FECARugby Elections: Clubs demand annulment, fresh start
Over twenty club associations under the Cameroon Rugby Federation (FECARUGBY) have written to World Rugby and the Ministry of Sports, calling for the cancellation of the electoral process within their federation. They cite irregularities and violations of World Rugby statutes as their reasons.
The General Elective Assembly, held on December 28 in Yaoundé, resulted in Barrister Patrice Monthe being elected President of the Executive Office of FECARUGBY, with Njewel Christian as First Vice President, Professor Essomba Benoît as Second Vice President, Gaël Ndjock as Secretary General, and Kede Desiré as Treasurer.
Some members of the federation have alleged that the electoral process violated key statutes, including the absence of an independent electoral commission and the exclusion of legitimate clubs from voting. Patrice Monthe, who was declared president, faces allegations of past mismanagement and has been criticized for lacking the moral qualifications for the position. The State of Cameroon had previously been obliged to repay Monthe’s debts of 2013 to Rugby Africa and World Rugby, amounting to 57 million FCFA.
Additionally, Njewel Christian’s candidacy was canceled on the eve of the election by the normalization committee, rendering him unfit for the post. However, during the General Elective Assembly, he was designated as First Vice President. Similarly, Gaël Ndjock, who has allegedly never participated in any federation activities and did not file his candidacy before the Independent Electoral Commission, was also included.
The club associations also decried the inclusion of fictitious clubs in the voting process, claiming it undermined the credibility of the elections. “Only one representative of each association is supposed to vote,” as stated in Article 12 of the federation’s statutes, yet the normalization committee validated more than five representatives.
“The President of the National Normalization Committee, Félix Etoundi Onana, was appointed by the Ministry of Sports to regulate and normalize the situation. Unfortunately, his actions were scandalous, and the clubs in Cameroon do not accept them. We have a collective of about twenty clubs that have written a petition and appealed to Rugby Africa for solutions,” explained Frida Nolla, one of the club representatives.
The government and international bodies have yet to react to the complaints, which continue to mount in different regions of the country. The complaining clubs include Sahel of Maroua, Abeilles of Etoudi, Lions Rugby Club of Yaoundé, Massoda Rugby, Pitoa Rugby Club, Gorilles of Ebolowa, Baganté Rugby Club, among others.
