communicating without threats or insults.
Stop immediately the threats and insults you use when addressing Cameroonians. It is disrespectful to us, the People. It is a violation of Cameroonian law, an inappropriate attitude, and a lack of respect towards the Cameroonian people.
It is an act unworthy of the position you have been appointed to occupy. A position that represents us as a nation.
Stop immediately the threats and insults.
Renounce.
As a Cameroonian citizen, I ask you to immediately renounce illegal declarations.
As a Minister of the Republic of Cameroon, one of your main responsibilities is to respect and enforce the law.
You regularly make declarations and attempt to carry out acts that are contrary to the law. I will cite two examples.
Illegal declaration on freedom of expression: Banning public debate on the state of health of the Head of State. The preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon states that “freedom of communication, expression, press, assembly, association, and trade unionism, as well as the right to strike, are guaranteed under the conditions fixed by the law.” Freedom of expression is a constitutional right! You cannot, as a Minister of the Republic, forbid a Cameroonian from expressing themselves on any subject unless there is a specific law allowing you to do so. Your directive of October 9, 2024, to the governors is therefore illegal.
Illegal pronouncements on the functioning of political parties: Banning coalitions and requiring political parties to seek permission from prefects and sub-prefects to hold meetings, Mr. Minister, is in direct contradiction with laws No. 90/055 and No. 90/056 of December 19, 1990, which specify the legal parameters for holding public meetings and the functioning of political parties, respectively. These laws make your communiqués of March 12 and May 23, 2024, illegal, which are also written in a threatening and insulting tone.
Mr. Minister, respecting Cameroonian law, I repeat, is a fundamental and specific element of your duties.
The law states that you must provide a framework in which political parties exercise the freedom of political opinion, guaranteed by our constitution, and conduct their activities. Under no circumstances are you supposed to interfere or meddle in the functioning of political parties. Despite our very imperfect judicial system, your attempts to interfere in the internal functioning of political parties have always been stopped by the courts. I know this firsthand because I have beaten you as the president of the Cameroon People’s Party, not once, but twice in the judicial system. Several other political parties have also beaten you in a judicial system that does not favor opposition parties at all.
Learn the lesson. Stop the illegal communiqués, decisions, and ministerial acts. It is not only inappropriate and unworthy of the position you have been appointed to occupy, but it suggests that you are not fit to hold this position.
Finally, Mr. Minister, you must stop confusing your role as an activist of the ruling political party with your functions as a minister.
It is unfortunate that your party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), has confused itself as a party with the government of Cameroon over the past 42 years. You have confused state functions, you have confused state resources, and you have completely confused state interests with those of your party.
Know that this confusion is unfortunate, contrary to the interests of the Republic, and unquestionably illegal. It is a confusion that has impoverished our country, hindered its development, and prevented Cameroonians from enjoying the freedoms, resources, and wealth of this wonderful country of ours. You, Mr. Minister, are one of the main promoters of this confusion.
You must immediately stop confusing your role as an activist of the CPDM with your role as a Minister. You are a Minister of the Republic of Cameroon. We pay you to support and defend national interests, not the interests of any individual citizen, even when that citizen is the President of the Republic.
Take action.
While you are busy hurling insults, threats, and illegal declarations, the work you are supposed to do, the work for which we pay you as Cameroonian citizens, is being done very poorly. The responsibilities you are discharging extremely inadequately are numerous. Allow me to focus on three of them that require urgent and effective action on your part.
The crisis in the Far North
Mr. Minister, nearly half a million Cameroonians are in distress in the Far North of our country due to floods. You have banned (you and the bans, huh!) Cameroonians from mobilizing resources to help their fellow citizens. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Civil Protection of your ministry has failed on several fronts.
Prevention. These floods occur every year, and the exceptionally high water levels this year were predicted. Your ministry did nothing to prevent the deaths of Cameroonians and the disastrous situation in which nearly 500,000 of our compatriots find themselves.
Adequate response. The precise mission of the Directorate of Civil Protection is to prepare for and respond to disasters. So far, your response is very insufficient. The shelters are inadequate and have been flooded again. The assistance provided to the victims is insufficient and inappropriate. The victims are traumatized and re-traumatized.
Coordination, planning, and resource mobilization. Your ministry is supposed to coordinate with all other ministries as well as with civil society and private sector actors to provide short, medium, and long-term solutions to these citizens in distress. Apart from your statements about the gifts from the Head of State (once again confusing your role as an activist with that of a minister), Cameroonians are not aware of the support plan for our compatriots. After your ban on private initiatives, despite the glaring lack of resources for the victims, no one knows what your ministry is doing to respond to this crisis or how we, citizens, can contribute.
Urban insecurity
Mr. Minister, as citizens, we live in growing and alarming insecurity in our cities. This insecurity is due to the lack of job opportunities, education, and training for about 30% of our youth. Insecurity is also due to the proliferation and consumption of illegal drugs in our country. This insecurity endangers our lives, hinders economic growth, and investments in our country. It is a complex and urgent problem that is at the heart of your portfolio as Minister of Territorial Administration.
Your days should be spent, not threatening and insulting us, but mobilizing your fellow ministers as well as all other stakeholders (how can you mobilize us when you threaten us?), to solve this urgent problem.
The Anglophone crisis
Mr. Minister, as I told you in person, I consider you one of the main protagonists of a crisis that has killed nearly 10,000 Cameroonians, created about 60,000 refugees, and displaced more than 800,000 people. Your unfortunate “peace meeting” of the CPDM on December 8, 2016, triggered what has become a low-intensity civil war in our country. Citizens were unhappy with their government and made legitimate complaints. You decided to respond with a partisan event and triggered a disaster. Do you begin to understand the calamity that this confusion between the role of minister and that of an activist has caused for our country?
Today, the crisis is here, and you are a Minister. The responses you have provided to internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are directly under your responsibility are totally inadequate. The displaced need shelters, administrative documents, schools, and jobs. You have sometimes provided them with a mattress or a bag of rice. The West, Littoral, Center, and even the South are flooded with waves of displaced persons who, in their vulnerability, are subject to human trafficking for sexual and labor purposes. The victims are re-victimized again and again. Mr. Minister, you were so quick, through your arrogance, threats, and insults, to trigger this crisis. We now ask you to do the work for which we, the citizens, pay you.
Develop a clear plan for administrative documents for the displaced. Hundreds of thousands of displaced persons live in total insecurity because they do not have a birth certificate, national identity card, or other administrative documents. Organize with your fellow ministers and immediately get these citizens out of this precarious situation. They have suffered for too long.
Provide physical and mental health care. Since the beginning of this crisis, your government has offered little to no services to displaced persons who have suffered severe physical and mental trauma. Organize with your colleagues in charge of health and social assistance to provide the services that these victims, who have suffered for years without your concern, desperately need.
Develop a clear employment strategy. The displaced need a means of survival. Organize with your multiple fellow ministers in charge of decentralization, economic development, agriculture, etc., and develop a clear employment strategy. The displaced are citizens whom the misguided policies of your CPDM government have made homeless and jobless. It is your responsibility to enable them to reintegrate into social and economic life.
Mr. Minister, there is more than enough serious work to be done. These are just a few of the urgent issues on your desk. You have no time to waste on trivial communiqués and illegal ministerial decisions.
Act, Mr. Minister. It is your job.
My dear brother from Abakwa,
Yes, I will conclude on this very personal note. You are my brother, and I am your sister, regardless of our ambivalent feelings towards each other. Cameroon destines us this way, Abakwa destines us this way.
Anyone who meets you immediately realizes the deep love, bordering on adoration, that you have for the Head of State. Even though I find this choice strange, it is yours, and I respect it. However, this blind love for Paul Biya has led you to take actions that have very directly destroyed the Abakwa we knew and loved, for this generation and the next. Let this be a lesson. Let it not be repeated for the entire Nation. If nature takes its course, sooner or later, Paul Biya will leave this Nation, and you and I will remain. Brothers and sisters, we will look each other in the face.
Stop. Renounce. Act. So that on that day, we can find common ground to rebuild, from the ashes that you and your love for Paul Biya have left us.
Very sincerely
Kah Walla
