Journalist Wawa Jackson, clocks 18 months in jail and we are still counting

Since May 2018 to present, Cameroon journalist, Wawa Jackson has been held in detention after being picked up by elements of the gendarmerie brigade in Nkambe, North West region.

One of several other pressmen across the national territory incarcerated for carrying out his job, Jackson has made over 30 court appearances already, accused of publishing secessionist information.

Jackson had pleaded not guilty and also applied for bail through his defense counsel, Barrister Ngwang Shey which was outrightly turned down.

Like other pressmen too, Wawa Jackson’s friends and colleagues suspect he has and is possibly undergoing torture as he was held incommunicado in a facility known to many as a torture center.

This treatment of Wawa and other pressmen creates fear in the minds of other journalists with some even being scared to byline stories for fear of the unknown.

Being one of the least ranked nations in the world with relation to press freedom, Cameroon journalists can be said to be in a state of mental confinement with the fear of becoming a ‘Wawa Jackson’ at any moment.

#FreeThePress

MMI