Issa Tchiroma Condemns “Abuse of Power” After Arrests of Opposition Leaders

Tchiroma revealed that the Director of the Civil Cabinet (DCC), Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, acting on behalf of the regime, had initiated contact with opposition figures including Anicet Ekane and Professor Aba to open negotiations.
However, within days of those exchanges, both men were arrested, prompting Tchiroma to denounce what he called “a cynical abuse of power and a betrayal of basic political decency.”

“If the international community does not see this abuse of power,” Tchiroma warned, “then truly, at some point, it must stop.”

“When You Needed Negotiations, They Weren’t Terrorists”

In his address, Tchiroma dismantled what he described as the regime’s pattern of hypocrisy, asking how men invited to negotiate days earlier could suddenly be branded criminals or traitors.

“A few days ago, the DCC called the coordinators of the Union for Change to negotiate. They refused your proposals — and now you arrest them?
So, when you were seeking to negotiate with them, they were not terrorists?”

He continued,

“Two days ago, you contacted Professor Aba, proposing that he come meet you to negotiate on my behalf. I refused, and you arrested him.”

According to sources close to the opposition, the meetings were allegedly meant to explore a power-sharing compromise following the mounting evidence that Tchiroma had won the election based on authentic procès-verbaux (PVs) now available online.

The abrupt arrests of the same interlocutors have instead deepened fears that the regime is weaponizing dialogue as a trap, a tactic frequently seen in Cameroon’s political playbook.

A Familiar Pattern of Repression

Analysts point out that this episode fits the longstanding authoritarian model of the Biya government — engage the opposition with one hand while dismantling it with the other.
Similar tactics were deployed during:

• The 2018 post-election crisis, when members of Maurice Kamto’s MRC were jailed after contesting results;

• The 2016 Anglophone protests, where teachers and lawyers were invited to negotiate, only to be arrested and charged with terrorism;

• And the Enoh Meyomesse affair, in which fabricated evidence was used to justify imprisonment.

Such methods, observers note, reflect a state operating under siege mentality, incapable of genuine dialogue and reliant on coercion as a political tool.

“Enough is enough — the repression, the people have had enough,” Tchiroma declared.
“Today marks the beginning of liberation, and this is only the first step. The international community is becoming complicit by its silence.”

A Call for Accountability

In his closing remarks, Tchiroma urged foreign governments and international institutions to take a clear stance before the situation deteriorates further.
He emphasized that the arrests, intimidation, and information blackout are not isolated acts but a coordinated campaign to stifle democracy after a lost election.

“It is unacceptable to allow an entire people to be martyred like this,” he said. “History will not forgive complacency.”