Cameroonian opposition MRC leader Maurice Kamto has slammed the government for wasting time and resources in keeping him under house arrest until earlier this week.

He had spent 78 days in confinement after calling peaceful anti-government protests in September that saw hundreds of demonstrators arrested. A number of journalists at the scene were also detained.

Days before his release on Tuesday, Cameroon held its first regional council elections aimed at pacifying those calling for federalism. Mr Kamto and some other opposition figures boycotted the vote, which saw the ruling CPDM party win nine out of 10 councils.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Kamto said he will keep fighting for electoral reforms, and a resolution to the crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, where separatists are waging an insurgency and government forces have been accused of atrocities.

He accused President Paul Biya’s government of reversing the gains Cameroon made in its democratization process.

He told the BBC’s Killian Ngala about his experience under house arrest.