Editorial

Kamto’s Retreat, Sako’s Resolve: A Tale of Two Paths

Maurice Kamto, his decision to withdraw quietly—returning campaign donations and abandoning the field without protest—has left a trail of disillusionment in its wake.

By The Independentist Editorial desk
August 7, 2025

There are moments in the life of a nation when the character of its leaders is laid bare. Maurice Kamto’s recent retreat from Cameroon’s 2025 presidential race is one such moment. Hailed for years as a courageous reformist, Kamto’s decision to withdraw quietly—returning campaign donations and abandoning the field without protest—has left a trail of disillusionment in its wake.

For many, Kamto once represented hope. He spoke the language of reform. He challenged the aging dictatorship of Paul Biya. He gained popularity among the youth, the diaspora, and a large segment of the urban elite. But in the end, when the regime denied him access to the ballot, he did not resist. He did not rally the people. He did not confront the fraud. He simply stepped back.

This was not leadership. It was capitulation.

And perhaps, in hindsight, it could only have ended this way.

Because you cannot take a knife to a gunfight.

Kamto attempted to dismantle a forty-year-old dictatorship with a course in civility. That, fundamentally, was his mistake. He placed his faith in the rule of law in a land where the law is a tool of repression. He trusted that diplomacy and reason could melt a system built on violence, corruption, and foreign control. But regimes like Biya’s do not yield to civility. They only respond to force—moral, political, or otherwise.

Kamto’s fall is more than personal. It has shattered the hopes of those who placed their trust in him—notably some within the Southern Cameroons leadership. In the lead-up to his disqualification, jailed Ambazonian leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe openly endorsed Kamto, even assuring supporters that Ambazonian detainees would be released and possibly offered ministerial appointments once Kamto assumed office. Ayuk Tabe was not alone. Dr. Cho Ayaba, once a staunch advocate of independence, also remained curiously aligned with Kamto’s prospects.

Their gamble has failed.

Kamto is out. The system remains. And so do the chains.

But not everyone was misled. One voice in the Ambazonian leadership has remained clear and constant. Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako, President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, has never wavered in his conviction:

No participation in Cameroon’s elections.
The game of slavery is over.

Sako’s message has always been that Cameroon’s electoral process is not a path to peace or justice. It is a theatrical performance—an illusion of change designed to maintain French-backed control and perpetuate the annexation of Southern Cameroons. Participation in such a process is not a political statement; it is political surrender.

Ambazonia, under Sako’s leadership, has chosen a harder road: the road of non-cooperation, of resistance, of sovereignty. It is not a road paved with comfort. It is paved with sacrifice. But history teaches us that this is the only road that leads to freedom.

To our Bamileke brothers and sisters—this editorial speaks to you with both respect and reflection. Your community has built economic empires and demonstrated extraordinary discipline. But political transformation does not follow wealth. It follows will. And will is tested not in prosperity, but in crisis. Kamto’s fall should not end your aspirations, but it must invite honest reflection: political power cannot grow in the shadow of fear and silence.

Kamto’s exit is not a setback for Ambazonia. It is a confirmation. A confirmation that we were right to reject false messiahs. Right to refuse the ballot box of our occupiers. Right to stand firm on the foundation of truth, not convenience.

Let the world understand: Ambazonia does not dance to the rhythm of Yaoundé’s theatre.

We move to the heartbeat of our martyrs.
To the memory of our villages in flames.
To the tears of our refugees.
And to the promise that no prison, no bullet, and no disinformation campaign will stop the birth of a free and sovereign Ambazonia.

Kamto has bowed out.

But we rise.

The Independentist Editorial desk.

Leave feedback about this

  • Quality
  • Price
  • Service

PROS

+
Add Field

CONS

+
Add Field
Choose Image
Choose Video