Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
From One Candidate In 2011, To Three Candidates In 2018, Four Candidates Ran On The Tickets Of ‘YANGO Parties’ At The 2025 Presidential Election, After The Constitutional Council Rejected Two Other Candidacies, Including That Of Prof Maurice Kamto. Barrister Akere Muna Holds The Record, As Having Ran In The Presidential Election Twice, On The Tickets Of ‘YANGO Parties’
Interestingly enough, a woman, Esther Dang, former General Manager of the National Investment Fund (a State corporation), was also the first candidate of a ‘Yango Party’ in Cameroon, to participate in the presidential election, or better still, she was the first client of a ‘Yango Party’ in the country. It should be noted that the jargon, ‘Yango Party’, in Cameroon, is understood as a political party that is ‘hired’ by somebody who is not a militant, to use in a presidential election.
That is, somebody who in reality is not a militant, of a certain small political party, strikes a secret deal with the leader or leadership of the party, to become the presidential candidate of the party, at the presidential election. He is thus given the party’s investiture, to run on the party’s ticket, or to be the party’s flag bearer, at the presidential election. He buys the party’s card, which in most cases is backdated, to give the false impression that the person has been a militant of the party for quite sometimes. This is because the Law states that the candidate of a political party for a presidential election in Cameroon, or the person to whom the party gives investiture to be its presidential candidate, has to be a militant of that party. As was explained in Part 12 of this series, it is illegal for a political party in Cameroon, to be used for business.
But as political observers have noted, since 2011 when the ‘client’ or candidate of a ‘Yango Party’ first participated at a presidential election in Cameroon, the tendency is that immediately the presidential election is over, the presidential candidates or ‘clients’ of the ‘Yango Parties’, part ways with the parties. So the presidential candidate of a ‘Yango Party’ is a ‘militant’ of the party, only during the period of a presidential election, and it is over with the party.
The First ‘Yango Party’ In Cameroon, And Its Presidential Candidate Or ‘Client.
As aforementioned, it was at the 2011 presidential election in Cameroon that, a legalized political party in the country, for the first time, transformed itself into a ‘Yango Party’. That party was BRIC, led by Yaounde based Ernest Pekoubo, who hails from the West Region. Business! Interestingly enough, the candidate of the first ‘Yango Party’ , that is BRIC, at that 2011 presidential election, was a lady, in the person of Esther Dang, the former General Manager of the National Investment Fund, commonly known by the French abbreviation, SNI.
The secret part of the deal was struck between the leader of the BRIC party, and Madam Esther Dang. As was observed in the conflict that sparked off in BRIC immediately after the presidential election, even the few senior officials of the party who thought they were quire close to the party leader or National President, did not know the real terms of the secret agreement that their party leader, Ernest Pekebou, struck with Madam Esther Dang, for her to use the party for the election, or for her to run for the presidential election on the party’s ticket.
Three ‘Yango Parties’ At 2018 Presidential Election
Meanwhile, there were three ‘Yango Parties’ at the next presidential election, which was in 2018. The three ‘Yango Parties’ were FPD in the Adamawa Region, MCNC of Monthe Nkouobit Jean , who was based in his native Banka, Upper Nkam Division in the West Region, and ‘Parti Universe’ of Prof Nkou Mvondo Prosper, a lecturer at the University of Ngaoundere. Coincidentally, the presidential candidates of two of the ‘Yango Parties’ at the 2018 presidential election, were Anglophones, and also both from the Northwest Region. Yaounde based Barrister Muna Akere Tabeng popularly known as Akere Muna, struck a deal with the leader of the FPD party (‘Yango Party’), to be the party’s candidate at the 2018 presidential election. Also, a Douala based man –of – God, Ndifor Afanwi Franklin, who was popularly known as Prophet Frank, was the candidate of MCNC (‘Yango Party’), at the 2018 presidential election. “Parti UNIVERS’ had as presidential candidate for the 2018 presidential election, Cabral Libii Ngue, who came in with his powerful “Operation 11 Million Movement”.
It should be noted the 2018 presidential candidate, Ndifor Afanwi Franklin (Prophet Frank), unfortunately died from COVID -19 in 2020. May his soul, rest in peace.
Six ‘Yango Parties’ For 2025 Presidential Elections
From one ‘Yango Party’ at the 2011 presidential election, to three ‘Yango Parties’ at the 2018 presidential election, the number of ‘Yango Parties’ for the 2025 presidential election surged or jumped to as many as six. That is, double the number in 2018. An indication that the “Yango Party’ business is really lucrative. This could also be seen in the fact that two of the three ‘Yango Parties’ at the 2018 presidential election, that is, Prof Nkou Mvondo’s ‘Parti Universe’, and Monthe Nkouobite Jean’s MCNC, were back at the 2025 presidential election, with new ‘clients’.
Here Are The six ‘Yango Parties’ For The 2025 Presidential Election, And Their “Clients’:
1), ‘Parti Universe’ of Prof Nkou Mvondo Prosper, with 3 councilors at the Ngoundere 3 Council.
It was the first political party to appear on the scene as a ‘Yango Party’ for the 2025 presidential election. This was back in 2024, when the leader of ‘Parti Universe’, Prof Nkou Mvondo of the University of Ngaoundere, who hails from the South Region, struck a deal with Yaopunde based Barrister Muna Akere Tabeng (Akere Muna), who hails from the Northwest Region, for Muna to be to be the party’s presidential candidate at the 2025 presidential election. Muna’s candidacy was validated by both Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), and the Constitutional Council, for the October 12, 2025 presidential election. This was the second time for Muna to be a presidential candidate, and all the two times, on the tickets of ‘Yango Parties’.
It would be recalled that Akere Muna was a candidate at the 2018 presidential election, even though he announced the withdrawal of his candidacy from the race, just three days to the election, to support another candidate in the race, Prof Maurice Kamto of MRC. ELECAM refused to withdraw Muna’s ballot papers, claiming that he announced his withdrawal from the election, late. It should be noted that Akere Muna also withdrew his candidacy from the 2025 presidential election, after the start of official campaign period, to support UNDP’s National President and presidential candidate, Bello Bouba Maigari. But just like at the 2018 presidential election, ELECAM again did not withdraw Akere Muna’s ballot papers from the October 12, 2025 presidential election. Barrister Akere Muna threatened to march words with action, but at the end of the day, nothing happened.
2), PAL of Celestin Bedzigui with a few councilors at the Monatele Council, Lekie Division, Centre Region.
Another ‘Yango Party’ with an Anglophone candidate at the 2025 presidential election, was PAL, whose leader is an old politician in the country, Celestin Bedzigui. He is Deputy Mayor of the Monatele Municipal Council that has a CPDM Mayor, as the ruling CPDM won the council by simple majority at the last municipal election in 2020. PAL’s (‘Yango Party’) candidate for the 2025 presidential election, was Ateki Seta Caxton, who, like Akere Muna, hails from Mbengwi Sub – division, Momo Division in the Northwest Region. Ateki Seta Caxton’s candidacy for the October 12, 2025 presidential election was validated by both ELECAM and the Constitutional Council. However, after the start of the official campaign period for the October 12, 2025 presidential election, Ateki announced the withdrawal of his candidacy, to support the candidacy of Bello Bouba Maigari, the leader and presidential candidate of UNDP, and former member of Government. ELECAM however refused to withdraw his ballot papers from the October 12, 2025 presidential election.
It should be noted that before declaring his candidacy for the 2025 presidential election a few months to the election, Ateki Seta Caxton had all along been known as a member of the civil society. He was thus a new face at the Cameroon political scene, at the 2025 presidential election.
3), MCNC of Monthe Nkouobite Jean of Banka, West Region, which currently runs the Banka Municipal Council.
Worth noting, first of all, in late 2019, a group of disgruntled CPDM militants, mostly comprised of Banka youths, and led by a Douala based businessman, angrily stormed out of the CPDM following controversy over the composition of the party’s list in Banka Municipality, for the February 9, 2020 municipal elections. They went on and negotiated with the leader of the MCNC Party, Monthe Jean (a Banka elite), to put up a list under the canopy of MCNC, for the municipal election in Banka. Suffice to say they beat the CPDM list at the February 9, 2020 municipal election. That enabled the MCNC of Monthe Jean, to at least on paper, to take over the Banka Municipal Council from the CPDM, for the first time ever. That also enabled Monthe Jean’s MCNC, to qualify to give investiture to a candidate for the 2025 presidential election. The “Yango Party’, MCNC of Monthe Jean, had as candidate, for the 2025 presidential election, Bougha Hagbe Jacques, an economist and former employee of the World Bank.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the leader of MCNC, Monthe Nkouobite Jean, a former militant and MP of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), recently passed away, and was buried in Banka last weekend, precisely on Saturday, June 26, 2026. A number of party leaders like Hon Joshua Osih of the SDF, and Hon Kwemo Pierre of UMS, were present at the funeral. May, his soul, rest in peace.
4), FDC Party of Denis Emilien Atangana, which has a few councilors at the Monatele Municipal Council in Lekie Division, Centre Region
Worthy of note, that the leader of the ‘Yango Party’ or FDC, Denis Emilien Atangana, is one of the 25 councilors of the small Monatele Council, whose mayor is from the ruling CPDM, that won the last municipal election (February 9, 2020) by simple majority. Meanwhile, the candidate of the ‘Yango Party’, that is FDC, for the 2025 presidential election, was Iyodi Hiram Samuel, then a senior official of MP3 Party that was legalized in 2023, that is, two years before the presidential election. Iyodi Hiram Samuel’s candidacy for the October 12, 2025 presidential election was validated by both ELECAM and the Constitutional Council. Worthy of note that the Douala based Iyodi Hiram Samuel, who is of the Bassa tribe, was the youngest candidate at the October 12, 2025 presidential election.
Also worthy of note that Iyodi Hiram Samuel, who studied in Canada, and is an economic operator, was initially a member of Akere Muna’s NOW Movement (civil society). He and some fellow members left the movement in 2019, to create the political party, MP3, and the same year deposited the file of the party at the Ministry of Territorial Administration, for legalization. They had hoped that their party would participate in the 2020 legislative and municipal elections. But the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, only signed the authorization or legalization document of MP3 in 2023. Also worthy of note, that Iyodi Hiram Samuel was elected the leader of the MP3 Party, after the 2025 presidential election.
5), MANIDEM of Ekane Anicet Georges, which has barely one councilor at the Dibombari Council in Mungo Division, Littoral Region.
A deal was struck by the Douala based leader of FCC, Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu (former member of SDF), and his friend, Douala based Ekane Anicet Georges, leader of MANIDEM, in a secret discussion that took place at a popular snack- bar restaurant of another politician, Georges Sam Mbaka, leader of AFP, at the high – class Bonapriso Quarter in Douala, for MANIDEM to give investiture to the leader and presidential candidate of MRC, Prof Maurice Kamto, to run for the 2025 presidential election. That was how MANIDEM joined the list of ‘Yango Parties’. It should be noted that Jean Michel Nintcheu was the National Coordinator of what was said to be a coalition of political parties and civil society organizations, ‘Alliance Politique pour le Changement’, APC, that supported the candidacy of Maurice Kamto for the 2025 presidential election. The said creation of the alliance was announced in January 2024. But it should be noted that members of the so called coalition or alliance were never known by the public, raising questions as to whether the APC had other members besides Nintcheu’s FCC and Kamto’s MRC.
Meanwhile, to become the presidential candidate of MANIDEM for the 2025 presidential election, the Electoral Law obliged Prof Maurice Kamto to resign from his MRC Party, and join the MANIDEM Party. That was what Kamto did, at least on paper. But ELECAM and the Constitutional Council rejected the candidacy of Maurice Kamto for the October 12, 2025 presidential election, on the pretext that there was a multiplicity of candidacies from MANIDEM. The Constitutional Council’s controversial verdict was passed on the fateful day of August 5, 2025. Meanwhile, the leader (Founding President) of MANIDEM, Ekane Anicet Georges, who went on to become one of the two leaders of a coalition, Union For Change, that supported the candidacy of the leader and candidate of FSNC, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, for the October 12, 2025, was arrested together with the co-leader of Union for Change, Djeukam Tchameni on October 24, 2025 in Douala, and whisked to Yaounce. Ekane unfortunately died in Gendarmerie custody in Yaounde on December 1, 2025. May, his soul, rest in peace.
6), UPC Faction of Madam Adija, And Abdouraman Hamadou Babba
A political activist, Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, who hails from North Region,and who was initially known in the country more in the domain of sports, precisely football management, barely some four months to the October 12, 2025 presidential election, declared his candidacy for the election. He first said that he wanted to run as an independent candidate, since he was not a militant of any political party. But suffice to say that Abdouraman ended up striking a deal with one of leaders of the several factions of the UPC Party, Madam Adija, to be the presidential candidate of the UPC. Three other UPC factions announced their presidential candidates, for that one party, the UPC. But the candidates of the other factions were UPC militants. Thus the only ‘Yango faction’ of the UPC for the 2025 presidential election, was that of Adija. It was however not surprising that ELECAM and the Constitutional Council rejected the candidacy of Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, and those of the candidates of the other UPC factions, for multiplicity of candidacies from the UPC.
