Hilltopvoices News
Kah Walla urges opposition coalition for political transition
Edith Kahbang Walla, widely known as Kah Walla, civil society activist and former presidential candidate, recently mada a public call on Cameroonians to demand an oppositional coalition not focus on personalities if they truly wish to rebuild their country.
She insisted that discussions over which opposition figure to support prior to a viable electoral system amount to “useless and futile” distractions. Instead, Kah Walla argues, citizens must unite around a shared agenda: guaranteeing human rights, healing historical wounds, rewriting the constitution to enshrine equality and inclusion, and crafting an electoral system that genuinely reflects the people’s will.
Kah Walla’s position draws on her long record in activism and grassroots mobilisation. A trained zoologist and MBA from Howard University, she founded the consultancy STRATEGIES in 1995 and later spearheaded Cameroon Ô’Bosso, a citizenship movement supporting farmers, traders and people with disabilities.
Her activism is not merely theoretical. In 2018, she led Women of the CPP in a peaceful protest in Yaoundé on International Women’s Day, demanding government accountability over human rights during the Anglophone crisis. Dozens were arrested before later being released. In 2020, her group Stand Up For Cameroon—co‑founded with others in civil society urged peaceful collective action to force a political transition.
In this recent address, Kah Walla decried the government of President Paul Biya's ability to ban opposition meetings and exert full control over any electoral process. “To imagine that people who will not let you hold a political meeting will somehow hold an election … but where they do not win, is the height of absurdity,” she said.
She emphasised that systemic change cannot be delivered by any single party or leader. "Electing one leader or the other is step 2. We must lay the foundation first.” That foundation, she says, must be built on inclusive dialogue, mutual criticism and collective action—hallmarks of democratic practice.
She noted that a true coalition requires Cameroonians to practise what they preach: willingness to critique opposition leaders based on principles and programmes not ethnicity. “Kamto must not be criticised because he is Bamileke, Libii must not be criticised because he is Bassa… these are not arguments,” she emphasised. Democracy thrives, she warned, when citizens start holding their future leaders accountable today not just after ballots are cast.
As Cameroon approaches the 2025 presidential election, Kah Walla’s call is clear: form a unified civic-political front to demand constitutional reform, credible elections, and societal healing. Otherwise, she warns, Cameroonians risk replacing one authoritarian order with another.
Background – Kah Walla at a glance
- Born 28 February 1965 in Nigeria, of Anglophone Cameroonian heritage
- MBA and BSc in Zoology, Howard University
- Founder of STRATEGIES (1995) and Cameroon Ô’Bosso (2008)
- SDF municipal councillor (2007–10); presidential candidate 2011; CPP president since 2011
- Led women’s protest for peaceful transition (2018); co-founded Stand Up For Cameroon (2016–20)
- Honoured internationally for leadership, entrepreneurship and activism