Cameroon’s Opposition: SDF’s Future After Fru Ndi?

Died on June 12 and buried on Saturday July 29, the charismatic leader of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), John Fru Ndi, leaves behind a formation whose political weight has declined over the course of the elections, and which is now plagued by internal disagreements. So much so that his future seems uncertain.

Will the Social Democratic Front survive John Fru Ndi? Barely the historical opponent buried in his native land of Baba 2, in the English-speaking North West region, that the question of the fate of the party of which he had been president for more than three decades resurfaced.

The situation is worrying and the political equation complex. And this for many reasons. First, because of the stature of the chairman of the SDF. Because the opposition party, founded in May 1990, was led continuously by John Fru Ndi until his death on June 12th. “This long leadership ended up making this political formation a strongly heritage association, insofar as for a long time, the SDF was confused with the figure of its historical leader”, explains Professor Aristide Menguele Menyengue, political scientist at the University of Douala.

This article is originally published on fr.sports.yahoo.com

Beth Malcolm

Beth Malcolm is Scottish based Journalist at Heriot-Watt University studying French and British Sign Language. She is originally from the north west of England but is living in Edinburgh to complete her studies.