Catholic Bishop in Cameroon Responds to Governor’s Remarks on Silence During Post-Election Crisis

BAFANG, 06 November, 2025 / 11:49 PM

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bafang in Cameroon has expressed his “indignation” after the Governor of the West Region, Awa Fonka Augustine reportedly congratulated him for remaining silent during the country’s recent post-election crisis.

In an open letter issued on Wednesday, November 5, Bishop Abraham Kome clarifies that his silence was not political compliance, but a deliberate act of reflection, prayer, and moral discernment. 

He faults the governor’s comments as “condescending and politically motivated.’

“During your visit to Bafang in the context of the post-electoral crisis, I was informed that you publicly congratulated me for the silence I observed at a time when, before the elections, certain Bishops were making their voices heard about the unhealthy socio-political situation in our country,” Bishop Kome says in the open letter.

He adds, “Mr. Governor, we do not share the same points of reference for assessing the governance of our country. You are a civil servant, conditioned to execute orders from your hierarchy. I am a Pastor who observes governance not only through social regulations, which often fail to constrain the executive, but also through the objective and universal principles of natural and divine law that seek a just and fulfilling society for all.”

The Cameroonian Catholic Bishop goes on to highlight the systemic issues in the country, citing the recent statement of Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala Archdiocese.

He cites bad governance, unemployment, youth emigration, lack of education and jobs, dilapidated infrastructure, energy deficits, corruption, social inequalities, and the exploitation of national wealth by a privileged few “while the majority suffers.”

Bishop Kome notes that the concerns of the Church, both collective and individual, have often been dismissed with “gross arrogance” by authorities. 

“Our concerns about this increasingly bleak picture have been expressed several times, either by the entire National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC), or by individual voices, including my own, sometimes stage right, sometimes stage left, and they have always received, often with gross arrogance, a categorical refusal from those who govern us,” he says.

The Local Ordinary of Bafang adds, “Mr. Governor, faced with such a situation, which is now being perpetuated by all possible means; faced with the inability to provide the people with credible tools capable of ensuring an electoral process without deaths or regrettable destruction; congratulating my silence is an offensive political maneuver that I cannot accept.”

The Catholic Church leadr explains that his silence is rooted in reflection and prayer, likening it to the silence of Jesus in John 17, when he paused to speak to God on behalf of humanity. 

“Such silence is a way of fighting differently for greater well-being,” he adds.

Bishop Kome emphasizes that his quiet stance is a call for compassion, rather than “political maneuvering”, and urges authorities to recognize the moral and spiritual dimensions of governance.

On October 27, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council confirmed the re-election of President Paul Biya, Africa’s second-longest-serving head of State, rivalled only by President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

The official results showed Biya winning the October 12 election by 53.66 percent of the total votes, against 35.19 percent for opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Reuters reported.

On October 31, Mr. Tchiroma called for three days of ghost town protests from November 3-5.

President Biya, who was sworn in on Thursday, November 6 for an eighth term in office, is the world’s oldest Head of State, having served since 1982 in the Central African nation, where Presidents have a seven-year mandate.

Constitutional amendments that the 92-year-old President’s party, the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), spearheaded in 2008, abolishing the two-term presidential limit, brought about his “extraordinarily long tenure”. 

After the presidential polls, the opposition contender, Tchiroma, reportedly announced himself the winner.

His declaration was dismissed by Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, who denounced it as unlawful and “a matter of serious concern.”

The ruling CPDM also condemned Tchiroma’s claim as a “grotesque hoax,” maintaining that only the Constitutional Council is authorized to officially declare the winner.

However, there are reportedly widespread concerns about electoral transparency, fairness, and integrity. 

Opposition groups, civil society, and media have flagged possible irregularities.