Cameroon: Main Opposition Leader, John Fru Ndi, dies at 81

John Fru Ndi, a prominent figure and long-standing opponent of President Paul Biya’s regime in Cameroon, has passed away.

Fru Ndi, the founder and president of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), which has been the main opposition party in the Cameroon National Assembly since its establishment in 1990, died on Monday evening in Yaounde at the age of 81. His party, the SDF, announced that he had been battling a prolonged illness.

Born on July 7, 1941, in Bamenda, a region in the English-speaking part of Cameroon’s northwest, Fru Ndi contested against Biya in the presidential elections of 1992, 2004, and 2011.

Reports regarding his deteriorating health had been circulating in recent months. It was rumored that he had undergone surgery in a Swiss hospital but eventually returned to Cameroon after an extended period abroad.

During his absence, Fru Ndi handed over the leadership of the party to his vice-president, Joshua Osih, who is affectionately referred to as the “Chairman.”