MAURICE KAMTO IS BAD FOR AMBAZONIA: A WARNING TO OUR PEOPLE
The West—led by France and the United States—is grooming Maurice Kamto to replace Paul Biya as the next ruler of La République du Cameroun (LRC). This development, if allowed to go unchallenged, would spell a deeper crisis for the Ambazonian cause. It is not a shift—it is a rebranding of oppression.
Maurice Kamto is no stranger to the corridors of power in Yaoundé. He was born in Bafoussam, in the so-called “West Region” of Cameroon, and has been deeply embedded in the state machinery for decades. As a professor of international law and a lawyer for the LRC in the Bakassi Peninsula dispute against Nigeria, he played a key role in a territorial contest between two foreign powers over a land that legally and morally belongs to neither. His participation in that case makes clear where his loyalties lie: not with the oppressed, but with the structures of empire and state domination.
Kamto is a product of the same authoritarian and centralist school of thought as Paul Biya. Like Biya, he is a disciple of “L’autorité de l’État”—a political philosophy that places the power of the state above all else, even basic human rights. He believes in the monopoly of violence by the state, and his approach to governance is rooted in suppressing dissent rather than resolving injustice.
The West’s support for Kamto has nothing to do with democracy or reform. It is about continuity—preserving a client state that serves French geopolitical and economic interests. Kamto has proven to be an ideal candidate for the role. His ambition for power has made him pliable to Western influence, a vulnerability that former colonial powers have weaponized time and again across Francophone Africa. His support in France, where political rallies for Cameroon are bizarrely held on foreign soil, is not a show of grassroots mobilization, but a coded message: France still pulls the strings in Cameroon.
A Kamto presidency will not bring justice for Ambazonians. On the contrary, it will double down on the colonial status quo. His government would likely intensify efforts to crush the Ambazonian independence movement under the guise of national unity and territorial integrity. There will be no meaningful negotiation, no recognition of our right to self-determination, and no end to military occupation.
Let us be clear: Maurice Kamto represents the continuity of colonial oppression under a different face. The Ambazonian people must not be deceived. We must prepare for a strategic and united front against the next phase of neo-colonialism in LRC.
This is a call to awaken, organize, and act. The struggle for the liberation of Ambazonia cannot and will not be derailed by cosmetic political changes in Yaoundé. A new face in Etoudi does not mean a new reality for our people.
Ambazonia must remain resolute. Kamto is not our ally. He is an obstacle
Anthony Asong
MAURICE KAMTO IS BAD FOR AMBAZONIA: A WARNING TO OUR PEOPLE
