Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)
How MRC Officials And Lawyers Have Been Defending Controversial Decisions That Were Taken In Late 2025 By The Party’s Directorate, In Connection To The Party’s Convention That Held By Videoconference, And The Issue Of Ineligibility Of KAMTO. Why There Was Growing Fear In MRC, That The Party Risked Missing The Much Awaited Legislative And Municipal Elections.
MRC officials as well as the party’s lawyers, strongly argued in defense of the legality of the December 21, 2025 Extraordinary Convention of the party, that reportedly held by videoconference, According to MRC officials and lawyers, when the DO of Yaounde 1V banned the holding of the Convention of the party that was initially scheduled for November 29, 2025 at the party headquarters in Yaounde, the Directorate of the party met on December 2, 2025, and adopted a resolution (No. 5), that the party’s Convention be held by videoconference. The MRC Directorate also modified Article 68 of the party’s Constitution, to authorize the modification of the format in which the party’s convention holds.
Still according to MRC officials and its lawyers, copies of the resolution for the modification of Article 68 of the party’s Constitution, which authorized the holding of the Extraordinary Convention of the party by videoconference, were deposited at the Ministry of Territorial Administration, and the office of the Governor of the Centre Region, both in Yaounde, on December 3, 2025. That is, over two weeks before the holding of the Extraordinary Elective Convention by videoconference.
But there was apparently no reaction by MINAT and the Governor of the Centre Region, when MRC deposited the document. That however did not mean that they accepted the decision by MRC to hold the Convention by videoconference, after the DO of Yaounde IV banned it. From the look of things, they rather decided to ignore the document MRC deposited, just as they later ignored the resolutions of the Convention that held by videoconference on December 21, 2025.
Article 29 Of The Constitution Of MRC
Meanwhile, as regard the issue that Dr Okala Ebode Joseph Thierry, raised about the ineligibility of Prof Maurice Kamto to run for re-election to the post of National President of MRC, in line with Article 29 of the party’s Constitution, MRC officials and the party’s lawyers admitted that Article 29 states that any new member or militant of the party, must militate for three uninterrupted years in the party, before he can run for any high post in the party.
Internal Arrangement.
But MRC officials and lawyers argued that though Prof Maurice Kamto left MRC for MANIDEM in June 2025 in a bid to get investiture to run in the October 12, 2025, and returned to MRC in September 2025 after the Constitutional Council rejected his candidacy, it could not be considered that he returned to MRC as a new militant. They said this was because the National Council of MRC, in October 2024, gave the party’s presidential candidate, Maurice Kamto, the authorization to choose the modality to present his candidacy at the 2025 presidential election, since the party was not qualified to give him investiture, as it was neither represented in parliament nor in a municipal council. They said it was in line with that authorization that was given by the National Council of the party, that Maurice Kamto left MRC for MANIDEM in June 2025, and returned in September 2025. According to them, it could not thus be considered that he returned as a new member of the party.
What Were Publicly Or Officially Known
However, it should be noted that the authorization that MRC officials said was given to Prof Maurice Kamto in October 2024 by the party’s National Council, was an internal arrangement or decision of the party, and so was not made public. What the administration as well as the public knew, was, that Kamto in June 2025 formally announced his resignation from MRC, and crossed over to MANIDEM Party. After the resignation, the Directorate of MRC met, and in line with Article 68 of the Internal Regulations of the party, declared that the Directorate had taken note of the resignation of Maurice Kamto from the post of National President of MRC, as well as from the party.
One of the conditions set by the Electoral Law of Cameroon, for somebody to get the investiture from a political party, to be that party’s candidate at the presidential election, is that he has to be a militant of that party, and show proof of that. That was why Kamto was obliged to formally resign from MRC in June 2025 to join the MANIDEM Party. Even if the Directorate of MRC, which officially declared that it had taken note of the resignation of Maurice Kamto from MRC, did not internally consider the resignation of Kamto as real, that was an internal affair.
Case Goes To Yaounde – Ekounou Court
Meanwhile, as The Mentor in July 2026 reported, things further got complicated for the leadership of the MRC, when some members of the party led by Willy Mengue, went to court to contest the decision that was taken by the Directorate of the party, that the Extraordinary Convention of the party should be held by videoconference on December 21, 2025. The group insists that the holding of the Extraordinary Convention of the MRC Party by videoconference, was an illegal. Act. The group that tacitly supports Dr Okala Ebode Joseph Thierry, also contests the eligibility of Prof Maurice Kamto to have on that December 21, 2025, stood for re-election to the post of National President of MRC. Th group insists that the Constitution of the party states that any new militant of MRC, must militate in the party for at least three uninterrupted years, before he can be qualify to run for any high office in the party.
Like Okala Ebode, the group led by Willy Mengue, argues that Maurice Kamto who left MRC in June 2025 to MANIDEM, in order to get the party’s investiture to be a candidate at the October 12, 2025 presidential election, returned to MRC in September 2025 as a new militant, and thus must militate in the party for at least three years, before he can be eligible to run for election to the post of National President of MRC.
The case opened at the Yaounde – Ekounou Court of First Instance (Magistrate Court) on July 9, 2026, and the matter is still pending or going on in court. MRC is represented by a team of lawyers led by Barrister Hippolype B,T, Meli, former President of the General Assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association.
Fear In The MRC About Party’s Participation In Legislative And Elections
Meanwhile, many MRC militants across the country were reportedly plunged into fear, that the new conflict which sparked off between the party on the one side, and the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, and his ministry, on the other side, might seriously affect the party’s participation at the much awaited legislative and municipal elections. When the MINAT Boss, Atanga Nji, recently declared that he or MINAT did not recognize the Extraordinary Convention of the MRC that held by Videoconference on December 21, 2025, he was by that, saying that MINAT did not recognize the re-election of Prof Maurice Kamto as National President of MRC, or better still, that as far as MINAT was concerned, Maurice Kamto was not the National President of MRC. On the other hand, MRC officials and lawyers were insisting that Maurice Kamto was the legal and legitimate President of MRC. But they definitely knew so well that the re–election of Maurice Kamto as National President of MRC, and more so at the Convention that held by videoconference, was full of controversies.
Meanwhile, the fact was that no matter what MRC officials and lawyers were saying in public, there was a growing fear in the party. The fear of ordinary militants of the MRC was, that if the standoff between the party and MINAT continues up to when the legislative and municipal elections are called, and Kamto signs the investiture for MRC’s candidates in the capacity of National President of the party, the candidacies or the lists might be rejected by Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) and the Constitutional Council for the case of Legislative Elections, and ELECAM and the Supreme Court for the case of municipal elections.
The rejection would be on the ground that the person that signed the investiture was not officially recognized as the President of MRC. Such a rejection would have been very devastating to the MRC, considering especially that the party did not take part in the last legislative and municipal election in the country that held on February 9, 2020. This followed the decision that was taken by the leadership of MRC, that the party should boycott the elections. And the party has since been suffering from the consequences of that boycott.
Meanwhile, following the growing fear and worry in MRC, party officials had to embark on a sensitization campaign, to try to downplay or dismiss the fear, by trying to reassure militants that there was nothing that would stop the party from participating in the much awaited legislative and municipal elections. But the fear did not go away.
