Developing
Shanda Tonme, who heads the party MPDR and styles himself the Universal Mediator, asked the government on 3 November 2026 to exempt Cameroonians living abroad from fees for the electronic visa they need to enter the country. He made the request in an open letter to Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, in which he described the sums diaspora Cameroonians must pay for an entry visa as humiliating.
The letter argues that the diaspora should be treated in a way that values its contribution rather than as a revenue source. Shanda Tonme is a lawyer and political figure who has led the MPDR and has used open letters to press officials on policing and diaspora questions.
The government has not publicly responded to the letter. The fee schedule for the e-visa, and how it compares with the charges other African countries apply to their own nationals abroad, was not set out in the letter.
The request puts the cost of returning home before a government that has courted diaspora investment, and it names the prime minister's office as the address for a decision on the fees.