Prominent Cameroonian barrister and anti-corruption advocate Akere Tabeng Muna has issued a forceful public declaration in both English and French distancing himself from a reported collaboration between Transparency International Cameroon and Cameroon’s state oil company, the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures.
In a statement dated March 5, 2026, the former Cameroon bar president stated that he had been alerted through media reports and a publication attributed to SNH that a strategic meeting had taken place on February 26, 2026, between the two organizations as part of what was described as an ongoing collaboration. The revelation, he said, came as a surprise, given that he is both the founder and a member of TI Cameroon, yet he had no knowledge of the arrangement or its terms.
Barrister Akere Muna stressed that he had not been informed of the framework governing the alleged partnership, including its objectives, governance structure, reporting obligations, funding arrangements, or the safeguards necessary to ensure the independence of an anti-corruption organization. The absence of clarity, he argued, raises serious questions about the nature and purpose of the initiative.
The veteran anti-corruption campaigner has long been associated with global governance efforts. In addition to founding TI Cameroon, he previously served as vice chair of Transparency International, chaired the council of the International Anti-Corruption Conference, and was a member of the African Union High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. His declaration situates the controversy within a broader struggle for transparency in Cameroon’s extractive sector.
Akere Muna also recalled his role in bringing Cameroon into the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in 2005. At the time, he worked alongside Peter Eigen and Cameroon’s then Minister of Finance Polycarpe Abah Abah to secure the country’s accession. The announcement was made during an international meeting in London and was welcomed by the international anti-corruption community, with British officials including Paul Boateng playing a role in facilitating discussions.
According to him, that effort ensured TI Cameroon obtained a permanent seat on the country’s national EITI committee, a position it still holds today. The barrister’s concern, however, extends beyond procedural issues surrounding the reported collaboration. In his declaration, he pointed to the long-running corruption allegations involving the Swiss commodities giant Glencore, which admitted in court proceedings in several jurisdictions to paying bribes to secure preferential treatment in oil deals across multiple countries, including Cameroon. Investigations referenced transactions involving SNH and the national refinery Société Nationale de Raffinage>, commonly known as SONARA.
While Glencore paid major penalties and restructured its leadership following the scandals, Akere Muna said SNH has not undertaken credible corrective measures. He noted that the company has yet to conduct or publish an internal audit identifying the officials who allegedly received bribes, nor has it provided a clear explanation for certain controversial trading arrangements. Among them is the allegation that commodities trader Vitol benefited from unusually large discounts in oil transactions with the state company.
For Akere Muna, the absence of accountability in these matters makes the public association between SNH and TI Cameroon particularly troubling. He warned that invoking the name of an anti-corruption organization under such circumstances could amount to what he described as “anti-corruption washing,” a strategy in which institutions facing reputational damage attempt to bolster their image through symbolic partnerships rather than meaningful reform.
The declaration also raised concerns about governance within SNH itself. Barrister Akere Muna said reports circulating in the public domain suggest that the corporation’s leadership structure has become increasingly opaque, noting claims that the head of the company has not been publicly seen or heard from for approximately two years while contracts continue to be signed with foreign partners. In such a context, he warned, a small circle of officials could effectively exercise control over one of Cameroon’s most strategically important state-owned enterprises without adequate oversight.
Against this backdrop, the founder formally dissociated himself from the purported collaboration as it had been presented to the public. He also cautioned against confusion between the Berlin-based secretariat of Transparency International and its national chapter in Cameroon, emphasizing that the two bodies are independent in governance and responsibility.
At the same time, he expressed concern that TI Cameroon has not taken a sufficiently proactive stance regarding the Glencore–SNH corruption revelations. According to him, the seriousness of the allegations demanded a stronger strategy from civil society actors, one capable of clearly naming the issues and pressing for accountability.
To restore clarity and protect the integrity of the anti-corruption movement, Akere Muna called on TI Cameroon to convene an extraordinary general assembly of its members to openly examine the terms of any engagement with SNH. Such a forum, he suggested, would allow the organization to clarify its objectives, publish relevant agreements or memoranda, disclose any financial arrangements, and reaffirm its independence and freedom to criticize government institutions.
The barrister also warned that the credibility of anti-corruption organizations can be undermined if their names are used without adequate safeguards. He cited an earlier episode during Cameroon’s 2018 presidential election in which individuals falsely presented themselves as “Transparency International election observers,” an incident that he said should have prompted greater vigilance in protecting the organization’s reputation.
He concluded his declaration with a broader appeal to civil society groups, investigative journalists, international partners, and Cameroonian citizens to insist on genuine transparency in the management of the country’s natural resources. Cameroon’s oil and gas wealth, he said, belongs to its people and must be governed with full accountability. “Cameroon does not need the appearance of transparency,” he wrote in closing. “It needs light. And light is not negotiable.”
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