Yaounde, Cameroon – (African Boulevard News) – Cameroon’s main opposition leader, John Fru Ndi, has passed away at the age of 81, leaving behind a legacy as a founding member of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party. Fru Ndi’s death was announced by his family on June 13th, 2023, after he had been hospitalized for weeks.
Born in the English-speaking region of Cameroon on July 7th, 1941, in Bamenda in the country’s northwest, Fru Ndi rose to national prominence in the early 90s as the leader of the SDF. He contested the presidential elections thrice in 1992, 2004, and 2011, challenging the 38-year rule of President Paul Biya.
Fru Ndi’s death has prompted an outpouring of condolences from across the country and beyond. President Biya has expressed his condolences to Fru Ndi’s family, describing him as a “patriot who served his country with distinction.” Opposition leaders, both within Cameroon and abroad, have also hailed Fru Ndi as a champion of democracy and a tireless fighter for the rights of ordinary Cameroonians.
“John Fru Ndi was a beacon of hope for the people of Cameroon. He tirelessly fought for their rights, even in the face of persecution and harassment from the ruling regime,” said Celestine Ketcha Courtès, the mayor of Bangangte, a municipality in Cameroon’s West Region.
Fru Ndi’s legacy is a mixed one, however, as his SDF party has struggled to maintain its relevance in recent years. The party lost ground to Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) in the 2018 presidential elections, with Fru Ndi himself boycotting the polls over allegations of fraud.
Despite his party’s declining fortunes, however, Fru Ndi remained a symbol of resistance to many Cameroonians, particularly those in the Anglophone regions of the country. He was a vocal critic of the government’s handling of the ongoing crisis in those regions, which has seen tens of thousands of people killed and more than a million displaced.
As Cameroon mourns his passing, Fru Ndi’s death is being seen as a turning point for the country’s political landscape. With no clear successor to the veteran opposition leader, the SDF and other parties will likely face a period of internal soul-searching as they seek to move forward without him.
“John Fru Ndi was a giant of Cameroon’s political scene, and his passing is a great loss for our country,” said Dr. Simon Munzu, a Cameroonian lawyer and former UN diplomat. “But his legacy will live on, as long as there are Cameroonians who continue to fight for the ideals he stood for.”
