- Title: Cameroon president orders main rival freed in bid to calm tensions
- Date: 5th October 2019
- Summary: YAOUNDE, CAMEROON (OCTOBER 5, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** LEADER OF CAMEROON RENAISSANCE MOVEMENT (MRC) MAURICE KAMTO (BLUE TIE) GETTING OUT OF PRISON VAN MEMBERS OF MRC GETTING OUT OF PRISON VAN VARIOUS OF KAMTO ENTERING COURT SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF MRC GETTING OUT OF PRISON VAN VARIOUS OF FREED PRISONERS AND SUPPORTERS CHANTING INSIDE COURT (SOUNDBITE) (English) FREED KAMTO SUPPORTER, MUTAGHA SYLVANUS, SAYING: "In fact I'm not angry, I'm not disappointed that I was arrested because I know the country in which we are. Cameroon is a country in which at anytime if you are a politician and you oppose the government strongly, you can be arrested. Today we have been released, it is the victory the Cameroon people, it is a victory to save Cameroon's democracy." MEMBERS OF MRC GETTING OUT OF PRISON VAN, HOLDING ARMS IN AIR FREED PRISONERS GREETED BY LAWYERS FREED PRISONERS FOLLOWED BY SOLDIERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MAURICE KAMTO'S LAWYER, CLAUDE ASIRA, SAYING: "We are happy for them because first of all we are convinced that they should not have ever been arrested from the beginning and then we are also very happy for their families because we think that they are going to have the possibility to be again and to recover the freedom they should never have lost." VARIOUS OF MRC SUPPORTERS CHANTING OUTSIDE COURT VARIOUS OF KAMTO SUPPORTER, KAMDEN EMMANUEL, CHEERING AND HOLDING PEACE BRANCH (SOUNDBITE) (French) KAMTO SUPPORTER, KAMDEN EMMANUEL, SAYING: "I feel there is a lot of emotion, we are putting in lots of effort to totally free Cameroon because I think it's the goal that we want for this country." SECURITY SURROUNDING PRISON VAN LAWYERS FOR KAMTO AND MEMBERS OF MRC STANDING IN FRONT OF COURT HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, AGBOR NKONGHO, SPEAKING WITH OTHER LAWYERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER, AGBOR NKONGHO, SAYING: "There should be general amnesty to each and every one so that we can start on a clean slate and this culminating with the end of the dialogue it could really show that government has good faith and then we can see now how they can implement some of the other recommendations." VARIOUS OF FREED PRISONERS LEAVING COURT
- Embargoed: 19th October 2019 16:46
- Keywords: national dialogue freed tribunal Cameroon president orders rival freed Paul Biya Maurice Kamto Cameroon Renaissance Movement MRC
- Location: YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
- City: YAOUNDE, CAMEROON
- Country: Cameroon
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZTJI9Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Maurice Kamto, the main rival of Cameroon President Paul Biya, walked free from prison on Saturday (October 5) after insurrection charges against him were dropped in what the government said was a gesture of national reconciliation.
After a hearing at a military tribunal, Kamto, wearing a dark suit and blue tie, was released to a crowd of cheering supporters in the capital Yaounde.
Biya, who has governed Cameroon for nearly four decades, is seeking to calm unrest stoked by a disputed presidential election last year and a separatist insurrection that has cost close to 2,000 lives over the past two years.
Kamto, the head of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), finished runner-up to Biya in last October's presidential election but denounced the result as fraudulent.
He was arrested in January after leading protests which security forces dispersed with live bullets, and faced charges before a military court which his lawyers said could have carried the death penalty.
The government announced on Friday (October 4) that some MRC members would be freed, saying Biya was determined "to relentlessly pursue his efforts to find ways to peacefully resolve the disagreements confronting our country".
Besides Kamto, about 100 other CRM members were released, lawyers involved in the case said.
(Production: Blaise Eyong, Christophe Van Der Perre, Louisa Naks) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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