Robert Kona, one of the founders of the Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation (PCRN) recently filed a civil lawsuit against MP Cabral Libii, the current PCRN national chairman. The lawsuit was filed with the Court of First Instance of the Mayo-Kani (Kaele) department, in the Far North. Contacted by telephone by SBBC, Robert Kona explained he wants to take back the reins of the PCRN, which he co-founded with Albert Fleury Massardine in 2003. “I’d like to reclaim the presidency of the party to reshape it,” said the retired administrative assistant now living in his home in Ndoukoula, Far-North region. 

 Albert Fleury Massardine, the other founding father of the PCRN, is not involved in these proceedings. For Robert Kona, the suit is not a judicial complaint, but rather a “complaint aimed at reorganizing the PCRN.”

The complainant claims his first action after a successful proceeding is to reconcile Cameroonians with themselves. "National reconciliation is our compass", he says. 

Robert Kona clearly expresses his frustration over what he believes is his “sidelining.” The founding father explains that Cabral Libii usually takes decisions without consulting him despite the consultative vote he has as the honorary member and first member of the Political Bureau. 

"How can one comprehend that, since 2020, none of the party's five deputies or mayors has visited the residence of the founding father? This proves that there is a problem in the party’s management,” he concludes. 

Ordinary congress in Kribi

Responding to his statements, Bienvenu Ndip, one of the five PCRN deputies in the National Assembly, says: "Journalists who covered the extraordinary congress in Ngaoundéré last year saw that we were all on good terms. A commission was even set up to make donations to the founding fathers. This commission is due to deliver its report next month in Kribi at the party's first ordinary congress.” 

The MP believes the statements could just be manipulations to hinder the party’s progress. "We are focused on conquering the presidency of the republic and, we can not rule out that these are tactics designed to derail us from our ultimate goal: the 2025 presidential election,” he indicated.  

This viewpoint is shared by one of Cabral Libii’s close advisors, who thinks the most important thing to focus on right now is the first ordinary congress to be held in Kribi next December 15-17. He also dismissed the justification made by Robert Kona in his bid to oust Cabral Libii. 

Indeed, according to a document widely shared on social networks, Robert Kona asked the civil judge to annul the resolutions of the congress held in Guidiguis, in the Far North region, on May 11, 2019, on the pretext that it was a simple meeting. "There were only 11 of us, so the quorum for a congress was far from being reached," says Robert Kona. Cabral Libii assumed leadership of the party during that meeting. So the founding father's logic is straightforward: if these resolutions are annulled, Cabral Libii is removed from office, and the presidency of the party will be reverted to the founding father.

However, when contacted by SBBC, Cabral Libii's advisor dismissed the argument pointing out that Robert Kona had 90 days after the resolution was published by the Ministry of Territorial Administration (Minat) to appeal.  He failed to do that. 

In any case, the founding father indicates that the first hearing for this case is set for January 4, 2024. While he expresses the wish to see Cabral Libii be represented by one of his legal advisers, Bienvenu Ndip indicates that they do have a college of lawyers. 

Michel Ange Nga