Student Journalist Gabrielle Souga Arrested While Covering Constitutional Council Hearings

The police in Yaounde have arrested and detained Gabrielle Souga, an intern with The Post Newspaper who was covering the ongoing Constitutional Council proceedings on Monday.

A statement from the Cameroon Association of English-speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) has condemned the arrest, demanding for her immediate release.

Souga Tsogo Gabrielle Winnie Erna, a first-year student at the University of Yaoundé II Soa’s Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC), was apprehended at the entrance to the Yaounde Conference Centre, where the Constitutional Council is holding pre-electoral hearings.

She was on a legitimate journalistic assignment to cover the proceedings when she was detained alongside dozens of individuals suspected of being protesters supporting opposition leader Maurice Kamto.

Camasej says she clearly identified herself as a student journalist on official duty, but was forcibly taken in a police vehicle to the Yaounde First District Police Station (Centrale).

At the station, her phone was confiscated, and she was interrogated without legal counsel before being held in a cramped, foul-smelling cell described as unfit for human habitation—let alone a young trainee journalist.

Efforts by CAMASEJ officials, The Post staff, and her family to secure her release have been met with resistance.

Late into the night on Monday, the police commissioner cited “high instructions” as the reason for her continued detention, refusing to specify a release timeline despite confirming her identity as a student journalist on assignment.

Souga spent the night in custody, an act CAMASEJ deems unlawful and deeply alarming.

CAMASEJ President Viban Jude labeled the arrest a “blatant attack on press freedom, student safety, and the right to report.”

He emphasized that journalists, whether students or professionals, must be free to perform their duties without fear of intimidation or harassment, especially during an election period when transparency is vital.

“Freedom of the press is not a privilege. It is a right!” Jude declared in the press release issued on August 5, 2025.

The association is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of Gabrielle Souga, urging the government and security services to uphold national and international laws protecting press freedom and journalists’ rights.

CAMASEJ has also called on media professionals, civil society, and rights organizations to rally in solidarity with Souga and resist efforts to silence the press.

As of 3 pm local time on Tuesday, August 5, no official response has been received from the authorities concerning her arrest.