Batonnier YONDO MANDENGUE BLACK ALBERT (August 10, 1938 – October 16, 2025): The Unsung Hero In The Fight For Political Freedom In Cameroon

  YONDO BLACK Was A Legal Luminary, A Fighter For The Respect Of The Rule Of Law, And A Mentor To Several Young Lawyers. He Was President Of The Cameroon Bar Council from 1982 – 86.  

In Politics, YONDO BLACK Secretly Put Together A Small Group To Work On A Project To Create A Political Party.  In February 1990 The Information Leaked To The Security, And They Were Arrested And Incarcerated, In What Became Widely Known As The YONDO BLACK Affair.

The celebrated international legal  luminary, YONDO MANDENGUE BLACK ALBERT,  former President of the Cameroon Bar Council commonly known in Cameroon by the French appellation, Batonnier, passed away in Douala in the morning of Thursday, October 16, 2025 at the age of 87 (August 10, 1938 – October 16, 2025). He was reportedly sick in the last couple of months, and finally gave up the ghost. His corpse was in that fateful morning of Thursday, October 16, 2025, deposited at the mortuary of the Laquintinie Hospital, Douala, in the presence of family members and a number of other persons, who included a former President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Batonnier JACKSON NGNIE KAMGA.

Worth noting, that Yondo Black as he was commonly known was a legal luminary, an international legal consultant, and a highly respected lawyer, more so, as, one of the few doyens in the Cameroon Bar Association. He was somebody who fought not only to defend the Law and the rights of lawyers, but also for the freedom or liberty of all.  Barrister Yondo Black was President of the Cameroon Bar Council from 1982 – 1986.

A Multiparty Constitution With A One Party System In Place

Senior Barrister, Yondo Black, also along the line took interest in Cameroon politics. But his interest was more about fighting to establish political liberty or freedom in the country, than being a politician.  It would be recalled that way back in 1966, the then President of the Republic, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who was also the leader of ‘Union Camerounaise’, UC Party, came up with a proposal to the other political parties in the country, which included among others the ruling KNDP of West Cameroon headed by Dr John Ngu Foncha. The proposal was that all then legalized political parties in the then East and West Cameroon, or better still in the then Federal Republic of Cameroon, should merge and come up with one party, for the interest of the country. The idea was that of Ahmadou Ahidjo, though in his usual game of manipulation, he claimed that the proposal was the initiative of other parties. Of course no political leader in country could successfully oppose Ahmadou  Ahidjo’s desire, and so all  the political parties were dissolved, and the “Union Nationale Camerounaise’, UNC, or the Cameroon National Union, CNU, emerged as  the lone legal political party in Cameroon. Ahidjo was National President of CNU, while Foncha was Vice National President.

Interestingly enough, President Ahmadou Ahidjo did not get the Constitution of the country modified, to show that Cameroon was henceforth a one party system. This was however part his game of manipulation, to tell the international community that as far as the State or Federal Government was concerned, Cameron was a multiparty system, but that it was the Cameroonian people that had decided to merge their political parties, to come up with one big and strong national party, for the interest of the country and its people.

 The Fight For Political Liberty

But the facts on the ground in Cameroon, was that the country was not only a one party State, but the regime was more of a dictatorship, strongly opposed to the existence of any other political party. When Paul Biya replaced Ahmadou Ahidjo in November 1982 as President of Cameroon, and later became the National President of CNU, he maintained the status quo, of a Cameroon that had a Constitution which on paper showed that multiparty politics was authorized, but which in practice was a one party system.  Even many Cameroonians did not know that the Constitution, at least on paper, authorized that another political party or parties could exist in the country, besides the CMU that later became CPDM.  In fact in the 70s and 80s, nobody, living in Cameroon, and who cared for his life, could dare question or criticize the existence of only one political party. That was considered a taboo subject, out of fear of the regime.

But by the end of 1989, Batonnier Yondo Black, who as a legal mind, and knew so well that the Cameroon Constitution authorized the existence of another political party in the country besides the ruling CNU than in 1985 transformed into the CPDM, decided to embark on a political project to create another political party. To Yondo Black, the idea to create another party was more of a fight for political liberty or political freedom in the country. But he was very conscious of the fact that the project to create a second political party in Cameroon was a very risky venture at that time, even though on paper the Constitution of the country showed that multiparty politics was legal in the country.

So the strategy of Yondo Black was to put together a small group of trusted and daring persons, who were prepared to create another party, for them to secretly work on the project. The strategy was for them to work in a way that the administration or the Biya regime would only know about the project, when they show up to deposit the file of the new party, for legalization. At that time, the Law stated that such a file could be deposited at the office of the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO.

  An Informant Infiltrate The Group

Yondo Black succeeded to put together a small group of persons he personally knew to be secretly anti CPDM, and who could take that risk to create another party. At that time, the only of such persons, one could easily trust in the Francophone part of the country for such a venture, were UPC militants in blood, who however were living in silence because of the situation in the country.

But unfortunately for Yondo Black with his political project, along the line an informant, who had been passing for an unrepentant anti regime person, infiltrated the group.  After taking advantage as an insider to rapidly gather credible information about the political project and membership of the Yondo Black Group, the informant passed on the information to Secret Service, and the Secret Service together with State Security Service, wasted no time to pounce on Yondo Black and all the embers of his small group. Besides Yondo Black, the other persons arrested included Ekane Anicet (current President of UPC MANIDEM), Henriette Ekwe (veteran journalist, founding member of MANIDEM Party, and today’s President of the UPC cret Service Bafoussam faction), as well as  Jean Michel Tekam ,  Rene Djon, Francis Kwa Moutome, Gabriel Hamani, and Rudolphe Bwanga.

Albert Mukong Amd Vincent Feko Also Arrested

The security service also arrested two Anglophone personalities, Albert Womah Mukomg and Vincent Feko. The names of these two Anglophones were not on the list that was given to the security service by the informant, but the security men came across these two names in a ‘secret file’, when they were searching the office or Law Firm of Yondo Black. As the US media would put It, Albert Mukong was known to the Cameroon security service. He was a staunch critic of the Ahidjo – Biya regime, and had been incarcerated before at the dreaded Tcholiire and Mantum Prisons for that. And so seeing Mukong’s name in Yondo Black’s ‘secret file’ did not really surprise the security service, that Mukong could be a member of the Yondo Black Group, and so  they had had to go for him.

It should be noted that all the arrested persons were held incommunicado at the Mboppi Gendarmerie Camp in Douala. It should also be noted that   the arrests took place in late February 1990.

Strong International Reaction

Meanwhile, Yondo Black was not just any person. He was a senior lawyer, he was the former President of the Cameroon Bar Council, he, was an international legal consultant, and so on. The international reaction to the arrest of Yondo Black and members of his group was thus strong.  The arrest was a running story for several International news agencies as well as international radio stations like the then powerful ‘Radio France Internationale’, FRI, which had much influence in Francophone African Countries.

Meanwhile, from his cell, Yondo Black also managed to address a correspondence to the then French President, Francois Mitterand. In the correspondence, Yondo Black denounced their arbitrary arrest and detention by the Biya regime which he termed authoritarian. Yondo Black asserted that they were arrested for simply trying to create another political party, whereas the creation of another political party besides the ruling CPDM, was authorized by the Constitution of Cameroon.

Government’s Statement

The correspondence addressed to the French President by Yondo Black, increased the international pressure on the Biya regime, on what became widely known as the Yondo Black Affair. The Cameroon Government was forced to issue a communiqué on the Yondo Black Affair on Tuesday March 13, 1990, which was published by the official media, Cameroon Tribune the next day (March 14), and relayed by Radio France Internationale, RFI. The Government in the release dishonestly denied the accusation that Yondo Black and members of his group were arrested for trying to create a political party. Rather the Government Statement claimed that they were arrested because they were purportedly involved in criminal activities, which allegedly included threat to State security.  To be precise, Yondo Black and members of his group were among other things accused of subversion, insulting the Head of State, and holding secret meetings.  Ironically, the Government Statement claimed that nobody could be arrested in Cameroon for wanting to create a political party.

 Trial Of Yondo Black And Co At Military Tribunal

Yondo Black and members of his group were dragged to the Douala Military Tribunal to stand trial on charges of Subversive Activities and Insulting the Head of State.  But the first day of the trial was another big embarrassment to the Cameroon Government. A record total of 247 (Two hundred and forty seven) lawyers, including dozens of foreign lawyers, reportedly appeared in court on that first day of the trial, to manifest their professional solidarity with Barrister Yondo Black. The then President of the Cameroon Bar Council, Ben Muna, also did much to mobilize colleagues (lawyers) for the case.  A total of 19 defense lawyers took the floor on that first day of the case on the Yondo Black Affair. Yondo Black himself took to the floor, and declared that: “Je considere ce jour comme le plus glorious de ma vie, et pour liberte”, that is, ‘I consider this day as the most glorious of my life, and for liberty”.

The regime had to rush with the so called trial, in a bid to avoid more embarrassments. Suffice to say at the end of the ‘trial’, the Douala Military Court slammed a five jail term on Anicet Ekane for “Subversion” and for, “Insulting the Head of State”. Jean Michel Tekam was also slammed a five year jail term. Yondo Black was slammed a three year jail term for “Subversion”, while Charles Rene Djon and Redolphe Bwanga were each given a two year suspended sentence.  Henriette Ekwe, Albert Mukong, Gabriel Hamani and Vincent Feko were acquitted. It should however be noted that Yondo Black, Anicet Ekane and Jean Michel Tekam who were slammed imprisonment terms, were along the line released.  The international pressure on the Biya regime for their release did not drop after their imprisonment. Also, the Biya regime knew so well that Yondo Black and his group were simply out to create a political party which was authorized by the Constitution, and that the charges of subversion and insulting the Head of State that were leveled against them, were pure fabrications or fake.

  The Unsung Hero

Meanwhile after his liberation, Batonnier Yondo Black after a while did no longer show much interest in politics, and refocused more on his profession as a lawyer. As aforementioned, his decision or his political project to create a political party was more of a fight for political freedom or political liberty in Cameroon. And so Yondo Black felt his mission accomplished, with the legal rebirth of multiparty politics in Cameroon.  As aforementioned, Yondo Black did not really have much interest to become a politician. He however paid a heavy prize in the fight for political freedom in Cameroon. Following his arrest and the international pressure that mounted for his release, the Biya regime was forced to declare to the world, that nobody could be arrested in Cameroon for wanting to create a political party.  Though it was a truism that the regime arrested Yondo Black and his Group because they wanted to create a political party, by declaring to the world that nobody could be arrested in Cameroon for wanting to create a political party, the Biya regime had put itself a tight corner, because it meant that it could no longer arrest any group of Cameroonians that wanted to create a political party.

Meanwhile, Yondo Black has unfortunately being the unsung hero in this fight for political liberty in the country. The fact that many political parties were created in 1991 in the country, following the ‘Liberty Laws’ that President Biya signed in December 1990 and got into effect as from January 1, 1991, showed that many Cameroonians wanted the freedom to belong to other parties than the ruling CPDM, but were afraid to stand up and fight for the freedom. Yondo Black was one of the few that courageously stepped forward to fight for political freedom in Cameroon, and had to pay dearly for that, by being imprisoned. But unfortunately, when many politicians these days talk about the fight for political freedom or the rebirth of multiparty politics in this country, the name of Yondo Black is rarely mentioned. Rather, many of those who try to take credit for it, or who are being attributed credit for it, are persons who only surfaced in 1991, following the Liberty Laws. Thus Yondo Black has so unjustly remained the unsung hero in the fight for political liberty or freedom in Cameroon. However, history, if objective, will not forget Yondo Mandengue Black Albert, as a hero in the fight for the rebirth of multiparty politics in Cameroon, together with members of his group, were   on the frontline of in the fight for political liberty, or better still, for the rebirth of multiparty politics in Cameroon.

MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE.