Born on December 20, 1941, in Ekoumeyeck near Ngomedzap, in the Nyong and So’o division, Clément Atangana passed away on October 4, 2026, in Paris, France, after an illness. His name alone evokes a particular institution that he led in addition to his extensive career in Cameroon’s judiciary.
His deep voice repeatedly uttered the word “inadmissible” to seal the fate of petitions filed by political parties and other political actors during major electoral processes. It etched the fetish word into the memory of Cameroonians. The expression carries weight both literally and figuratively. It recalls the gavel of Clément Atangana, the first president of the Constitutional Council, appointed on February 7, 2018, just months before the presidential election of October 7 of that same year. Today, his fate is sealed. The decision is irrevocable.
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Clément Atangana permanently leaves the Constitutional Council after eight years at the helm of this political jurisdiction. The pillar fell in France, where he was receiving medical evacuation. Under his leadership, the institution issued several rulings on disputes related to two presidential elections: the 2018 presidential election and the 2025 presidential election. A common thread: after both elections, challenges to the official results followed. In 2018, by candidate Maurice Kamto of the MRC and his supporters. In 2025, by candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary and his supporters.
After the proclamation of the October 2025 election results, a video circulated on social media in which Clément Atangana declared: “I am happy that you are rejoicing both for your candidate’s victory and for the work done by your father.” Often accused, rightly or wrongly, of being an institution under the regime’s orders, the Council has not allowed a single petition from the opposition to succeed since its establishment in 2018.
That year, Clément Atangana reached the pinnacle of his career in Cameroon’s judiciary. He excelled in the magistracy, rendering long and loyal service in several jurisdictions across the country. A magistrate outside the hierarchy, he joined the judiciary on December 20, 1968, after training at ENAM and the International Institute of Public Administration in Paris. In his rise, he held several positions of responsibility: investigating judge in Nkongsamba, president of the courts in Eséka, Bafia, Sangmélima, Mora; attorney general in Maroua; president of the Center Court of Appeal; adviser to the Supreme Court; president of the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court. He retired from that Court in 2014. Four years later, he was called to preside over the Constitutional Council.
His death thus opens the vacancy at the presidency of the Constitutional Council, Cameroon’s highest court for electoral matters. It falls to the President of the Republic to designate and appoint by decree the new president of the Constitutional Council.