Who Paid Impostors To Represent Transparency International At Sunday’s Polls? -Mimi Mefo info investigates

It all began with a report aired on the state media the CRTV on Monday October 8 during a special bilingual newscast.

The reporter presented Nurit Greenger and five others as a team of observers from the renown international corruption Watchdog, Transparency international.

The team lead by Nurit Greenger, Raphael Kalfon, Solomon Benros, Amanda Benzikri and others, supposed election obsevers, from Transparency International had just presented a declaration on the presidential election in a press conference at the Yaoundé Hilton Hotel.

Their report noted a hitch free organized Presidential election. After their declaration at the press conference, Transparency international in a release from the managing Director, Patricia Moriera on Tuesday October 9, denied any affiliation with the strangers who imposed themselves as working for Transparency International.

 

Transparency International further stated that its local branch in Cameroon did set up a mechanism within the reach of the public to report election irregularities and liaise with the network of citizens to report irregularities to local representatives of the organization though unofficially.

The local representative of the organization in Cameroon, Barrister Charles Nguini said, he didn’t know of the presence of supposed transparency International election observers in Cameroon and only got informed when the report was broadcast on CRTV.

This manoeuvre pushed Cameroonians to mount pressure on social and mainstream media in a bit to unmasked the fake agents.

Questions like who invited them?, on what basis were they accredited as Transparency International observers, flooded social and mainstream media across Cameroon.

In a defense move, the group released a video on social media explaining they were invited by agence Cameroon press, a little known organization created few months to the presidential election.

When we contacted members of the agence Cameroon press, they confirmed to have invited the controversial observers, whom they trained before the election of last Sunday October 7. However, they indicated that the posture of these observers as Transparency international election observation mission was as an unintended misrepresentation.
Transparency international has in the past fallen apart with the government of Cameroon in most cases. The international anti-corruption watchdog has severally rebuked Cameroon for corruption and poor Human records.

But the government has often criticized transparency international report claiming that they do not reflect the situation on the ground.

Nformi Sandah