A vocal critic of a constitutional reform that will allow President Paul Biya to stand for another term in 2011 was arrested on Wednesday.
According to his wife, the singer Lapiro de Mbanga has been accused of instigating riots in Mbanga in February. Lapiro, who stood as a candidate for the opposition Social Democratic Front in municipal elections in July 2007, released a song called Constitution Constipée which condemns the removal of the limit on the number of presidential terms. Members of parliament voted to pass the amendment on Thursday — the day after the Lapiro’s arrest — allowing Biya, who has been in power since 1982, to stand for another term.
