The recent attempted murder of Prof. Mac Anthony Akuhmbom, a respected Southern Cameroonian academic, is not an accident and not a misunderstanding. It is the latest expression of a system that has chosen force over dialogue, intimidation over legitimacy, and violence over the will of the people.
By Funtong Daniel, MSN, AGACNP — for The Independentist
INTRODUCTION: A COUNTRY ADRIFT, A PEOPLE IN FEAR
Cameroon stands at one of the darkest crossroads in its modern history. What was once a functioning state has collapsed into a governing vacuum, filled not with vision or leadership, but with fear, repression, and instinctive violence.
President Paul Biya — advanced in age, increasingly frail, and showing clear signs of cognitive decline — is no longer capable of performing the duties of his office. The nation has quietly transitioned into rule by unelected actors: Paul Atanga Nji, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, segments of the security apparatus, and tribal political elites who operate with no mandate and no accountability.
The recent attempted murder of Prof. Mac Anthony Akuhmbom, a respected Southern Cameroonian academic, is not an accident and not a misunderstanding. It is the latest expression of a system that has chosen force over dialogue, intimidation over legitimacy, and violence over the will of the people. This is no longer governance.
This is state-enabled brutality, designed to suppress democratic change.
A PRESIDENT IN NAME ONLY — AND A STATE ON AUTOPILOT
Cameroon today functions without a president capable of governing. Multiple diplomatic, military, and administrative sources quietly acknowledge that Paul Biya can no longer recognize his environment, provide coherent national leadership, conduct cabinet meetings, or read prepared speeches with comprehension. He struggles to recall officials and family members, cannot walk unaided, and can no longer meaningfully interact with state affairs.
In practice, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh now signs decrees, manages state functions, appoints officials, and represents Cameroon in critical decisions. The presidency has become a shield, not a source of leadership: a ceremonial image behind which a small group exercises unchecked power. And while this façade is maintained, the country burns beneath it.
THE POST-ELECTION CRISIS: A REGIME AT WAR WITH DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
The presidential election of mid-October produced a historic shift in public sentiment. For the first time in decades, Cameroonians expressed a clear desire for political change. Many domestic observers, civil society organizations, and international analysts agree that Issa Tchiroma Bakary emerged as the legitimate winner.
The regime responded not with dialogue or transition, but with a security crackdown: Mass arrests across major cities, Intimidation and torture of opposition supporters, Targeting of Southern Cameroonians, Silencing of journalists, academics, and lawyers, Secret detentions and disappearances, Deployment of military units to quell dissent
This is not the behavior of a confident government. It is the behavior of a system that fears accountability and sees democratic change as an existential threat.
THE ATTACK ON PROF. MAC ANTHONY AKUHMBOM: A WINDOW INTO THE MACHINERY OF FEAR
Prof. Mac Anthony Akuhmbom is not just a victim — he is a symbol of the times. The assault against him reveals a state apparatus that has crossed every moral boundary to intimidate perceived opponents. His “crime” was being Southern Cameroonian, being educated, and being someone the regime suspects might support President-Elect Issa Tchiroma.
According to witnesses and initial reports, he was beaten into unconsciousness, left for dead, his home violated, and his family traumatized. This was not random violence. It was an intentional act meant to terrorize a community.
SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS: STILL THE PRIMARY TARGET
For years, Southern Cameroonians have endured: Arbitrary arrests,Torture in detention centers, Destruction of villages, Military raids and intimidation, Extrajudicial executions.Targeting of clergy, teachers, journalists, and students.
The recent attack on Prof. Akuhmbom continues a pattern of systemic targeting. Whether the world calls it ethnic persecution, political cleansing, or state-directed intimidation, the outcome remains the same: Southern Cameroonians are treated as an enemy population inside what should be their homeland.
THE ARCHITECTS OF REPRESSION
Paul Atanga Nji
As Minister of Territorial Administration, he has become the face of political policing. His responsibilities now include coordinating suppression of opposition, overseeing surveillance activities, deploying armed units against civilians, and managing propaganda operations.
Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh
He has become, in practice, the unelected head of state. Through control over presidential privilege, he exercises extraordinary and unregulated power. Directorate of State Security and the Rapid Intervention Battalion. These institutions have become synonymous with torture, force, unlawful detentions, and disappearances. Their actions fuel instability and fear across the nation.
WHY THE REGIME IS DESPERATE
A regime cornered by its own history reacts with ferocity. It fears: Loss of elite privilege, Exposure of state abuses, Accountability before international tribunals, Collapse of patronage networks A democratic transition it cannot control, The violence, therefore, is not incidental. It is a survival strategy.
INTERNATIONAL LAW IS NOT ON THEIR SIDE
The documented actions of the regime fall under multiple categories of serious violations of international law, including crimes against humanity, war crimes, persecution on political and ethnic grounds, violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and breaches of the African Union’s constitutional principles.
These are not political disagreements.
They are legal warnings demanding urgent international response.
A CALL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
The crisis in Cameroon is no longer a domestic affair. It is a regional security threat and a human rights emergency. The international community must urgently: Demand independent medical verification of Paul Biya’s capacity to govern. Recognize the political implications of a disputed election. Freeze assets of officials linked to violence. Sanction security chiefs involved in torture. Support international judicial investigations. Deploy independent monitoring mechanisms. Encourage a credible mediated transition process, Silence is no longer an option.
CONCLUSION: CAMEROON IS AT A POINT OF NO RETURN
The attack on Prof. Mac Anthony Akuhmbom exposes a truth the regime can no longer conceal: Cameroon is being held hostage by a network of unelected actors operating behind the façade of an incapacitated presidency. A nation cannot survive on repression alone. A people cannot forever be governed by fear. A democratic mandate cannot be erased by brutality. History will judge this moment:
Who protected life, who defended democracy, who spoke when it mattered, and who chose silence. The time for silence has passed.
By Funtong Daniel, MSN, AGACNP
State of Texas, USA
