It has been nearly two years since Buea-based television journalist Samuel Wazizi was confirmed dead.
The pidgin-language broadcaster was confirmed dead after ten months of what was considered an enforced disappearance.
Detained and accused by the Cameroonian authorities of being a terrorist, Samuel Wazizi disappeared on August 7, 2019, the date on which he was removed from a police station in Buea and taken to a military installation in the same city.
It took ten months for Cameroonian authorities to concede that Wazizi died in detention.
For ten months, the Cameroonian authorities concealed his death and refused to provide any information about his fate to his family, lawyers, or NGOs that had raised the issue.
We learned that Wazizi died due to severe torture while in detention.
As journalists all over the world celebrate World Press Freedom Day today, we at MMI believe that it is time for Cameroonian authorities to disclose who is responsible for Samuel Wazizi’s death. The government should provide his family and lawyers with a complete account of the circumstances of his detention and death.
Wazizi’s body has still not been returned to his family.
Until the family recovers his body, he will continue to be a missing person.
Transparency is needed to shed light on Samuel Wazizi’s death. Those responsible must be identified.
