One of the issues of debate in the coming presidential election is the Anglophone crisis. Given his unmatched commitment to the cause, discernible in the decisive role he played within the Africa Forum of 2019 to get former African heads of state mediate in the crisis, continental corruption fighter and good governance advocate, Barrister Akere Muna, stands out from the pack of presidential contenders. In an op-ed titled “Africa Forum & The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: Thabo Mbeki laments!”, Victor Samkoh, national coordinator of The Now Movement, gives reasons why the international lawyer is the best candidate to address the 9-year-old hot potato. Read on:
Africa Forum & The Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon:
Thabo Mbeki laments!
As the race for the October 2025 presidential election in Cameroon hots up, one of the hottest issues in the country the electorate is looking out for, if not the hottest indeed, is the level of commitment by the candidates to finding a solution to the peace and security crisis rocking the Anglophone regions. These two regions, the North West and South West, have for close to 10 years lived in, and have been devastated by what national and international circles have qualified as a civil war. But has there been any effort to resolve the problem since it exploded in 2016? If any, how genuine have they been? The answer seems to be blowing in the wind, as the crisis seems poised to soon celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Meanwhile, there hasn’t really been a shortage of cries and calls for an all -inclusive resolution of this conflict that has seen some clamour for the separation of the Anglophone regions, and some for a return to the
federal structure. The federation born in 1961 was abandoned way back in 1974, just 13 years after the federation was instituted as the gluing structure for the reunification of two former colonies of France and England (La Republique du Cameroun and the British Southern Cameroons).
In September 2019, a year after President Paul BIYA was declared to have won his 6th mandate as president of the Republic of Cameroon, launching him into a 43-year reign as president of the country, he convened what
was known as the Major National Dialogue as an effort to resolve Cameroon’s most crucial crisis. Against what most people thought was a session to reflect on, and resolve the singular, most critical crisis in the Anglophone regions, it was said to have a much broader agenda; to address more than just the Anglophone crisis. Coming to the crisis proper, a constitutionally engraved “Special Status” for the Anglophone regions was
fetched out as a long-foreseen solution from the ‘wisdom’ of the crafters of the close to 30-year-old progressively implemented New Constitution. Its content revealed some form of controlled autonomy which seems to be bound to follow the same progressive implementation process as the constitution itself. The ‘Special Status’ that came out is actually in its 6th year of gradual implementation, and it has hardly even scratched the surface of the people’s expectations… the Boys are still camping in the bushes and unleashing intermittent havoc, the republican army is still after them, and in the process, the boys, the republican army and civilians continue to count their wounded, disabled and dead.
Meanwhile, private property and public infrastructure continue to suffer from the pounding power of the belligerent parties, as the population
continues to flee in to safer shores away from home.
Thabo MBEKI laments:
Within the framework of a joint dialogue with various stakeholders where continental business leaders gather at the Rotana Hotel in Dar es Salaam, for a High-Level Forum Sponsored by AngloGold Ashanti, former President of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, touched the Cameroon crisis. In a related podcast aired on May 26, 2025, and titled POWER TALK, hosted by Mbuyiseni Quintin Nlozi, a south African political activist and radio host, His Excellency Emeritus, Thabo MBEKI, laid bare efforts by the Africa Forum to assist President Paul Biya of Cameroon, to bring an African internationally negotiated solution to the crisis rocking his country.
The Africa Forum is a platform made up of former African heads of State and government, and other African leaders and Eminent continental personalities, coming together to take actions to support the African Union as it works to guide the continent to achieve the objectives laid out in the Constitutive Act. Remember that it was in the presence of the same Thabo MBEKI, former president of South Africa, and then president of the African Union-UN High level panel, that the prestigious award from the Pan-African Lawyers Union, (then headed by the Cameroonian prominent lawyer,
Akere MUNA) was presented to the Cameroon Head of State in June 2014, for Peaceful Conflict Resolution, with the universally acclaimed peaceful resolution of the Bakassi Crisis in focus.
The former South African president, in the podcast, explains how he and the Africa Forum have been trying to talk to President Biya, expressing their
readiness to assist the government of Cameroon to resolve the conflict in the Anglophone regions. Lamenting, he regrets that they haven’t gone far because the government of Cameroon has not been very keen to be assisted to address the challenges and the effort has stalled since then.
Earlier efforts of Akere MUNA:
Very few, if any, seem to remember that almost immediately after the 2018 presidential election, a race from which he withdrew in favor of Prof Maurice KAMTO, the prominent Cameroonian International lawyer, Barrister Akere MUNA, embarked on a project to bring pressure to bear on the Yaounde regime to focus on, and resolve the crisis in Anglophone Cameroon. Capitalizing on his connection to the continentally very respected Africa Forum, especially through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), where he served as a member of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons, including a period as its chairperson from 2013 to 2014. It is in this capacity that apart from leading the assessment teams for Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, and presenting their reports to the APRM forum of heads of state, he generally oversaw the APRM process, to pursue its aims to promote good governance and accountability across African countries.
Barrister Akere MUNA, in a continuous bid to seek peace in his country, had presented the crisis to the Africa Forum who investigated the situation, and reports that it conveyed its views and suggestions to the country’s chief executive, President Paul BIYA. The Forum further resolved to convene an international symposium on the matter, as they sought to build reliable convergence towards the crafting of a reasonable solution to the crisis.
On the 2nd of July 2019, The Forum put out an official communique, convening the Symposium to be held in Addis Ababa – Ethiopia, or any other African country where some 500 Cameroonians from a broad-based
consultation and selection will be invited to participate in a very broad-based discussion. The Forum was convinced that the symposium will be very helpful in assisting them craft and suggest appropriate proposals to the government of Cameroon in view of ending the crisis.
As a complement to the initiative, the Forum went ahead to launch an online consultation with the link http://symposiumcameroon.com and directing all inquiries to info@symposiumcameroon.com. The initiative was widely acclaimed and hailed both internally and internationally. Great was the hope of Cameroonians and lovers of Cameroon at home and abroad as the initiative received the approval and support of both individuals and institutions, locally and internationally. Private and public local and international bodies expressed the hope to see the Cameroon conflict finally resolved through this initiative of former African Heads of State and
Governments.
However, The Africa Forum initiative did not prosper, as the government of Cameroon, turned down their offer of good office, and rather resorted to organizing the Major National Dialogue on its own terms, with objectives, an agenda, and a team of participants that have produced what we can all see and appreciate, over five years after its resolutions were published and drive to their implementation engaged.
It would appear that a new specificity in the 43-years-old Cameroon governance system is what could be termed the “Syndrome of Progressive implementation” (SPA). 29 years since promulgation, and practically graced by four presidential and legislative mandates, article 66 of the constitution, for instance, among others, is still waiting for its time to be implemented. Meanwhile, officials keep taking turns in assuming office and making savoury
shakes of public and private assets for themselves, increasingly blurring the demarcation between the two.
Now that another presidential election is upon us, in fact, supposedly less than four months away, specifically in early October 2025, can Cameroonians expect the next president to do any better? Will the prospective new
strong man go all out to ensure a lasting solution to the Anglophone Crisis? While the wait is on to see if the incumbent 92-year-old President Paul Biya will still run, in the midst of other declared candidates for the election; he who has fondly come to be known variously as Mr. Integrity, Mr. Transparency, Mr. Clean, the Corruption Warrior…; he who wants to see this conflict come to an end at all costs; he who did all to bring in Africa forum to mediate in the conflict; the prominent Cameroon international lawyer and continental corruption fighter, Barrister Akere MUNA, has made it clear he is running.
Bearing in mind that the Anglophone Crisis is a major threat to the peace, unity and progress of Cameroon, selecting the next president of the country would be reflecting what the Cameroonian electorate desires for the nation. While the nation remains in God’s eyes, its peace, unity and prosperity is in our hands. October 2025 therefore is very pregnant.
By Victor SAMKOH
