Bishops of Cameroon have exposed irregularities and massive electoral fraud perpetrated by the chronic Paul Biya regime of La Republique du Cameoun. In what many describe as the most daring moral declaration in decades, the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CENC) released a hard-hitting statement on the October 12, 2025 presidential election, citing the manipulation and systemic failure under Paul Biya’s crumbling regime. The Bishops, led by His Grace Andrew Fuanya Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda and President of the Conference, have once again proven that truth cannot be buried, even under the weight of dictatorship.
In the powerful statement released from Yaoundé on 19 October 2025, the Bishops detailed the massive deployment of Church-trained observers across the nation. Out of 307 accreditations requested, the government only granted 202, limiting their access, yet even this small number was enough to expose the darkness ELECAM tried to hide. According to the report, Catholic observers covered 12,257 polling stations out of the 31,635 nationwide, representing 39% of the national total. What they found was shocking: unupdated electoral registers still containing names of the dead, polling stations relocated without warning, fake polling stations that existed physically but were missing from ELECAM’s list, voters leaving with wrong ballot papers in Douala, Yaoundé, Maroua, Garoua, and Bertoua, bins positioned to reveal discarded votes compromising secrecy, and cases of police brutality and violence, including the incident in Garoua where clashes between police and youths following the convoy of candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary left a police officer seriously injured and a gendarmerie truck burnt. Post-election violence was also recorded in Dschang and Douala. Despite ELECAM’s attempts to stage-manage “peaceful” polling scenes, the Bishops made it clear that serenity is not democracy. The calm atmosphere on election day was nothing but a polished surface hiding the rot within Cameroon’s electoral machinery.
While the Church acknowledged ELECAM’s logistical setup, it did not spare the electoral body. The Bishops revealed that the minutes prepared by ELECAM were only signed on the first and last pages, while the middle pages containing the real vote counts were left unsigned. This, Bareta News notes, is a classical tactic of fraudulent alteration designed to manipulate figures during the transmission of results. The Church called this a serious hindrance to democracy, and Bareta News agrees — it is the very foundation of Biya’s 43-year electoral scam.
This is not the first time the Bishops have spoken truth to power. In March 2025, they issued a pastoral letter warning that Cameroon was standing at a decisive crossroad, urging citizens to protect their votes and reject corruption. In January 2025, they criticised the government’s poor economic governance and disregard for citizens’ welfare, saying Cameroon was rotting under the weight of injustice. In 2018, the same Episcopal body condemned the violence and fraud of the presidential election, calling for an end to the manipulation of the people’s will. This year, their tone is even more direct — a spiritual and moral indictment of the system itself.
In one of the most striking sections of the statement, the Bishops assert that “the results of each candidate were made public in the 12,257 polling stations where we observed, and since the counting was public, the people recognised themselves in the votes that were counted and left generally satisfied. As the people left, they expressed their hope that they will still recognise themselves in the results that will be published by the Constitutional Council and that nothing will be changed by any authority involved in this exercise.” This is a direct warning to the Constitutional Council, the Ministry of Territorial Administration, and the regime’s manipulative forces: do not touch the people’s will. The Bishops are drawing a line in the sand — one that the regime crosses at its peril.
Closing the statement with the words of Christ, the Bishops declared, “Et Veritas liberabit vos — And the truth shall set you free.” They prayed for a Cameroon rebuilt on truth, justice, and love, not deception and fear. Bareta News interprets this as a coded message to the oppressed people of Southern Cameroons and all freedom-loving citizens across the nation: truth is liberation. Freedom begins when lies are exposed.
This bold outing by the Bishops is a clear sign that the Church has chosen the people over the palace. While the Biya regime continues to hide behind state propaganda and ELECAM’s theatrical elections, the Church has declared what every Cameroonian already knows — that democracy in La République du Cameroun is a tragic illusion. As Ambazonians, we salute the courage of the clergy who have chosen to stand with the truth. The cry of the people is now echoed from the altars. Let the oppressors tremble. Let the truth march on. Because, indeed, ‘Et Veritas liberabit vos.’
By Lucas Muma
