Fake CPDM Party Cards flood Kumba

Kumba is awash with news of the circulation of hundreds of fake membership cards of the Cameroon Peoples’ Democratic Movement, CPDM. The situation has left party bigwigs worried, while militants and the public are in confusion. Police investigations have reportedly reached a crescendo.

Even though, no one has been arrested, yet, with the fake party cards, many CPDM militants and officials who spoke to The Post admitted the circulation of fake party cards in town. The fake party cards are said to be predominantly circulating in the Meme I A Section, where Prince Ekale Mukete is Section President.

It is alleged that the party cards were printed in Mutengene and taken to Kumba for distribution. Talking to The Post on February 17, on the issue, Ekale admitted having heard about it, but stressed that it is a criminal act against the party.

“I have heard about it and I want to state here that it is an act of theft, it is a criminal act and anybody involved in this unscrupulous practice will be brought to book. I am the Section President and I oversee issues here.

So, anybody who goes around distributing such cards is misleading the party and militants," Ekale stated.

He stressed that the issue will not be treated lightly. Ekale explained that most people are not aware of the fact that every party card issued from hierarchy has a seal and a serial number on it, while at the same time; there are official documents and stock is taken as the sales progress for transmission back to the party hierarchy.

The Section President lamented that confusion is thriving in Kumba because there is no Minister to act as a rallying force; adding to the fact that "people just sit and think that because they know somebody in Yaounde, they can just go and carry cards and come and create confusion."

He asserted that he remains the sole party authority charged with overseeing the sales of party cards in his section. When The Post contacted Charles Enow Eseme, one of the CPDM militants who allegedly appeared before the Special Branch Police for questioning on the same issue, on February 17, he declined to comment.

Enow refused to talk to The Post on grounds that the source of the information must be made known to him. “Ok, since you are a journalist and you do not want to disclose the source of your information, I will not also talk to you. Go and work with what you have and I will take action after publication," Enow threatened this reporter.

Enow, who lost the Parliamentary bid on a CPDM ticket in 2013, is among other high profile militants in Meme I A, who were refused a party card by the Section President, Ekale Mukete. The former Mayor of Kumba III, Samuel Takem Ndeme, is reported to have also been denied a party card in his Meme I C Section of Mambanda.

Sule Muhadmadou, a CPDM militant, admitted having heard the information about the fake party cards, but said he is yet to see a copy of the cards.

Another militant who refused to be named told The Post that the political atmosphere within the party is becoming complex, because, some militants who were denied party cards at the local level have gone to Yaounde and bought hundreds of the cards which they are now circulating in town.

The militants stressed that the party cards are not fake. In the meantime, The Post learnt that the Meme administration has ordered for a careful investigation into the issue. In a related story, in September 2013, news broke relating to the circulation of over 5,000 voters’ cards in the Meme I A Section of the CPDM.

Even though, the party officials had argued that they only tagged stickers on the voters’ cards to identify their militants, ELECAM and other political parties insisted that the cards were mutilated. The stickers were only removed following a Court Order.