Cameroon Political Opposition Figure Confronts Legal Action Regarding Post-Election Violence, Authorities Declares
Cameroon's Minister of the Interior Paul Atanga Nji has declared that opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary will face legal action over accusations that he provoked "violent election protests".
No fewer than four protesters have been killed during clashes between law enforcement and opposition supporters since Cameroon's election on October 12, with the 92-year-old head of state obtaining an eighth term in office.
Tchiroma Bakary asserts that he won the election, a claim rejected by Biya's ruling party, the ruling CPDM.
Aggressive responses by law enforcement on demonstrators have worried the global community, with the United Nations, African Union and EU demanding caution.
Official's Allegations
Recently, Nji charged Tchiroma Bakary of planning what he referred to as "unauthorized" protests leading to the fatalities, and also condemned him for claiming win in the electoral contest.
He further stated that the opposition leader's "associates involved in an insurrectionary plan" will also be prosecuted.
Poll Figures
Paul Biya, who came to power in the early 80s and is now the most elderly national leader, obtained the 12 October election with 53.7% of the vote, compared to a significant minority for his opponent, according to the constitutional court.
Challenger's Position
Tchiroma Bakary is has not yet commented to the official announcement to prosecute him, but he had before stated that he would not accept a fraudulent outcome - and that he was not afraid of being detained.
On election result day, he said that security forces used lethal force on protesters assembled near his residence in Garoua, fatally wounding at least 2 civilians.
Inquiry Announced
Earlier this week, the government official revealed that an probe would be started into clashes surrounding the announcement of the vote outcome.
"In the course of these incidents, some of the individuals involved lost their lives," he stated, without providing a specific number of protesters who have been lost their lives in the incidents.
Nji added that several personnel of the law enforcement also sustained serious injuries.
Present Conditions
While the interior minister asserted the condition across the country was now stable, demonstrators are still demonstrating in certain regions of the nation, especially in these two cities, where protesters set up barricades on that day, and set fire to tyres on the streets.
Experts caution that the post-electoral violence could plunge the nation into a political crisis.