Dozens Arrested In Opposition Protest
Government forces used tear gas, water cannons and whips to disperse opposition demonstrators in the Cities of Douala, Bafoussam and Bafang on Tuesday September 22, 2020 during a protest staged by the Cameroon Renaissance Movement to demand the departure of Paul Biya. Party leader Maurice Kamto was held under house arrest and many of his close collaborators arrested. However public’s reaction to the call was low.
Wilfred Ekanga, a CRM militant has decried the low turnout and public’s response which was least expected. The opposition protesters were counting on a massive turnout like their electoral hold up last January.
Some 31 people supporting the Kamto protest were arrested in Douala . Shots were also fired on protesters by the military.
Kamto’s adviser, Albert Ndzongang was sprayed with tear gas in Douala while marching on streets.
50 people arrested in Yaoundé, one of them was Kamto’s communication personnel, Bibou Nissack. They had also arrested CRM’s big wig who is also a University lecturer, Alain Fogue.
Amsterdam and Partners LLP Law Firm, published a letter on September 21, 2020 promising to advocate and defend the rights of Kamto, the CRM and protesters.
CNA thinks that with no Anglophone region taking part in the CRM planned September 22 protest despite the fact that it was their historic date; sends a strong message to the political class that emotions and political chest cards are different from the reality on the ground.
The leader of the CRM party, Maurice Kamto, has congratulated those who took part in the protest and promised that this was just the first step towards a project to oust Biya peacefully from power.
