The special links between the Cameroonian and Ivorian democratic parties built by the late Ni John Fru Ndi and Laurent Gbagbo have continued to flourish.
It was thought that the passing on of Fru Ndi would end those links, but they were reactivated when the National President of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), Honorable Joshua Osih, graced the third edition of the Fête de la Renaissance, held on April 11 and 12, 2025, in Dabou, Côte d’Ivoire, as the guest of honor of President Laurent Gbagbo.
Initiated during the era of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) under the name ‘Fête de la Liberté’, this celebration, now known as ‘Fête de la Renaissance’, symbolizes the liberation of President Laurent Gbagbo from the prison of neocolonialism, which occurred on March 31, 2021, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
For this 2025 edition, the Parti des Peuples Africains – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI) chose to return to Dabou, an emblematic place where the first opposition party in Côte d’Ivoire was launched clandestinely in 1988. It is also the site of historic resistance to neocolonialism on April 11, 2011, the date of President Gbagbo’s removal from the Presidency of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire.
Two dates, two places, two powerful symbols to mark a new step towards the complete sovereignty of Africa. On this occasion, President Joshua Osih actively participated in the official opening ceremony and the symbolic ribbon-cutting on April 11, 2025. He received from his Ivorian peers the mandate to carry the flame of Pan-Africanism in Cameroon and to represent the African left with dignity in the Cameroonian presidential election of October 2025.
Warmly received by President Laurent Gbagbo, the two parties exchanged views on their shared vision of a united, sovereign Africa, free from the chains of neocolonialism, and resolutely committed to the path of social justice, authentic democracy, and shared development.
The delegation of Joshua Osih left Abidjan on April 13, 2025, invigorated by this fraternal experience, and determined to vigorously and convincingly carry the torch of political and economic liberation for Cameroon.
The SDF, which coordinates the Progressive Alliance in Africa through its National President, reaffirms its commitment to building, alongside African progressive forces, a free, strong, and united Africa of the people.
