Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
But Whereas The Prime Minister On May 12, 2026 Called On Parties Of The Presidential Majority To Mobilize Their Militants And Take An Active Part In The 54th National Day Celebration , The DO Of Misaje Barred UDP From Marching, After Having Collected The Party’s Financial Contribution. A Yaounde Based Misaje CPDM Elite, Suspected Of Being Behind The Dirty Politics.
In keeping to the pledge, that leaders of political parties that are members of Presidential Majority, made in the correspondence to President Paul Biya last week, as well as to the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, that they were to mobilize their militants to ensure a great participation at the 54th National Day Celebration (20th May, 2026), the Spokesperson of the Presidential Majority and National President of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Bochong El Hadj Lawan Bako, on May 20, 2026 marched words with action. In Lawan Bako’s Northwest Region, the UDP made quite an impressive or powerful outing at the 20th May march –past in several localities like Wum (Menchum Divisional Headquarters), Fundong (Boyo Divisional Headquarters), among others.
But in Donga and Mantung Division, there was a problem. The DO of Misaje took a highly controversial decision when the march –past had already started, to bar the UDP from participating. This came after the UDP had fulfilled required conditions for the party’s participation at the march – past. The UDP had also paid its own contribution that was demanded from institutions, political parties, traditional authorities, local personalities, associations, and so on. In fact UDP Misaje is No. 23 on the list of 47 contributors – “CONTRIBUTION IN VIEW OF THE 2026 NATIONAL DAY “, in Misaje.
The Misaje DO Apparently Received A Phone Call From A CPDM Elite
UDP officials and militants in Misaje that The Mentor News contacted, explained that their party was actually on the official programme of the march – past for the 54th edition of the National Day Celebration (20th May, 2026) In the sub –division. It should be noted that because of its location of Misaje, there are very few legalized political parties installed in the sub –division.
The UDP officials told The Mentor News that when the official order of the march – past was read out at the ceremonial ground in Misaje, in the morning of May 20, 2026, it showed that three political parties were to participate in the march – past. The three political parties included the CPDM, ANDP and UDP. Then the march – past started. But to the greatest embarrassment of the UDP militants, as they were waiting to take their turn in the march – past, the Secretary of the DO of Misaje, came and told their Misaje Coordinator that the DO had said the UDP would not take part in the march – past, because the party is not represented in Parliament.
The UDP officials said following the embarrassingly situation, the Misaje Coordinator of the party, in frustration, asked that the militants should disperse or return to their homes. But just as the irate militants were about to disperse, a call came in from the Bamenda based National Chairman of UDP, Bochong El Hadj Lawan Bako, telling them to calm down, and reiterating the fact that the national day celebration is for all Cameroonians, and that it is not owned by the DO of Misaje. Bako reportedly told the UDP militants and local party officials, that as patriotic Cameroonians, they should rather hang around the ceremonial ground until the end of the march past, and that after the march – past, the reception that the party leadership had planned for them, should still go ahead, for it was a day of celebration.
The Reason The Misaje DO Advanced Was Fake
Meanwhile, it should be noted that it is only in the nation’s capital, Yaounde, and the nation’s economic capital, Douala, that, authorities decided, that only parties represented in Parliament (National Assembly or Senate) can participate at the march –past on the occasion of the National day Celebration. Cameroon has about 400 legalized political parties, at least on paper. The bulk of these parties are present only in Yaounde and Douala, though many are only present on paper. But all of them usually want to participate in the National Day march – past. So the logic of the authorities is that if all political parties that want to march in Yaounde and Douala, are allowed to do so, the march – past in these two cities will run for hours.
Meanwhile in the other towns like Bafousam, Buea, Limbe, Bamenda, Foumban, Garoua, Ebolowa, Kribi, Ngaoundere, Nkambe, Bertoua, Maroua, Kumba and so on, any legalized political party that wants to participate in the 20th May or National Day march –past, is permitted to participate, in the national day celebration. What more of a rural area like Misaje , with less than six political parties installed in the locality.
Also, the Prime Minister and Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, who granted audience to leaders of the political parties that are members of the Presidential Majority on May 12, 2026, had called on those party leaders to mobilize their militants for the parties to participate at the 5th edition of the National Day March past on May 20, 2026. The Prime Minister and Head of Government would not have made the call, if the Government had restricted the march – past across the country, only to parties represented in the National Assembly. Worthy of note that the delegation of leaders of parties of the Presidential majority, that met the Prime Minister on May 12, 2026, was led by the Spokesperson of the Presidential Majority, Bochong El Hadj Lawan Bako, who is also the National President of the United Democratic Party, UDP.
The Two Anglophone Regions
Also, following the “order” that was given by separatist groups that there should be no national day celebration in the two Anglophone Regions (Northwest and Southwest) , and that also “decreed” a ghost town in the two regions on May 20, 2026, the Government had asked authorities across the two regions to make an extra effort to mobilize the population to come out for the national day celebration, as many people were scared to leave homes on that day. All legalized political parties existing in the different sub –divisions, were strongly encouraged by local administrative authorities to participate in the march –past, as there was fear in the camps of many of those parties.
The Cameroon People’s Party, CPP, which has not participated in elections in the country since 2011, for example, participated in the 54th edition of the National Day march –past in Bamenda, the Northwest Regional Headquarters, where the Governor presided over the event, as well as in neighbouring Santa. UDP participated in march– past in a number of Divisional headquarters like Wum in Menchum Division and Fundong in Boyo Division, but in Misaje Sub – division, the DO at the last minute barred UDP from marching, using the pretext that the party was not represented in Parliament. Worthy of note, that the same UDP marched in Ako, which is a neighbouring sub –division to Misaje. The UDP leadership is questioning whether by unjustifiably barring the party from participating in the m the march – past in Misaje, the DO was not secretly in support of the call by separatists commonly known as Amba, for a boycott of the National Day celebration.
Undemocratic And Unpatriotic Moves To Push UDP Out Of Misaje
Many UDP militants in Donga and Mantung Division, suspect that a Yaounde based CPDM elite from Misaje, that has been trying to destroy UDP in Misaje Sub –division through dirty politics, in a bid to justify his false claim that Misaje is 100 % CPDM, was behind the DO’s controversial decision on May 20, 2026 against their party.
The Mentor News has gathered that with UDP growing stronger and stronger in Misaje, there is panic in the local CPDM camp that wants to continue to give the false impression that Misaje is entirely CPDM, or that CPDM wins by 100 % in Misaje, and bla, bla, bla. It would be recalled that at the recent or last presidential election (October 12, 2025), the UDP faced many obstacles, which were calculated moves to frustrate the party from campaigning in Misaje, even as the party which is a member of the Presidential Majority, was campaigning for President Paul Biya, the CPDM candidate. Everything was done to frustrate the UDP from carrying out campaigns in Misaje.
2020 Legislative Elections – UDP Was Also A Victim Of Mafia In Misaje
Even at the last legislative elections which took place in 2020, the UDP of El Hadj Lawan Bako, was also a victim of a mafia by the Misaje CPDM elite and his men. It should be noted that as concerns the legislative elections in Donga and Mantung Division, Misaje and Ako Sub – divisions make up the Donga and Mantung West Constituency, with one parliamentary seat.
For the 2020 legislative elections, the UDP substantive candidate for the Donga and Mantung West Constituency was from Misaje Sub –division, while the alternate candidate who was a female, was from Ako Sub –division. The UDP list for the February 9, 2020 legislative election for Donga and Manrung West Constituency (Misaje and Ako Sub –divisions), was validated by Elections Cameroon, ELECAM. But a so called petition was purportedly filed at the Constitutional Council against the UDP list, and the list rejected, without the knowledge of UDP, that was busy preparing for the campaigns.
As part of the mafia which certainly included somebody in the Secretariat of the Constitutional Council, the UDP was never informed that a petition had been filed against its list in Donga and Mantung West Constituency. The so called petition falsely claimed that the UDP alternate candidate from Ako Sub – division, had her roots in Misaje Sub –division, and that the substantive and alternate candidates of UDP for the Donga and Mantung West Constituency were from Misaje. Witchcraft!
Meanwhile as aforementioned, the UDP was not officially informed about the so called CPDM petition from Misaje. It was not clear whether the petition even came up on the floor of the Constitutional Council. The UDP only got to know that its list for the February 9, 2020 legislative election in Donga and Mantung West had been rejected by the Constitutional Council, when ELECAM published the final list of parties validated by the Constitutional Council for February 9, 2020 legislative election, and the UDP was absent in Donga and Mantung West Constituency. At that point, there was nothing that UDP could do.
UDP To File Petition Against The MIsaje DO
Meanwhile, when The Mentor News contracted the National Chairman of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Bochong El Hadj Lawan Bako, on the decision that was taken by the DO to bar UDP from participating in the National Day march –past in Misaje, he was furious about the whole thing. He disclosed that he will file a petition to Yaounde against the Misaje DO and his immediate Boss (SDO of Donga and Mantung), for the controversial decision that the DO took, to bar UDP from taking part in the National Day march – past.
On the allegation that a Yaounde based Misaje CPDM elite was behind the controversial decision that the DO took to bar UDP from participating in the march – past in Misaje, El Hadj Lawan Bako who is also the Spokesperson of the Presidential Majority, said his focus was on the DO who took the decision, and that if he received instruction from somebody to do what he did, he will be the one to say it.
