The tragic deaths of three journalists, governmental restrictions on media organizations, and an alarming decline in Cameroon’s position in the world press freedom rankings made 2023 a traumatic year.
Three journalists were killed, media outlets endured government sanctions, and threats loomed from separatists in the English-speaking regions.
In a distressing trend, the National Communication Council, under government control, imposed sanctions on numerous media houses, while at least three journalists have remained in unwarranted detention.
The Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders reflected this decline, with Cameroon dropping from 118 in 2022 to 138 and a score of 49.1/100 to 45.5.
Despite the country’s rich media landscape, boasting over 600 newspapers and numerous radio and TV stations, President Paul Biya’s four-decade rule has stifled press freedom.
The private press remains vulnerable, leaving journalists anxious about the future.
Bamenda-based journalist, Dr Atia Tilarius, a victim of arbitrary arrest in 2017, emphasises the continued lack of protection for journalists.
“In 2023, like in years past, the Cameroonian justice system continued to fail to protect journalists,” says journalist and scholar Dr. Atia Tilarius.
Dr. Tilarius, a former political Desk Editor of The Sun newspaper, is among many journalists who have suffered arbitrary arrest and detention under President Biya’s government.
He was arrested, and ferried with other journalists to Yaounde after the police stormed his residence in Buea on February 9, 2017, accusing them of links to the separatist struggle in the Anglophone Regions.
Six years later, he says journalists are still unprotected.
“The year (2023) opened with the abduction and killing of journalist Martinez Zogo, with his mutilated body found days later. With many journalists fleeing into exile, it’s time for Cameroon to commit to the protection of journalists,” he said in an interview.
RSF says a series of incidents that harmed press freedom this year, especially the killing of journalist Martinez Zogo, confirmed that the country was one of Africa’s “most dangerous countries for journalists” in 2023, adding that journalists “operate in a hostile and precarious environment.”.
Similarly, Freedom House, a Washington DC-based non-governmental organisation, categorizes Cameroon as “Not free” in 2023, scoring 15/100 in general freedom and 0/4 for media freedom.
Martinez Zogo
The year opened on a sombre tone for the media in the country with the gruesome murder of Yaounde-based radio host, Arsene Mbani Zogo, popularly known as Martinez Zogo.
He was abducted, tortured, and killed before his body was dumped at Ebogo on the city outskirts on January 22, 2023, five days after his disappearance.
The cruelty of his killing left him with a broken leg, a twisted fingers and a broken leg, according to Amplitude FM’s editor-in-chief, Charlie Tchouémou, who identified the body.
Zogo’s death was not unconnected to his job.
During his popular radio programme, Embouttielages, he forcefully accused business tycoon Amougou Belinga of large-scale corruption.
Belinga, who is now behind bars, became the prime suspect after a heart-wrenching testimony from Justin Danwe revealed the billionaire sponsored Zogo’s killing and that the journalist was tortured in the basement of a building belonging to Belinga.
Zogo’s killing brought to light the tragic death of TV host Samuel Ajieka Abuwe, aka Samuel Wazizi, whose death in police detention in 2019 has continued to haunt the Cameroon government.
Wazizi had been arbitrarily arrested and accused of aiding Ambazonia separatist fighters in the English-speaking Regions.
Not only has justice never been done for Wazizi, but his body has never been delivered to his family.
Jean Ola Bebe: Unanswered Call For Justice
Tragedy struck again with the murder of TV host Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe in Yaounde, shrouded in mystery without promised investigations.
He was killed on February 2 and his body was dumped in the neighbourhood two weeks after Martinez Zogo’s body was found.
Unlike that of Zogo, Ola Bebe’s death remained shrouded and the public received very little attention with no promise of an investigation from authorities.
Anye Nde Nsoh
The media was again shocked after a young Bamenda-based sports journalist, Anye Nde Nsoh, was shot and killed on May 7 by separatist fighters.
He was killed outside a bar in the Northwest regional capital Bamenda at about 9 pm.
In a video released online, Capo Daniel, leader of the Ambazonia Defence Council, blamed his death on mistaken identity, triggering an outcry from journalists across the country.
NCC Sanctions: A Double Blow
Aside from the killing of journalists, the media has also withstood a barrage of sanctions from the country’s National Communication Council (NCC), which has suspended several journalists, media practitioners, and media organs for their reporting.
On June 2, the NCC sanctioned four media organs, including issuing a definite ban on Voice Radio and its Station Manager for repeatedly broadcasting unsubstantiated and offensive comments.
The organ proceeded to sanction five more media organs, including The English-language newspaper The Post, which, along with its publisher was handed a one-month suspension for a front page that was never published.
The sanction followed an indefinite ban slammed on the newspaper issued by the Governor of the South West Region, where the paper is headquartered.
Also as part of the unjust persecution of journalists, gendarmes arbitrarily arrested Ngah Kristian Ngah, Publisher of The Guardian Post newspaper, and detained him for several hours before being released.
This was in connection with a faked front page of the newspaper, a trend that had been going on of which the paper newspaper had notified authorities.
The incidents added to an existing delicate situation of press freedom, adding to other political attempts to silence freedom of expression.
The government has continued to use anti-terror, anti-state, “false news” charges, and criminal defamation legislation to detain and convict journalists.
“It also prosecutes journalists by military tribunals rather than impartial civilian courts and consistently denies them the right to a fair trial and appeals process,” decried Freedom House.
As the media in Cameroon continues to yearn for freedom, journalists and advocates of press freedom are asking the government to decriminalize all press offenses, review its anti-terrorism law, and promulgate a Freedom of Information Act to enable journalists to access official information.
