International rights organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW), is demanding answers as to the whereabouts of parts of the funds raised by the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, under the Suivie Cameroon Survival Initiative, launched to assist vulnerable Cameroonians fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recent tweet made by Senior HRW Researcher for Central Africa, Ilaria Allegrozzi, demands answers to the disappearance of huge amounts of the said money raised by the party.
“Where is part of the missing part of the Suivie Cameroun platform launched by the opponent Kamto to fight Covid-19?” The platform has donated nearly 1.1 million euros. But on its bank account, there is only 800 000 Euro,” read the tweet from Illaria.
The senior researcher of the reputable right body in the tweet tagged a report published on 12 May 2021 on the website of renowned France-based media outfit, RFI, in which the media organ is demanding the whereabouts of some of the money raised by the party’s supporters and followers.
RFI report indicated that despite explanations provided to donors, militants and supporters for months now by the opposition leader, Maurice Kamto, controversy surrounding the missing money still drags on.
“Where did the 330,000 euros go missing from Survie Cameroun's account? To try to clarify the situation, a first audit is launched at the end of 2020. But its conclusions sow confusion. The experts explain that they could not "formally establish the origin of the gap". But they are advancing tracks. In particular, a possible parallel management or an alternative bank account,” partly read the RFI report.
A second audit said to have been carried out on the donations found out that there were simple conversion errors between donations in dollars or pounds sterling and euros according to the party leader, Kamto. But one of his former strong ally doesn’t believe the explanation.
"Who can believe in a bug?” questions Christian Penda Ekoka, ex-leader of the initiative in a video on Facebook as reported by RFI. Money meant for the initiative was managed from France, by the European branch of the party when their accounts were blocked in Cameroon following instructions from interior minister.
Christian Penda Ekoka accuses the European branch of the MRC of not having been completely transparent and of not having given access to all the data requested during the first audit. The developments are seen by many observers as another political blunder of the party clamouring to take power.
MRC militants themselves are condemning the shocking image left on the arty following months of suspicion and division between those who unreservedly support Maurice Kamto and those more circumspect, wishing for more explanation.
Penda Ekoka, former adviser of Paul Biya who joined Kamto during the 2018 presidential polls is now in cold with Kamto. The two political pals are said not be in talking terms. Political bookmakers are of the opinion the current wave of developments within the MRC is playing negatively on Kamto.
Political pundits say and rightly so, that the issues of mismanagement rocking the funds and silent resignation of some of his key political foot soldiers has made him lost credibility in the phase of Cameroonians.
By Doh Bertrand Nua
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