The Cameroonian colonel is said to have admitted to a leaked document, detailing how he planned to ‘bribe’ his way to become president of the Associations of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA)

Colonel Kalkaba Malboum, President of the Cameroon National Olympic Committee, was barred from continuing his bid to become president of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) following reports that he was using the government of Cameroon to run his campaign.

He was disqualified and suspended from taking part in the on-going ANOCA general assembly in Djibouti. He was the lone challenger of Ivorian incumbent Lassana Palenfo. As such, his suspension gave room for Palenfo’s re-election by acclamation. Kalkaba Malboum filed a petition to the International Olympic Committee and the All African National Olympic Committees 8 to clear his name and protect his honour while at the same time, objecting his sanction.

Malboum was suspended after a leak of a letter sent from the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee to government  about his candidature for ANOCA presidency. “”The document describes the activities carried out as part of my campaign and those I intended to undertake in the future… It is actually my whole campaign strategy, a confidential document where I explained to the authorities, as a citizen, my views and ideas on how the campaign was going. Obviously the fact that someone is in possession of a document not addressed to him, is an offense in itself, a breach of the secrecy of correspondence.” He wrote in his complaint.

The Cameroonian military officer, argued “consequently, the document was obtained through illegal means, which in itself is unethical and an offense.If I am suspected of unethical intentions, it is because of an unethical action.It also shows a deliberate biasness to bar me from participating in the elections. On the basis of the contents of this strictly confidential and illegally obtained report, the Executive Committee has decided, in the hereby attached correspondence, to suspend me of all activities of the Olympic Movement in the continent;” he bemoaned in apparent bewilderment.

Analysts say if the Ethics Committee indicts him, the decision will raise questions about his integrity to head Cameroon’s National Olympic and Sports Committee and the Africa Athletics Confederation of which he is president.

Government offers circa 170 million FCFA 

The leaked letter evidenced he sought to collect a whooping sum of closed to 170 million FCFA to ‘motivate’ top members of National Olympic Committees to vote in his favour. The letter cites the names of the members he planned to ‘motivate’ and the amount of money allocated to each of them.

A February 3, 2017 correspondence by the Secretary General at the Prime Minister’s Office in Yaounde, sent to the Minister of Finance, ordered the latter to disburse the sum of 186 286 000 FCFA in favour of the President of the Cameroon National Olympic and Sports Committee.

The money was to be doled out to voters from Southern Africa (32, 207,000FCFA), used to ‘campaign’ in West Africa (67,432,000FCFA), ‘tour’ North Africa (12,562,000), ANOCA GA Central Africa (20,320,000FCFA), GA Federations Commonwealth Africa (25,200, 000 FCFA)

The president of Cameroon’s National Olympic and Sports Committee, according to concurrent sources, was also accused of colluding with government to write to all 54 member states of ANOCA, asking them to vote for the country’s candidate, Kalkaba Malboum.

If the ethics committee decides to clear the charges, the holding of an extraordinary general assembly will be required for him to be reinstated. Cameroonians have criticised both government and Malboum, asking why closed to 170million FCFA will be spent on a single individual’s self-aggrandisement.