Cameroon: Eldest Member of Parliament Talks Up Russia-Ukraine Dialogue but Fails to Mention Southern Cameroons’ Conflict

The Eldest Member of Cameroon’s National Assembly has added her voice to thousands of others calling on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to dialogue to stop the ongoing blood bath in Ukraine.

Hon. Laurentine Koa Mfegue Epse Mbede was speaking Friday at the start of the March session of Parliament.

“I would like, as a mother, a wife, and representative of the Nation to add my voice to those of Members of the National Assembly of Cameroon and appeal to leaders of Russia and Ukraine to call for a ceasefire and to open negotiations in order to do the needful in the interest of their respective countries,” she said.

She said she shared the pain and anguish of Cameroonians trapped in Ukraine and expressed hope that the Cameroon government would get them out of their predicament.

Curiously, Hon. Laurentine Koa Mfegue Epse Mbede made only scant reference to the crisis that has been rocking Cameroon today for the past six years.

“My heart is bleeding when I think of the murdered sub-divisional officer of Ekondo Titi, the Mayor of the same area, and the other citizens killed at the same occasion on March 2nd, 2022,” she said, and spent the entire speech extolling President Paul Biya as a very competent head of state who will be remembered for organizing “the most successful Africa Cup of Nations on the African Continent.”

Some opposition members of Parliament said they were disappointed with Hon. Koa Mfegue for “neglecting the most important crises facing the country,” and instead of addressing herself to a crisis in far-off Ukraine.

“I was really disappointed at the speech,” said Hon. Samuel Month. “Certainly, she mentioned the Anglophone Problem, but as usual failed to touch on the fundamentals of the crisis,” he said.

Over five years of fighting has left a trail of destruction and death: at least 4,000 people have been killed and over a million forced to flee from their homes, according to the United Nations.

Hon. Month further complained that the eldest Member of Parliament failed to even mention the ongoing teachers’ strike, as well as the runaway inflation that is making life uncomfortable for millions of Cameroonians.