Maurice Kamto (born 15 February 1954 in

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urban Community) of Bafouss ...

) is a Cameroonian politician, professor and barrister. He is one of the founders of the

Cameroon Renaissance Movement The Cameroon Renaissance Movement (french: Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun, MRC) is a political party in Cameroon. History The party was established in August 2012 by Maurice Kamto. It won a single seat in the 2013 parliamentary elec ...

(MRC). He was a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

from 1999 to 2016. He was one of the two main agents, the other one being Professor Peter Ntamark in the Cameroonian delegation that successfully led the negotiations to resolve the matter of

Bakassi Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Niger ...

, a peninsula disputed with neighboring

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. His decisive contribution helped him to be appointed as Minister-Delegate to the Minister of Justice in 2004. He resigned from the government in November 2011. Maurice Kamto after the 2018 Cameroon's Presidential Election

Maurice Kamto after the 2018 Cameroon's Presidential Election

After resigning from the government, Kamto formed a new opposition party, the

(MRC). A kick-off meeting of his party merging multiple parties was prohibited by the government on 13 August 2012. In the 2018 Cameroonian presidential election Kamto ran as presidential candidate for the MRC. Incumbent President

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

is said to have won, in spite of a fiercely contested result process. Indeed, the entire country watched a strong defence from Kamto’s group of lawyers who pointed the partiality of The Supreme Court of Cameroon that is composed of Biya’s CPDM party members. Kamto was declared runner-up by the Court and said to have received 14 percent of the votes. Kamto challenged the official results and declared himself winner of the election. His supporters held small-scale protests since then. On 26 January 2019, Maurice Kamto and 200 of his supporters were arrested, and locked up in Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde, Cameroon. He was freed on 5 October 2019 along with other leaders of his party, a day after the end of the Major National Dialogue, following an official release by President Biya. In October 2021, Maurice Kamto declared "I am not sure that waiting after Biya will lead to a change in Cameroon".Maurice Kamto : « Je ne suis pas sûr qu’attendre l’après-Biya aboutisse à un changement au Cameroun »
Radio France International, Oct 2, 2021. Accessed Oct 2, 2021. He is perfectly bilingual.

References

Living people Candidates for President of Cameroon International Law Commission officials 1954 births People from Bafoussam Cameroonian officials of the United Nations {{Cameroon-bio-stub