Archbishop Samuel Kleda leader of Cameroon’s Roman Catholics and an outspoken opponent of President Paul Bihya’s insistence on clinging to power, is reported to have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.
The Archbishop called on President Biya, who is currently the longest serving president in the continent, having been in power since 1982, not to seek another tenure and accused those backing the President of “seeking to protect their personal interests and retain their privileges.” He pointed out that the society was being “paralyzed and destroyed by corruption at all levels,” which had “plunged the country into moral and spiritual crisis.”
The Catholic Church in Cameroon reported: “Projectiles were shot at the Archdiocese of Douala headquarters, breaking its windows, bullets hit the room of the Archdiocesan finance officer.
It is not clear who is behind the attack, and Nigeria-based Boko Haram terrorists have targeted Catholic clergy in their campaign to establish a Caliphate. But some observers believe this attack was conducted by a government agency because Archbishop Kleda had called on Paul Biya to dialogue with Anglophone separatist groups, in the Southwest and Northwest regions, who have declared an independent state ‘Ambazonia’.