Cameroon opposition chief faces jail time after insurrection charge

Cameroon’s main opposition chief Maurice Kamto has been charged with insurrection after his arrest on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges his lawyer confirmed to the media.

His lawyers confirmed the charge which could lead to imprisonment term ranging from five years to life sentence. Other charges he is facing along with over 200 other detainees include holding illegal gatherings and disturbing public order.

The party Kamto leads, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM, held rallies last weekend across major cities whiles they were replicated in other European capitals.

After his interrogation Wednesday at GSO, here are the charges levied against Prof. Maurice Kamto:

-Terrorism
-Sedition
-Insurrection
-Inciting violence and disruption of public peace.

— Mimi237 (@Mimimefo237) January 31, 2019

The anti-government protests for not being sanctioned by the relevant law enforcement authorities led to the arrests earlier this week. The protests are related to October 2018 elections which Kamto came second in.

The vote was won by incumbent Paul Biya who polled over 70% to seal a seventh straight term in office. Kamto had declared himself winner even before the elections body could put out a winner.

His team lodged a complaint at the Constitutional Court along with other opposition parties. Even though their petition was admitted for hearing, it was dismissed by the judges as without merit.

Kamto’s lawyer, Christopher Ndong told the press that his client’s arrest was needless because he was only exercising a right to protest. “The government clampdown will not frighten anybody,” he said disclosing that more protests were to follow this weekend.