The Interior Minister of Cameroon, Paul Atanga Nji, has revealed that opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary will face legal action over allegations he incited “violent post-election demonstrations”.
On Monday, Bakary revealed that at least four protesters have been killed during clashes between security forces and opposition supporters since Cameroon’s election on 12 October.
92-year-old President Paul Biya became the world’s oldest head of state after winning an eighth consecutive term.
To Tchiroma Bakary, he won the election, but this claim is one that is dismissed by Biya’s ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM).
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The international community has been alarmed by the violent crackdowns by police and security officers on protesters, with the UN, African Union, and EU calling for restraint.
On Tuesday, Nji accused Tchiroma Bakary of organising what he claimed were “illegal” protests leading to the loss of lives, and also criticised him for declaring that he had won the election.
Also, he alleged that Tchiroma Bakary’s “accomplices responsible for an insurrectionary plan” will also face legal action.
President Paul Biya, who assumed power back in 1982, is now the world’s oldest head of state. He won the 12 October election with 53.7% of the vote, compared to 35.2% for Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council stated.
For now, Tchiroma Bakary has not responded to the government’s decision to try him, yet he had previously said he would not accept a stolen vote, and that he was not afraid of being arrested, per the BBC.
On election result day, he said armed men fired shots at protesters assembled near his residence in Garoua, killing at least two civilians.
On Tuesday, the interior minister said an investigation would be launched into violent incidents before and after the election results were announced.
“During these attacks, some of the criminals lost their lives,” he said, without providing a specific number of protesters who have been killed in the clashes.
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Nji added that several members of the security forces had also sustained serious injuries.
