VZCZCXRO5681
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHYD #0480/01 1490933
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 290933Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9938
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 000480 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
COMMERCE FOR ITA KAREN BURRESS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2019 
TAGS: KCOR PREL PGOV PHUM OSEC CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON'S JUSTICE MINISTER ON BIYA'S PLANS, 
PRISONS AND ANTI-CORRUPTION ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: A. DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC 
     ¶B. 31020Z APR 09 
     ¶C. YAONDE 275 
     ¶D. YAOUNDE 256 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Tad Brown for Reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  Amadou Ali, Cameroon's Vice Prime Minister 
and Minister of Justice and one of the country's senior 
political leaders, professes he still does not know whether 
or not President Biya will run for reelection in 2011, but he 
insists Biya will step aside before another term expires, if 
not sooner, and pass power to a successor chosen by Biya, not 
in an open democratic process.  Ambassador called on Minister 
of Justice and Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali on May 18 to 
thank Ali for his swift action to address the Embassy's 
concern about Franck Abega, a Cameroonian who murdered a 
fellow student at the American School of Yaounde (ASOY) in 
2005 and recently showed up at the school.  End summary. 
 
Ali's Responsive to US 
Concerns About Abega 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Ali told the Ambassador that he had ordered an 
investigation into the circumstances that allowed for the 
recent escape of Franck Abega from Jamot Hospital ("three 
prison guards were assigned to watch him that day; none of 
them were present") and a review of Abega's case.  (Note: 
Abega was immediately apprehended outside ASOY school and 
brought back to Jamot Hospital.  The incident shook up the 
school community and has been the subject of several Embassy 
demarches, reported more septel.  End note.)  Ali said he 
also ordered a review of Abega's case.  Ali said he was 
unconvinced that Abega was unfit to stand trial and 
predicted, "at least we can put him in prison."  Ali 
mentioned that Abega's father, renowned Cameroonian football 
star Theophile Abega, had accosted a prison guard over the 
weekend of May 15 and raised the possibility that he, too, 
would be charged.  The Ambassador thanked Ali for the 
Government of Cameroon's (GRC) commitment to ensuring the 
security of ASOY staff and premises. 
 
Prisons: Nothing to Hide; 
Working to Improve Conditions 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  The Ambassador thanked Ali for having granted 
permission, on less than one week's notice, for the Embassy 
Political Specialist to visit three separate prisons 
(septel).  Ali insisted that he had "nothing to hide" and 
welcomed such visits, which he hoped would confirm that the 
Government of Cameroon is making a concerted effort to 
improve prison conditions.  "We know the funds for food are 
insufficient," he admitted, "but we are arguing to increase 
the budget" and would welcome any charities willing to 
operate in the prisons.  Ali said the death penalty remains 
legal in Cameroon, but hasn't been carried out in many years 
because Biya continues to commute sentences to life 
imprisonment.  Ali said it was important to leave the death 
penalty on the books as a deterrent to serious crime. 
 
Anti-Corruption Cooperation 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  Ali welcomed the USG's invitation to bring 
Cameroonian officials to participate in a conference on 
corruption in Tanzania in June (ref a) and said the GRC would 
identify which officials would be best placed to participate. 
 
Biya Might Run in 2011 
But Will Step Down Soon 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  As in previous meetings (ref b and c), Ali spoke at 
length about Biya and post-Biya scenarios.  Ali said Biya has 
a bitterness ("amertume") towards "the youth" (meaning anyone 
under 70) because of his experience with former ministers 
like Abah Abah (Finance), Olanguena (Health) and Mebara 
(Presidency and Foreign Affairs), all of whom are a 
generation younger than Biya and Ali and now incarcerated and 
facing charges of corruption.  Ali said he was still not 
certain that Biya would run in 2011, but was categorical in 
his assertion that Biya would step aside before finishing his 
next mandate if he did run.  Ali said he was certain Biya 
would carefully orchestrate his succession to ensure 
stability and national unity.  Ali admitted he did not know 
 
YAOUNDE 00000480  002 OF 002 
 
 
how Biya would manage his succession, but clearly did not 
believe Biya's successor would be chosen in an open 
democratic process.  Ali predicted Biya would choose someone 
from the next generation ("between 50 and 65 years old, which 
is young for the President") and boasted that Cameroon, 
unlike its neighbors, would not pass the presidency down 
through the family. 
 
Priority on Economy and Finance 
Biya Chooses "West" Over China 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Ali said Biya's priorities are "economy and 
finance," saying the GRC was eager to benefit from the G20 
assistance promised through the IMF (which Ali implied was 
appropriate, given that the G20 had caused the crisis).  Ali 
said the crisis had noticeably affected Cameroon's finances, 
commenting "spending has been cut drastically and some 
investments will be deferred, but we will be okay as long as 
we can pay salaries."  Ali said Biya prefers to interact with 
the West as opposed to China, whereas "Africans" are 
generally attracted by the swiftness of China's delivery on 
its assistance, bemoaning that "we wait for years while the 
West conducts study after study."  Biya recognizes, Ali said, 
that China's assistance also comes with strings attached and 
has not bought in as others have. 
 
Comment: If Ali Doesn't 
Know, Who Does? 
----------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Although Ali professes his fair share of cynicism 
about human rights and civil society, we continue to be 
impressed by his engagement in the pressing issues under his 
purview (prisons, the judiciary, prosecuting financial 
crimes) and his openness to us, even when discussing the 
GRC's most sensitive issues.  His frequent unprompted musings 
about Biya and the presidential succession likely reflect the 
Cameroonian political class' increasing obsession with 
predicting and planning for the post-Biya era.  Ali seemed 
supremely confident that Biya had a plan for his succession 
and that it would be a good one.  Perhaps Ali knows more than 
he lets on, but it is remarkable that someone with Ali's 
stature and experience with Biya would profess such little 
knowledge of Biya's plans. 
GARVEY