Cameroon opposition leader seized as Biya begins new term
Tuesday November 06 2018
Cameroon Renaissance Movement's (CRM) leader Maurice Kamto speaking at press conference in Yaoundé ON October 8, 2018. He claimed victory in the October 7 presidential election. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
The opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) party leader, Prof Maurice Kamto, was Tuesday arrested as President Paul Biya was sworn-in for his seventh mandate.
Security agents pounced on Prof Kamto as he addressed his supporters in the capital Yaoundé.
Other CRM officials were also arrested and taken to the Yaoundé police headquarters.
Prof Kamto insists that he won the October 7 presidential vote, whose official result show he emerged a distant second with 14.23 percent tally. President Biya was declared the winner with 71.28 percent vote.
The victory
The CRM leader called on his supporters to continue protests against President Biya's re-election, in defiance of a government warning against post-electoral disorder.
About 20 CRM supporters were arrested on Sunday as they staged a protest against the poll outcome in Bafoussam town in the west.
Prof Kamto also announced a “national resistance programme” –a weeklong protest to challenge the victory and vowed to sabotage President Biya's swearing-in ceremony.