The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has ranked Cameroon as the fourth worst jailer of journalists in Africa for the year 2023 in its prison census of journalists.
As of December 1, 2023, the CPJ report indicates that six journalists are currently incarcerated in Cameroon.
Notable among them are Thomas Awah Junior, Tsi Conrad, Mancho Bibixy, and Kingsley Njoka — all held at the Yaounde-Kondengui prison.
These journalists have been arrested in connection with the ongoing separatist conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon and are accused of secession-related crimes.
Former CRTV Director Amadou Vamoulke is currently one of the longest-serving journalists behind bars in Cameroon.
Arrested in 2016 on corruption-related charges, Vamoulke was handed a 12-year sentence in 2022 after serving six years in pre-trial detention.
The CPJ has been advocating for Vamoulke’s release on bail, given his advanced age of 74.
Journalists in Cameroon have expressed concerns about operating in a precarious environment, particularly due to the use of the 2014 anti-terrorism law to target members of the press.
They assert that the lack of protection against both state and private interests further exacerbates the challenges they face.
The previous year marked one of the deadliest periods for journalists in Cameroon, with three reporters losing their lives.
Among them was Martinez Zogo, an investigative journalist and radio host at Yaounde-based station Amplitude FM.
The subsequent killings were of TV host Jean Ola and Bamenda sports journalist Anye Nde Nsoh.
Despite the grim situation for journalists in Cameroon, the country trails behind Ethiopia with eight journalists detained, Egypt (13), and Africa’s worst offender, Eritrea (16), according to CPJ’s rankings.
Eritrea holds the distinction of having the longest-detained journalists in the world, with the majority of its detainees imprisoned since 2001.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of journalists behind bars increased from 31 in 2022 to 47 in 2023, according to CPJ.
This upward trend is reflective of a global pattern, with 320 journalists reported to be in detention as of December 31, 2023.
“The number was the second-highest recorded by the CPJ since the census began in 1992—a disturbing barometer of entrenched authoritarianism and the vitriol of governments determined to smother independent voices,” the CPJ said.
“Some governments go a step further, using transnational repression to threaten and harass reporters beyond their own borders.”
China, Myanmar, and Belarus topped the list of the worst jailers of journalists in 2023, with 44, 43, and 28 journalists behind bars, respectively.
More than half of the detained journalists face charges related to false news and anti-state activities, indicating a trend of governments retaliating against critical coverage.
Due to its actions during the ongoing conflict with Hamas, Israel made it to the list of the 10 worst jailers of journalists for the first time.
Israel has arrested at least 20 Palestinian journalists for their reporting since the war started on October 7, 2023.
