Speaker Cavaye’s Speech Sparks Outcry in Maroua

A Sudden Breakdown on Stage

Witnesses say the 85-year-old veteran politician began his remarks by praising the president, but soon strayed into unrelated phrases about schools, beer bars, and “children who do not help their children.” At one point he reportedly urged the crowd to “tear the ballot,” drawing gasps from the audience before aides intervened.

Video clips of the event flooded social media within hours, showing Cavaye repeating words and mixing sentences as party officials tried to steer him offstage. His chief of cabinet finally took the microphone, citing “a little fatigue.”

Viral Confusion and Growing Unease

The footage went viral, dominating conversations on Facebook and WhatsApp across Cameroon. Many supporters expressed embarrassment, while opposition activists portrayed the episode as symbolic of a ruling elite unable to renew itself.

Local journalist Hamidou B. Nana described it as “the moment when the system saw its own reflection — aged, exhausted, and unsure what it was saying.” Others cautioned against ridicule, noting that the Speaker has served the state for decades and may have suffered a brief lapse.

A Party on Defensive Mode

RDPC officials in Maroua moved quickly to contain the fallout. Regional campaign coordinator Alhadji Boukar dismissed rumours of internal dissent, insisting that “the Speaker was simply tired after several stops under intense heat.” Still, several insiders privately admitted the optics were damaging, especially coming days after President Biya’s much-anticipated return to public campaigning.

Cavaye has held the speakership since 1992, a tenure spanning nearly Biya’s entire democratic era. His longevity once symbolised continuity; after Maroua, it looks increasingly like fragility.

The Scene in Context

President Biya’s rally was meant to showcase strength in the Far North, a bastion of RDPC loyalty and the president’s own political roots. Instead, attention shifted to Cavaye’s verbal slips. Social media users replayed excerpts in disbelief, quoting his lines about “bil-bil making the head spin” — a reference to local millet beer — and “children going to bars instead of school.”

The moment became instant meme material, with captions asking if the Speaker had accidentally sabotaged his own party. Some even labelled the performance an act of “political nihilism.”

Symbol of a Deeper Problem

Beyond the humour lies a more serious conversation about age, accountability, and transparency within Cameroon’s institutions. The incident renewed calls from civil-society voices for generational renewal in parliament and government.

Dr. Esther Ngassa, a political sociologist in Yaoundé, told Cameroon Concord News: “This is not about one man. It’s about a culture that refuses to retire its icons. The system is showing its fatigue.”

Within the RDPC, however, loyalty remains the cardinal rule. Publicly, no senior figure has questioned Cavaye’s role or future. Privately, younger members whisper that such scenes hurt their campaign more than opposition attacks.

Echoes of Past Embarrassments

It is not the first time ageing officials have stumbled in public. But rarely has a mishap unfolded live before both the president and national television cameras. In a country where public image is tightly managed, this unfiltered moment punctured the aura of control surrounding the campaign.

By the next morning, official broadcasters had edited the clip, showing only Cavaye’s initial greetings. Yet online archives preserve the full sequence — a reminder that, even in Cameroon’s managed political theatre, unplanned moments can reshape perception overnight.

Between Loyalty and Renewal

As the campaign heads toward the 12 October vote, the ruling party faces the delicate task of balancing respect for its patriarchs with the need to project vitality. Cavaye’s decades of service once lent weight to Biya’s message of stability; now, they highlight how long that stability has lasted — and at what cost.

For the public, the question is less about one speech than about a generation still holding the microphone when many believe the country needs new voices.