Envelopes for Endorsements: Sawa Chiefs Rally Behind Biya After Kamto’s Exit From Race

Received by State Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh—who also chairs President Paul Biya’s newly formed campaign “strategic committee”—the delegation publicly pledged its “constant support” for the incumbent in the 12 October presidential election.

Sources at the Secretariat say the audience lasted close to an hour, during which the chiefs presented ceremonial gifts and, according to the official note, reiterated “their commitment to peace and continuity under President Biya.” The initiative originated with the rulers themselves: a collective request for a private audience was filed earlier this month, palace protocol confirmed.

A photo-op with deeper implications

If anyone still doubts that the Biya camp is scouring every courtyard for endorsements, the scene offered all the evidence required. Cameras captured the monarchs emerging from Ngoh Ngoh’s office clutching gift parcels—imagery that has since detonated across social media, where sardine tins and brown envelopes have become shorthand for regime patronage.

The backlash underscores a widening generational rift: young urban Sawa activists accuse their elders of trading cultural legitimacy for per diems while security forces tear-gas protesters two kilometres away.

Why Yaoundé courts the royal seal

1. Urban optics – Douala’s restless electorate remains a wild card; palace blessings offer televised proof of “grass-roots enthusiasm.”

2. Ballot insurance – With Maurice Kamto struck from the race, the ruling party still fears a protest abstention. Royal endorsement is meant to coax reluctant voters back to polling stations.

3. Patronage leverage – Chiefs oversee land certificates, community hall rentals and ritual calendars; their nod can tilt local turnout machines.

Yet every smile-and-handshake photo risks further eroding the moral capital of institutions meant to stand above partisan fray. Political scientist Esther Wamba warns: “Co-opting sacred authority is cheaper than fixing roads or hospitals, but it devalues the throne in the eyes of the very youth the regime needs.”

What next?

• Grass-roots pushback – Youth collectives in Bonabéri and Deido plan silent vigils, refusing to attend palace festivals until the chiefs “recover their voice.”

• Ethnic optics – Elevating Sawa loyalty could alienate chieftaincies in the North-West and West already sceptical of Biya’s eighth-term bid.

• Campaign calculus – The Presidency is expected to replicate the strategy with Lamidos in the North and Fons in the Grassfields, betting endorsements can substitute for contested legitimacy.

In the end, Ngoh Ngoh secured his headline and the chiefs returned home with gift hampers. But the viral ridicule they carry back may cost more than the sardines were worth. As one commentator quipped amid thousands of likes: “Tradition can bless a king—or bury him. This time it may be writing the epitaph.”

Cameroon Concord will continue monitoring each royal audience, each social-media backlash, and every sign that the electorate’s patience with ceremonial politicking is wearing thin.