Post-Election Crackdown: HRW Demands Action Against SecurityForces, Urges Leaders to Reject Violence
By Synthia Lateu
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Cameroonian government to investigate and prosecute security forces responsible for post-election violence and urged political leaders to tell their supporters to reject violence.
The rights organization expressed concern over the authorities’ response to widespread opposition-led protests following the October 12, 2025 elections, which included the use of lethal force and mass arrests of protesters and ordinary citizens. The Constitutional Council had announced incumbent President Paul Biya the winner, with Issa Tchiroma Bakary coming second, a result disputed by the opposition.
“The violent crackdown on protesters and ordinary citizens across Cameroon lays bare a deepening pattern of repression that casts a dark cloud over the election,” Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at HRW, said in a report released on November 12.
HRW further urged authorities to immediately release all those detained in connection with peaceful protests or the expression of opposition views. “Anyone committing violence should be appropriately charged with their due process rights fully respected, including their rights to bail and to a prompt and fair trial with an effective defense,” the report said.
The organization spoke to 20 people and reviewed five lists compiled by pro-opposition lawyers containing the names of 312 people detained since October 26, 154 of whom have yet to appear before a judge. Among those held in Yaoundé, at least six are being detained at the State Defense Secretariat (Secrétariat d’Etat à la Défense), a facility where HRW has documented routine use of torture.
Lawyer Kengne Fabien told HRW that one of his clients, a 63-year-old civil engineer, was beaten during arrest in Douala on October 27. “Gendarmes beat him, tore his clothes, and detained him without explanation,” Kengne said. “My client was not involved in any protest but was questioned over a voice message he sent in a family WhatsApp group urging relatives to vote for Tchiroma.” The man has been held in administrative detention since October 30 without charge.
While Human Rights Watch called for the release of peaceful protesters and accountability for security forces, the government maintained that those arrested were ‘assailants and drugged,’ with Minister Paul Atanga Nji accusing opposition elements of orchestrating violence
