Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Mimi Mefo Info
Published on 2024-03-22 20:43:22
Despite his very critical health condition, Marcel Niat Njifenji was re-elected on a stretcher as the head of the Senate. This happened during an election held today at the Congress Palace.
It was a nearly dying Marcel Niat Njifenji who was re-elected as the president of the Senate on Friday, December 22nd. Upon arrival at the parliament barely standing on his own two feet, he who has been leading the Senate since its creation in 2013 was overwhelmingly voted for by 91 out of 95 voters. He is retained in his position even as his health condition worsens. Niat Njifenji arrived in Cameroon just a few days ago after nearly a year of hospitalization in France. Barely landing in Yaoundé, he was readmitted to a hospital in Yaoundé. Despite his physical weakness, he was able to go to parliament this afternoon. In a video that we have a copy of, one can see the 90-year-old man barely taking steps during his entrance to the chamber, accompanied by his security detail who is forced to walk at his pace.
While the re-election of Marcel Niat Njifenji might seem normal for the ruling party that had instructed its senators to vote in the morning, it poses a serious problem regarding the future of Cameroon and its institutions. According to the Cameroonian constitution, “in case of the vacancy of the presidency of the Republic due to death, resignation, or permanent incapacity as noted by the Constitutional Council… the interim presidency is automatically exercised, until the election of a new president by the president of the Senate.” This constitutional responsibility should fall on a vigorous citizen who still retains all their faculties.
At 91 years old, Paul Biya is naturally susceptible to any incapacity at any moment. The one who could replace him must be prepared at any time to assume his constitutional responsibilities. However, not only is Marcel Niat Njifenji sick, but his advanced age has seriously affected his intellectual faculties to the point where he has become dependent on those who live with him.
Without a constitutional interim who has strength, Cameroon is naturally exposed to institutional disorder that could lead to chaos. Because if the one called upon to ensure the transition cannot assert themselves when the time comes, it opens the door to power-hungry individuals who could emerge from anywhere. The choice of the ruling party to reappoint Marcel Niat Njifenji to his position as the president of the Senate, even though he is evidently incapacitated, should raise questions about the real motivations of this party regarding the future of Cameroon. Given his dominance in the Senate, the members of the ruling party were going to impose the president of the upper house of parliament in any case, but a younger candidate enjoying all their physical and intellectual faculties would have better safeguarded the interests of the entire population than a Niat Njifenji who will return to his hospital bed after his election.
Joseph Essama
Read the original article(French) on Mimi Mefo Info
