The minister of Decentralisation and Local Development, Georges Elanga Obam, signed a circular letter on 27 October 2026 setting conditions for municipal police operations on public roads, and addressed it to prefects, city mayors and mayors.
The circular states that municipal police agents may not take the place of the security forces and are not authorised to use physical force against people or property beyond what the texts allow them to do. Mayors must issue a mission letter to each agent deployed and ensure agents wear regulation equipment that identifies them. Where an operation needs security cover, municipal officials must ask the territorially competent administrative authority for the support of the security forces.
The minister barred pursuits and rough arrests, particularly those that expose motorcyclists and other road users to accidents, and said interventions must stay within the preventive and regulatory missions assigned to the municipal police. Agents found to have committed violence or abuses on public roads face disciplinary and administrative proceedings, and the minister called for prior consultation between councils, administrative authorities and the security forces before operations.
Municipal police agents have not publicly acknowledged or contested the circular. The text applies to councils across Cameroon, where roadside checks by municipal agents have repeatedly led to confrontations with road users.
Sources
- 237 Actu Police municipale : Le ministre Elanga Obam siffle la fin de la récréation
- Le Bled Parle Police municipale : fini les courses-poursuites et les interpellations brutales au Cameroun ?
- Cameroun Actuel Police municipale : le gouvernement interdit les interpellations brutales sur la voie publique