According to open sources, armed separatists fighting to secure the independence of a country they call Ambazonia opened fire on the convoy targeting Hon. Mbah Ndam Joseph Njang, incumbent Member of Parliament for Momo West (Batibo).

“At least four persons have been injured in an attack carried out by alleged Amba boys on the armoured convoy carrying Hon. Mbah Ndam for Batibo Constituency. He was on his way to prepare for legislative elections rerun scheduled to hold in that area,” local media reported.

Other open sources however suggested that four elements of Cameroon’s defence and security forces were injured as they repelled the assailants. Two workers of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) reportedly sustained injuries. Hon. Mbah Ndam is said to have emerged unhurt after soldiers successfully inflicted heavy casualties on the armed separatists.

Like was the case during the twin Municipal and Legislative elections on February 9, 2020, separatists have vowed to frustrate Sunday’s election rerun.

The electorate of Momo West along with those of ten other electoral constituencies in Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions choose 13 Members of Parliament this Sunday, March 22, 2020 in rerun polls.

Today’s election rerun follows Constitutional Council decision no. 29/SRCER/G/20 of February 25, 2020 to cancel the election of Members of Parliament in the following constituencies: North West Region – Menchum North, Bui West, Mezam South, Bui Centre, Bui South, Mezam Centre, Momo East, Menchum South, Momo West and Mezam North – and South West Region – Lebialem.

The election rerun in the aforementioned constituencies shall begin at 8.00 a.m. and end at 6.00 p.m., according to a Presidential decree.

Cameroon-Info.Net understands that the partial annulment of the outcome of the February 9, 2020 legislative elections came after the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF, seized the Constitutional Council citing irregularities that breached laws relating to elections in the country.

SDF lawyers and candidates had prayed the Constitutional Council to partially annul the elections on grounds of insecurity, and the creation of polling centres which disenfranchised their voters.

Political pundits posit that this rerun may help improve the fortunes of the opposition SDF which emerged from the February 9 twin municipal and legislative elections with its worst performance ever – securing just five seats. They harvested 18 seats in the 2013 elections.

President Paul Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) got 139 out of 167 declared seats in the February 9 polls.

Hon. Mbah Ndam, who is a graduate of the University of Yaoundé and Member of Parliament since 1997, was born on February 28, 1955 in Batibo, Momo Division of the then North West province. He has been a member of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the SDF since 1991.

Besides being a politician, he was a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Yaoundé from 1988-92. Since 1992, he is the adviser on legal and judicial matters of National Financial Credit Bank and he is chair of Union of cultural and development association of Momo division. He is a practicing Protestant Christian and married and a father of four children.

His house in Batibo was burnt down to ashes by armed separatist fighters on Sunday, December 15, 2019. Now they want to deprive him of the parliamentary seat he has occupied since 1997.