Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters supporting opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary in Garoua, Cameroon, on October 26, 2025.
Police in Cameroon fired tear gas on Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied a government ban to march in support of opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who claims he won the country’s recent presidential election.
The protests erupted in Garoua, Tchiroma’s northern stronghold, where demonstrators waved national flags and chanted, “Goodbye Paul Biya, Tchiroma is coming.”
According to AFP, authorities have prohibited public gatherings until the Constitutional Council announces the results of the October 12 vote on Monday.
Most observers expect President Paul Biya, 92, to secure an eighth term after 43 years in power, in what critics call an increasingly authoritarian system.
Tchiroma insists he won 54.8 percent of the votes and accused the government of attempting to arrest him. “Military personnel tried to take me away,” he said in a video posted online.
After about two hours of demonstrations, police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. In Yaoundé, the capital, AFP reporters noted no major protests amid a heavy security presence.
In Douala, the coastal commercial hub, several dozen people gathered near the airport despite a ban issued by the regional prefect.
Two opposition leaders, Djeukam Tchameni, of the Movement for Democracy and Interdependence, and Anicet Ekane, of the African Movement for the New Independence of Cameroon, were arrested at their homes on Friday, according to a coalition backing Tchiroma.
Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji described the protests as an attempt to trigger “a security crisis” and warned that the demonstrations amounted to “an insurrectionist project.”
About the Author
