To
Priests;
Religious men and women;
Lay faithful;
People of goodwill.
“A cry is heard in Ramah, a lament and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be consoled, because they are no more.”
(Jer 31:15).
- The presidential election of October 12, 2025, presented itself to us, Cameroonian men and women, as the “kairos”—the favorable moment—to write a new page in our history: change. By an overwhelming majority, we expressed this desire, this will, this profound aspiration of our hearts and souls, through the massive choice of the candidate, the leader whom we deemed capable of satisfying this great hunger and quenching this immense thirst of the Cameroonian people.
- Through the reactions of various individuals following the proclamation of the results of the presidential election of October 12, 2025, many citizens who expected a better future firmly believed that their choice had not been respected. It was despised and, worse still, ignored; today, their disappointment is immense. In the face of this attitude, which has outraged an overwhelming majority of Cameroonians and the international community, all those responsible in our country are invited to reflect deeply on the consequences of the current situation.
- For the proclamation of the results of October 12, 2025, along with the disappointment and indignation it rekindled in the thoughts and hearts of a large number of our compatriots, gave rise to marches and demonstrations of a peaceful nature.
- Unfortunately, they experienced serious deviations through acts of vandalism, looting, and theft with grave consequences for the material and economic lives of many innocent people in cities such as Douala, Garoua, Maroua, Bertoua, Dschang… This is deplorable and condemnable.
- Indeed, on the one hand, public buildings, certain commercial establishments, and shops were ransacked, looted, emptied, and others set on fire. These regrettable and reprehensible acts have plunged their owners into distress and misery. On the other hand, verbal and physical violence and intimidations were inflicted on the populations. There have been numerous arrests and assassinations, especially among the youth, and this continues.
- While working on another way to safeguard the security of people and property, it is essential that these acts of violence, intimidations, arrests, and assassinations come to an end. Cameroon should not be a land of permanent confrontations between the government and the people after every presidential election. Democracy does not accommodate cannon fire, threats, arbitrary arrests, or intimidations of citizens who hold contrary views. Elections are not organized to kill fellow citizens. A people is not governed with weapons. No government in the world can govern without the people; it governs for the people, and it has the duty to love them and respond to their legitimate and profound aspirations, as the Apostle Peter recommends: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Pet 5:2-3).
- It is time for us to seriously examine the deep roots of this unease, this anger, this fed-up sentiment that drives Cameroonians to such actions and to find appropriate solutions. Our compatriots demand to be heard, that their needs and profound aspirations be taken into account and considered.
- The deep Cameroon cries out its suffering and misery. The populations are hungry because they have no work. The current general unemployment rate is estimated at 74%, and the poverty rate in Cameroon in 2024 at approximately 37.7%. 10.1 million Cameroonians live on less than 1,000 FCFA per day. Cameroon has more than 6 million citizens on the roads of exile or clandestine immigration (cf. Africa Center for Strategic Studies). Our country lacks a reliable economic system that provides jobs. The energy deficit (water and electricity) does not allow for the development of the economic fabric.
- The people are worried about this persisting situation. With no sign of hope on the horizon, citizens or families prefer to leave for abroad. A people that takes to the streets to cry out its despair expresses a rupture and appeals to the conscience of the leaders. If billions are spent to organize elections, funds can likewise be found for the well-being of the populations. We cannot turn a deaf ear, nor remain indifferent or insensitive to the distress signals they send us.We have reached the end of a presidential election. Can we dare to hope for a real, significant, and effective improvement in the living conditions of Cameroonians compared to the current situation? This situation is marked by: poor governance, unemployment, youth emigration, under-schooling, lack of jobs, deteriorating roads, energy deficits, injustices, social inequalities, corruption, the exploitation of the country’s wealth by a minority of Cameroonians, the insolent luxury of some while the majority wallows in misery, growing insecurity, the high cost of living, tribalism, unequal distribution of the country’s wealth, the use of the common good for selfish ends…? All this creates a tense and deleterious social climate.
- The appeasement and preservation of peace and stability in our country today require a collective awareness of these various crises that undermine our nation and generate the suffering and misery of Cameroonians, along with a firm will to provide appropriate solutions.
May the Holy Spirit enlighten our leaders and the Cameroonian people, and may the Virgin Mary, Patroness of Cameroon, intercede for us.
Given on November 1, 2025, on the Solemnity of All Saints.