The Cameroon Presidential Guard (french: Garde présidentielle du Cameroun, GP), is a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

protection unit of the

Cameroon Armed Forces The Cameroon Armed Forces (french: Forces armées camerounaises (FAC)) are the military of the Republic of Cameroon. The armed forces number 40,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces. There are approximately 40,000 troops in the army acr ...

. Unlike the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

, which existed until early 1984 and was placed under the authority of the General Delegate for the Gendarmerie, the GP reports directly to the President.

History

In the spring of 1984, the presidential

became responsible for an attempted

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against 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.

. The violence ended several days later and resulted in the execution of 35 members of the guard as well as the declaration of a 6-month

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in Yaoundé and the surrounding region. Accusations arose of former President

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first List of Presidents of Cameroon, President of Cameroon, holding the office from 1960 until 1982. Ahidjo played a major role in Cameroon's inde ...

's involvement, given his ethnic connection to the majority

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also * ...

guard. After the coup, the GC's ethnically

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

and

personnel were replaced with personnel from the Bulu subgroup of the

Beti-Pahuin peoples The Beti-Pahuin are a Bantu ethnic group located in rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a c ...

. An indirect result of the coup was the foundation of

Golden Sounds Golden Sounds, later known as Zangaléwa, was a makossa group from Cameroon, formed in 1984 by active members of Cameroon's presidential guard: Jean Paul Zé Bella, Dooh Belley, Luc Eyebe and Emile Kojidie. The group is most famous for its song, ...

(also known as Zangalewa) in November 1984, identifying as a

makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...

group formed from by active members of the presidential guard. It originally included musicians such as Jean Paul Zé Bella, Dooh Belley, Luc Eyebe and Emile Kojidie. They were known for their comical musical entertainment, often dressing in military uniforms and pith helmets. It is most famous for its 1986 song, " Zangalewa". In December 2012, a video was published by a site run by Cameroonians expats in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, depicting presidential guards beating up a protester who refused to move off a road that was used for 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.

's motorcade through the capital.

List of commanders

*Raymond Charles (2013-Present) *Raymond Thomas (2011-2013) *Jean Mendoua (1999-2001) *Jean Paul Mengo (2001-2011) *Titus Egobo (1985-1999)

Purpose

It engages in the following ceremonial and protective duties: *Protecting the President and governmental buildings *Providing military security *Participating in national events **

State visits A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

Military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

**Events at the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

The government of Cameroon uses Israeli armored vehicles,

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website
Military of Cameroon

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Establishments in Cameroon Guards regiments Military units and formations established in 1984