“People murmur… they want change”: Catholic Bishop Calls for Political Transition Ahead of Cameroon’s Presidential Elect

“Change distills its benefits to the people and the nation… it is not an option, it is the living proof that democracy works,” the Cameroonian Catholic Bishop said.

Drawing from Scripture, Bishop Lontsié-Keuné noted how leadership succession from Moses to Joshua, from Samuel to Saul, and from Saul to David was meant for the good of the people. 

He warned against the “idolatry of the leader,” stressing that “there is a time for everything under heaven… even the reign of a leader must have an end.”

For change to take root, Bishop Lontsié-Keuné insisted that Cameroon needs candidates who are “competent and honest, regardless of their ethnic origins.” 

He cited past episcopal statements, urging voters to scrutinize campaign promises and elect those who will end inequalities, foster unity, fight corruption, and make Cameroon “a haven of peace and justice, less corrupt, better governed, prosperous and truly emergent.”

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The Catholic Church leader further called on the twelve presidential candidates to present their programs nationwide and engage with citizens directly. 

He proposed a live televised debate as a democratic milestone, stating: “The people murmur… they want to see those who claim to govern them.”

Looking ahead to the elections, Bishop Lontsié-Keuné described the polls as “the momentum, the force that maintains the irreversible movement of the advent of alternance.” 

He urged all citizens to collect their voter cards, go to the polls, and “not only vote, but also protect their vote.” 

Participation in counting votes at local polling stations, he said, is part of ensuring electoral truth.

The Local Ordinary of Bafoussam, since February 2022, following his transfer from Cameroon’s Yokadouma Catholic Diocese, where he had started his Episcopal Ministry in July 2017, warned that “electoral irresponsibility” has historically plagued Cameroon’s political life, from the colonial era to the present, undermining the popular will. 

Avoiding fraud, manipulation, and intimidation, he said, is critical to peace and justice.

The Catholic Bishop called on all actors in the process to respect the truth of the ballot box, saying, “The respect of the people’s choice is not a favor, but a sacred duty.”

To Christians, he said, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Do not yield to fraud, to pressures, to intimidations, or to manipulations which betray human dignity and profane the sovereignty of the Cameroonian people. Participating in electoral cheating is betraying Christ himself.” 

Bishop Lontsié-Keuné added that such fidelity to truth would become “a prophetic act, a seed of hope for future generations.”

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Invoking the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary, he prayed that the Holy Spirit would grant Cameroonians the courage “to walk in the light, whatever the cost,” and called on the “God of justice and peace to bless the nation abundantly.”