Rumeurs, idées reçues, clichés, superstitions, légende : qui dit vrai ? qui dit faux ?
Maurice Kamto and Mamadou Mota have resigned from the leadership of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), which now faces a leadership reset as it prepares for 2027 legislative and municipal elections amid an unresolved dispute with the government over the validity of its current leadership structure.
Kamto stepped down as CRM national president just over eight months after returning to the position. In a Sept. 8, 2026, letter to the party’s Directorate, the academic said his resignation took immediate effect and cited the “higher interest” of the party, its members and supporters.
“I hereby inform you that, in the higher interest of our party, its many members and supporters, and the People of Change in general, I have decided to resign from my position as National President of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement,” he wrote in the letter published on his Facebook page.
Hours later, Mamadou Mota, the party’s first vice president, also resigned. He said his decision was guided by the MRC’s “higher interest” and that he did not want his position to serve as a pretext to undermine the party’s operations.
The CRM subsequently announced that it had formally acknowledged both resignations.
More significantly, the Directorate called an extraordinary national convention for Oct. 10, 2026, at the party’s headquarters in Yaoundé to fill the vacant positions. Applications are open until 10 a.m. on Oct. 9, putting the party on an immediate path toward a leadership reorganization.
Dispute With MINAT Looms Over Reorganization
The leadership changes come amid a months-long dispute between the CRM and the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT) over the validity of the party’s Dec. 21, 2025, extraordinary convention.
That convention, held by videoconference, returned Kamto to the party presidency with 95.44% of valid votes cast, according to results released by the MRC. It also elected a new leadership team that included Mota as first vice president and Tiriane Balbine Noah as second vice president.
But in an Aug. 19, 2026, letter, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji said he had not considered it appropriate to formally acknowledge the proceedings of that convention. He cited, among other provisions, Article 3 of the Dec. 19, 1990, law governing public meetings and demonstrations.
The CRM disputes that interpretation and maintains that holding its convention online fell within its internal rules.
The administrative dispute carries electoral implications. For legislative elections, Article 165 of the Electoral Code requires each candidate fielded by a political party to submit a document confirming the party’s endorsement. A similar requirement applies to municipal elections.
A dispute over who has the legal authority to act on behalf of the CRM could therefore lead to challenges when candidate lists are submitted and reviewed.
The resignations of Kamto and Mota change that configuration, but there is no basis at this stage to conclude that they resolve the dispute with MINAT. The disagreement concerns the broader proceedings of the Dec. 21, 2025, convention, not Kamto alone.
A new elective convention, however, gives the CRM an opportunity to reorganize its leadership structure before the legislative and municipal elections expected in 2027.
Tiriane Balbine Noah Takes a Leading Role in Transition
In the meantime, Tiriane Balbine Noah has moved to the forefront of the party’s transition. She was second vice president before the resignations, a position she also held in the leadership elected in 2023 before she was reelected on Kamto’s slate in December 2025.
Several reports now describe her as overseeing continuity at the head of the party.
Noah previously played a similar role in 2019, when Kamto, Mota and several other CRM officials were detained. The party’s permanent leadership, however, will be determined at the extraordinary convention scheduled for Oct. 10.
The timetable is consistent with the MRC’s 2018 statutes currently available on its official website. Article 68 provides that when the national president resigns, the Directorate must declare the position vacant and convene a convention, which must take place within 60 days of being called.
Any amendments adopted in December 2025 are not available in a consolidated version that could be verified.
The MRC’s immediate challenge is therefore no longer simply Kamto’s departure, but the selection on Oct. 10 of a leadership whose internal and administrative legitimacy can withstand potential challenges ahead of the legislative and municipal elections.
Kamto had previously left the CRM on June 25, 2025, before joining Manidem two days later to pursue a candidacy in the October presidential election. His candidacy was ultimately rejected, and he returned as CRM president at the December 2025 convention.
Follow @stopblablacam
Kamto, Mota Resignations Force CRM Leadership Reset Ahead of 2027 Elections
Egypt Invites Cameroon Businesses to October Forum to Build New Partnerships
Cameroon Sees Professional Qualification Candidates Rise 150% in Two Years
Cameroon School Reopening Hit by Deadly Attack, Teacher Abductions in Northwest
Global Fund Cuts Cameroon Health Financing 29% to CFA134 Billion for 2027-2029
Kamto, Mota Resignations Give CRM Chance to Reset Leadership Before 2027 Elections
‘La Maison du vent’ Brings Cameroon Back to Venice Competition After 51 Years
Douala Spends CFA7 Billion on Waste but 900 Tons Still Go Uncollected Each Day
Fact check: Cameroon did not announce “extremely strict” 2026 exam grading
Fact check: Paracetamol “P/500” not linked to deadly virus
False Decree Claims Appointment of Franck Biya as Cameroon Vice President
No tickets will be sold for Pope Leo XIV’s masses in Cameroon
Cameroon Warns of Admission Scams as Doctoral Programs Resume
FAKE: CNPS Warns of Internship Scam Charging Fees for Fake Placements
Beware Fake BEAC Statement Claiming CFA50 Billion Project Funding
Beware of Fake MINFOPRA Job Drive Promising 24,000 Youth Hires
Egypt is inviting Cameroonian companies to an economic forum in Cairo in October…
Cameroon Sees Professional Qualification Candidates Rise 150% in Two Years
The number of people pursuing professional qualifications in Cameroon has risen by…
Cameroon School Reopening Hit by Deadly Attack, Teacher Abductions in Northwest
Cameroon’s new school year has faced an early security setback in the Northwest…
Global Fund Cuts Cameroon Health Financing 29% to CFA134 Billion for 2027-2029
Cameroon is set to receive €205 million, or about CFA134 billion, from the Global…
‘La Maison du vent’ Brings Cameroon Back to Venice Competition After 51 Years
Fifty-one years after Dikongué-Pipa’s Muna Moto was presented at the Venice Film…
