Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
Any Candidate That Is Given Investiture By A Political Party, To Run For Presidential Election, Is By Law Supposed To Be A Militant Of That Party. But Since 2011, ‘YANGO Parties’ have been Illegally Giving Investitures To Non – Militants Of Their Parties, To Become Their Presidential Candidates. The Situation Got Worse At The 2025 Presidential Election.
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines a political party, as: “An organization of people with particular political beliefs which competes in elections to try to win positions in local or national governments”. While it is true that in Africa political ideology matters little, or not at all, to most people in politics, a ‘Yango Party ‘completely makes nonsense of a political party being an organization of people, not to talk of people with a particular belief. Talking about political ideology or particular political belief, where is the political belief when somebody who in reality is not a militant of a political party, strikes a deal with the President of the party, to become the presidential candidate of the party.
For the 2025 presidential election, the President of a faction of the UPC gave ‘investiture’ to a political activist, Abdouraman Hamadou Babba, to run as the UPC candidate. Not only has Abdouraman never been a UPC militant, but he is somebody who in reality does not stand for the ideology of the UPC, that the founders laid down. When a group of disgruntled CPDM militants in Banka, West Region, negotiated with the National President of MCNC Party, Monthe Nkouobit Jean (former SDF MP), to use the party for the 2020 municipal elections, where was the political ideology? When the leader of FCC, Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu (former SDF member), negotiated with the National President of MANIDEM (‘Upicistes’), Ekane Anicet Georges, to give investiture to the MRC leader and the party’s presidential candidate, Prof Maurice Kamto, to go in for the 2025 presidential election on the ticket of MANIDEM, where was the political ideology in the arrangement?
No Consultations In “Yango Parties”
As aforementioned, the dictionary talks of a political party as being an organization of people. In an organization there is consultation before a major decision is taken. The leader of an organization cannot take a major decision, without consulting with members or with internal organs, as laid down in the organization’s constitution. But for the 2025 presidential election, there was for example the resignation from ‘Parti Univers’ of Prof Nkou Mvondo Prosper, of the entire executive bureau of the Adamawa Region, in protest against the fact that the National President of the party, gave the party’s investiture for the 2025 presidential election, to “somebody who is not of the party”, and without consultation.
It should be noted that the Adamawa Region is the main base of ‘‘Patti Universe’, and is the only region where the party has some councilors or elected representatives (three councilors at the Ngaoundere III Municipal Council), which was what qualified the parry to give investiture to a candidate for the 2025 presidential election. But the National President of ‘Parti Universe’ unilaterally took the decision to give the investiture of the party to “somebody who is not of the party”, without consulting, or even just informing, the Adamawa Regional Bureau of the party.
Meanwhile, the “somebody” that the disgruntled members of the Adamawa Regional Bureau of ‘Parti Universe made reference to, was Barrister Muna Akere Tabeng popularly known as Akere Muna, who struck a deal with the National President of the party, Prof Nkou Mvondo, to be the party’s candidate for the 2025 presidential election. What the President of ‘Parti Univers’ did, is how the Presidents of Yango Parties, which are generally small political parties, operate. The Presidents of Yango Parties act as if the parties are their personal properties. They strike deals with interested persons or groups to use the parties for elections, without consulting even senior officials of their parties.
Non Militant Got Investiture From ‘Parti Universe’, While A Real Militant Was Denied It.
It should be noted a business woman and senior member of ‘Parti Universe’ in Ngaoundere, Chantal Adelaide Membouet, that was said to be a major local financial contributor to the party in the area, challenged the decision by the President of the party, Nkou Mvondo, to have unilaterally decided to give the investiture of the party to “somebody who is not a militant of the party”, to be the party’s candidate at the October 12, 2025 presidential election. He said if Nkou Mvondo did not want to run in the presidential election, she was willing to do so, by being the flag bearer of ‘Parti Universe’. The leader of ‘Parti Universe’ instead responded with insults. The relationship between the two strained.
Chantal Adelaide Membouet, went on to deposit the file of her candidacy at the office of Elections Cameroon in the Adamawa regional headquarters, Ngaoundere, as a candidate of ‘Parti Universe’ for the October 12, 2025 presidential election. On the other hand, the President of ‘Parti Universe’, Prof Nkou Mvondo, personally deposited the file of Akere Muna at the headquarters of Elections Cameroon in Yaounde. At the end of the day, Elections Cameroon rejected the file of Madam Membouet. The lady’s investiture was not signed by the National President of ‘Parti Universe’, as the Constitution of the party demands. Elections Cameroon validated the candidacy of Akere Muna, whose investiture was signed by the President of ‘Parti Universe’, Nkou Mvondo.
However, in reality Akere Muna was just fortunate that the CPDM regime was not against his candidacy. Political observers say if the regime did not want Akere Muna to participate in the October 12, 2025 presidential election, the regime would have gotten Elections Cameroon and the Constitutional Council, to reject both the candidacies of Akere Muna and Madam Membouet, under the pretext of multiplicity of candidacies from ‘Parti Universe’, as happened to Prof Maurice Kamto.
The Stained In The Relationship, Only Gets Worse
Meanwhile, the strained relationship between Nkou Mvondo and Madam Membouet has reportedly continued to degenerate. There was for example, reportedly a scuffle between Prof Nkou Mvondo and Madam Membouet, when the two coincidentally met inside a lift of a building in Ngaoundere on February 6, 2026. After that incident, the lady, Chantal Adelaide Membouet, with the assistant of her lawyer, filed a complaint against Nkou Mvondo at the Judicial Police in Ngoaundere, for threat and violence. Nkpu Mvondo was summoned to report at the judicial police. It is not clear how the matter ended, if it has ended at all.
And so while Akere Muna forgot about ‘Parti Universe’ as soon as the 2025 presidential election was over, the controversial decision by the President of ‘Parti Universe’ Nkou Mvondo, to again turn the party into a ‘Yango Party’, by giving investiture to “somebody who is not a militant of the party’, whereas a real militant of the party wanted to be the party’s candidate, has since last year plunged the party into crisis, at its main base (Ngaoundere). The leader of ‘Parti Universe’ is thus fortunate that the municipal elections that was early last year postponed to early this year, was again postponed.
The Coming Of ‘Yango Parties’
Meanwhile, the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon also saw this new jargon, ‘Yango’ enter into the dictionary of the country’s politics. The word is ‘Yango’, or better still, ‘Yango Party’, is understood as a political party ‘hired’ or ‘rented’ by somebody who in reality is not a militant of the party, for use in an election, especially the presidential election. To be precise, a Yango Party is a political party whose leader has given investiture to somebody who in reality is not a militant of the party, to run in the presidential election, as the party’s flag bearer.
In Cameroon, the Law is clear that the presidential candidate of a political party, is supposed to be a militant of the party. But the presidential candidates of a ‘Yango Party’, in reality only registers and buys the membership card of the party, after striking a deal with the President of the party, to give him investiture to run for the presidential election, on the ticket of the party, or as the party’s flag bearer. The party card he buys is for formality, that is, just to fulfill one of the conditions laid down by the Electoral Law, which is that the presidential candidate of a political party has to be a militant of the party.
It should be noted that for now, it is difficult for the elections organizing institution in Cameroon, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), to indict presidential candidates of ‘Yango Parties’ for wrong doing, or of not being real militants of the parties that give them investitures. This is because for now, what the Electoral Law requires a presidential aspirant, to show as proof that he is a militant of a political party, is just the party’s card. Most at times the Presidents of ‘Yango Parties’ backdate the time those party cards were issued.
And as has been observed, another issue is that the presidential candidates of Yango Parties’ that are issued party cards, and who then claim to be militants of those parties, do not stay in those parties, even for a few months after the presidential election. Immediately the election is over, they are gone. Some leave even before the official result of the presidential election.
The Origin Of The Name, Yango
Yango is a modern and international taxi hiring service that has been operating in two of Cameroon’s cities, Yaounde and Douala, in the last few years. The international headquarters of the taxi hiring service is in Russia, and there are affiliates or subsidiaries in a number of European and African countries, and even beyond. The name Yango was adopted for subsidiaries of the taxi hiring service in Africa, as the management of the Group wanted an African name for the subsidiaries or branches in Africa. The name Yango was adopted when the Group created a subsidiary in Ghana, which was the first subsidiary in Africa. It should be noted that Yango taxis are highly digitalized, and operate only on hire basis.
.The jargon, ‘Yango Party’, in the 2025 presidential election was generally used as a mockery of certain small political parties, whose presidential candidates were known as persons that were not real or genuine militants of those parties. The presidential candidates were thus mockingly said to have ‘hired’ those parties, just as Yango taxis, to use for the presidential election.In Cameroon, It Is Prohibited For A Political Party To Be Used For Business
It should be noted, as aforementioned, that in Cameroon, it is prohibited for a political party to be used for business.
So it is illegal for the leader or National President of a political party, to use the party for business, by striking a financial deal to ‘hire out’ the party to somebody to become the party’s presidential candidate. That is why only a small political party, whose leader runs it as a private property, can become a ‘Yango Party’. The non –militant who is out to negotiate to become the party’s presidential candidate, can easily strike a deal with the party leader of a small party, without other party officials involved. When only two persons are involved in such a deal, it is easy for the two to keep the terms of the deal, secret.
For one thing too, if the real terms of the deal leaks, both the leader of the ‘Yango Party’ and the presidential candidate will be in trouble. The leader or National President of the party will be in trouble for violating the Law, by using the political party for business. The presidential candidate of the ‘Yango Party’ will be in trouble, for being the presidential candidate of party, when he is in reality, not a militant of that party. That is why even if there is a clash along the line, between the President of a ‘Yango Party’, and the party’s presidential candidate, the secret terms of the deal they had, cannot be revealed by any of them. Both of them are very conscious of the fact that, it is in their interest to keep the secret terms, secret.
A Gentleman’s Agreement
So Yango Parties in general, are small political parties, and financial deals are involved. The deal is often between the leader of the small party, and the person who wants to ‘hire’ the party for use in an election. But no document is signed or receipt issued for the money received by the National President of the party. The financial part of the deal, that is, the payment that is made to the party leader, is not documented or signed, because it is illegal to hire or rent a political party in Cameroon. That is why the leader of such a party cannot accept publicly that he received money, and the person who paid the money too, cannot also accept that he paid money to be a candidate of the party.
So it is a gentleman’s agreement, between the two sides involved in the deal. The only financial matter that can be discussed openly, by the two sides involved in the deal, is something like campaign funds. That is, how the campaign funds allocated by the State to the presidential candidate, will be received, and managed. As aforementioned, the deal for the ‘hiring’ of the party is generally a secret discussion between the National President of the party concerned, and the person who wants to ‘hire’ or ‘rent’ the party. The party leader can involve a few of his very close or trusted collaborators n the party, in the discussions to strike the deal. But in most cases, party leaders strike the deals alone, because they do not want others to know about the financial aspects or details. So, that, they can chop alone or give only some “small thing” to a few close collaborators in the party.
