Visionary Reports

Calls for peace are intensifying across the country as Cameroon awaits the official proclamation of the presidential election results by the Constitutional Council this Monday, October 27, 2025.Joining this crucial national appeal, the Mayor of Douala I, Lengue Malapa, has urged the residents of his municipality in the Douala I subdivision ,to maintain calm and decisively reject all forms of violence following the October 12 polls.

Meanwhile,speaking to the press on Friday, October 24, 2025, at the council office in Akwa, the municipal executive was emphatic, rooting his appeal in local political consensus.”I wish to align myself with the recommendations made by the Municipal Council meeting held the day before yesterday,” Mayor Malapa stated. “The municipal councilors, together with the people of Douala I, traditional authorities, and leaders of our emblematic neighborhoods, must remind all the vital forces of Douala Premier and the entire city that the election went very well in peace, sincerity, and in an atmosphere that we all appreciated.”The mayor underscored the imperative for a seamless transition from the electoral process to the post-electoral period. “We should therefore continue in the same direction after the results are announced. Douala I, alongside its elected representatives—the deputies and senators who sit here—must demonstrate a republican and civic attitude next Monday, by accepting what comes out of the Constitutional Council,” he urged.Mayor Malapa championed the municipality’s identity as a hub for harmonious co-existence. “The residents of Douala Premier live and breathe peace. Douala Premier is, moreover, and many people say this, not only the heart of the city of Douala, but where living together is practiced on a daily basis.”His message transcended local concerns, calling for national stability: “Once again, may peace reign in Douala I, in Douala in general, but also throughout the Republic, because we are all Cameroonians, and we want to see our country move forward in love of neighbor and peace among ourselves.”In addition,to reinforce this message, the mayor detailed his strategy of community engagement. The call for calm is being shared “everywhere: in the neighborhoods, in the traditional chiefdoms, and elsewhere.” He highlighted the role of the recent Municipal Council meeting, which brought together diverse community leaders.Crucially, he mentioned the involvement of traditional mechanisms for peace: “In the culture and tradition of Douala Premier, a message is often conveyed by those called on the women in the associations of different villages and this message is also being relayed so that nothing unusual happens in Douala.”The appeal, he noted, is also backed by a broad coalition of local elites: “You know that the senior leaders signed a press release to this effect, and all the elites of Douala, and particularly of Douala I subdivision businessmen, deputies, senators, and mayors were there. All of this together suggests that on Monday, there will be nothing to fear. And that’s our concern, that’s our hope.”Nevertheless,the Mayor’s decisive intervention serves as a reminder to the populace: while the outcome of the election may be “a bitter pill to swallow” for some, resorting to street protests should not be encouraged in any form. History shows that ,no major national problem has ever been solved on the streets, but rather through constructive dialogue and reasoned debate for meaningful development and a shared future.

By Henry Wana