The disappearance of Cameroonian activist Hadja Awa following her arrest has triggered concern, reigniting debate over the Biya regime’s longstanding practice of silencing dissenting voices.
An arrest warrant was issued against Awa on July 23, a few days after she strongly criticised the Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.
She was reported to have been arrested days later and has since been missing.
Veteran human rights defender Barrister Alice Nkom, herself a fierce critic of the Biya government, expressed solidarity in a Facebook post on August 16.
“Nous sommes aux côtés de Mme Adja Hawa. Parce qu’aucune voix libre ne devrait disparaître dans le silence… Libérez-la. Protégez-la. Écoutez-la,” she wrote.
French-Cameroonian author Calixthe Beyala also raised alarm, noting on Facebook that Hawa has not been seen since her arrest, fueling fears about her safety and whereabouts.
Who is Adja Hawa?
Hadja Awa, sometimes referred to as Haoua, is a vocal political activist and community mobilizer known for her fearless criticism of the powerful Secretary General at the Presidency.
She has previously fronted grassroots campaigns demanding accountability, social justice, and political reform in Cameroon.
A Familiar Pattern Under the Biya Regime
Hawa’s disappearance is not being viewed in isolation. It comes just weeks after a July 24 report by MMI revealed that she was already on the radar of security forces.
A warrant dated July 23 and signed by Lt Colonel Biallo Dieudonné accused Hawa of making “calls for insurrection.”
The same order imposed a travel ban after she delivered a scathing critique of Cameroon’s ruling elite.
In voice recordings attributed to her, Hawa accused Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh of effectively running the country in place of 92-year-old President Paul Biya.
She denounced Biya’s recent declaration of candidacy for the 2025 elections as a maneuver by Ngoh Ngoh to maintain the political status quo that has kept Biya in power for 42 years.
A History of Silencing Voices
Cameroon has a long record of muzzling critical voices under Biya’s regime.
Journalists such as Samuel Wazizi, who died in military custody in 2019 under unclear circumstances, remain symbols of the state’s heavy-handed repression.
Opposition leader Maurice Kamto was jailed after the disputed 2018 presidential election, while countless activists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens have faced arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and detention without trial.
Human rights organizations have consistently documented enforced disappearances, harassment of dissenters, and the use of security forces to crush peaceful protest.
