The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to immediately release journalist Thierry Patrick Ondoua, publishing director of the privately-owned Le Point Hebdo bimonthly newspaper, after he was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a report on the minister of housing’s alleged mismanagement, and to drop all charges against him.

“Journalist Thierry Patrick Ondoua’s troubling detention, as well as the continued imprisonment of five other journalists for their work, underscores the urgent need to reform the country’s laws to ensure journalism is not criminalized,” said Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa Program, in New York. “Government officials should be able to respond to journalistic coverage and criticism without resorting to censorious legal proceedings. Ondoua and the other jailed journalists should be released immediately and not punished for doing their jobs.”

On Tuesday, October 22, the regional division of the judicial police (DRPJ) in Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital, summoned and arrested Ondoua on charges of false news, defamation, and insulting “constituted bodies,” which includes ministers, deputies and certain types of state officials, according to a CPJ review of the summons letters, and Prosper-Rémy Mimboé, the newspaper’s managing editor, who spoke to CPJ. The arrest followed a complaint filed by Célestine Ketcha Courtès, minister of Housing and Urban Development, and Ondoua is still waiting for arraignment in the Yaoundé court, according to those sources. He faces up to five years imprisonment if convicted.

Mimboé told CPJ that Ondoua’s arrest was in connection with several reports published by Le Point Hebdo criticizing Courtès’ management of housing policies, including one published on June 18, 2024, a copy of which CPJ reviewed.

Cameroon, which is preparing for a presidential election next year that could see the 91-year-old current president Paul Biya run for his eighth term, has seen numerous arrests and suspensions of media outlets and journalists in recent weeks related to the delay of parliamentary and local elections.

Cameroon was ranked as sub-Saharan Africa’s third-worst jailer of journalists in CPJ’s annual prison census, with six imprisoned as of December 1, 2023. One journalist, Stanislas Désiré Tchoua, was released on December 28 after serving a prison sentence for defamation and insult.

CPJ’s messages to Bangté Talamdio, a member of Courtès’ cabinet, and calls to the public listed number for Cameroon’s Ministry of Housing, DRPJ and Yaoundé court of first instance went unanswered.

Source: CPJ

Cameroonian President Paul Biya has directed the dismissal of all state employees who have been absent without justification or suspended from the payroll following the 2018 Physical Headcount of State Personnel (Coppe). This decision, outlined in a circular on October 23, is part of the preparations for the 2025 state budget.

In the circular, President Biya orders the completion of the contentious phase of the Coppe operation by 2025, which will involve permanently removing all identified personnel from the state payroll. These individuals have either been absent without justification, resigned without reporting it, or passed away without official notification. He also called for continued efforts to clean up the payroll system, including removing employees who have resigned and closing salary or pension accounts that were improperly collected.

The 2018 census exposed thousands of irregular cases within the public workforce. By the end of the operation, 8,766 state employees were found to be in violation of payroll rules. Despite multiple warnings and notifications from the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Public Service, only 601 of these employees responded to disciplinary hearings, according to a statement by Public Service Minister Joseph Lé on October 13, 2022.

As of early 2024, many employees still had not complied and remained suspended by their respective departments. Among them were 2,326 teachers who had been flagged for “irregular absence” following various reports, according to a January 17, 2024, statement by Secondary Education Minister Nalova Lyonga.

This latest directive from President Biya aims to finally resolve the issue by removing these non-compliant employees from the state payroll system.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The military tribunal in Yaoundé on September 21, 2024, focused on arguments from government prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Cerlin Belinga. He dismissed all objections raised by the defense in the case surrounding the January 2023 assassination of journalist Martinez Zogo.

Defense attorneys for the 17 defendants, including 12 agents from the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE), attempted to highlight procedural flaws to secure their clients’ release. However, the prosecutor argued that the defense had not raised legitimate objections but merely made “observations,” which he systematically dismissed.

On the issue of establishing a joint police and gendarmerie commission, the prosecutor defended his authority to do so, stating that the accused belonged to these services. He also justified the retroactive regularization of certain reports, asserting that it was his duty to ensure the compliance of actions carried out by judicial police officers under his supervision.

An additional point of contention emerged regarding the December 1, 2023, referral order, which granted release to two key defendants—former DGRE director Léopold Maxime Eko Eko and businessman Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga. The prosecutor dismissed this as a “pointless debate,” noting that the investigating judge, Lieutenant Colonel Sikati II Kamwo, had “clearly disregarded” it.

Regarding allegations of illegal property seizures during searches, the lack of summons for the accused, and the non-compliance of certain procedures, the prosecutor rejected all these observations, ultimately urging the judges to receive and dismiss them.

These submissions sparked a strong reaction from the defense lawyers, who reiterated their appeal for the tribunal’s president, Colonel Misse Njonè, to rule strictly according to the law. The president has adjourned the case until November 11, when he will “rule on the exceptions.”

According to several defense lawyers present, if the judge were to accept their requests, the investigation into the assassination of the head journalist at Amplitude FM could restart from scratch, potentially leading to the release of many of the accused.

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who now operates from Geneva, is on a short visit to Cameroon where he will be holding discussions with heads of some income generating corporations and ministries such as the SNH, SONARA and the ministry of finance.

Mr. Biya will use the occasion to find out how much money is in the coffers and to give firm instructions on how the money will be wired to Geneva which is now considered as Cameroon’s new political capital.

Some observers say Mr. Biya may be back to Cameroon just for a few days just to change his clothes and clear up a few things before heading back to Geneva where he is considered as a working nomad.

However, a cream of political analysts hold that Mr. Biya who has been ill recently might be back to be close to his ancestors who will be happy to receive him in the months ahead.

Mr Biya’s visit to Cameroon puts an end to rumors that he was dead, but a source close to the dictator said that steroids were at work and once they would expire, the 91-year-old will start crying like a baby.

Mr. Biya is suspected of having multiple illnesses and his long stay in foreign hospitals recently only confirms that he is not in very good health.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

News that Cameroon’s 91-year-old ailing president, Paul Biya, will be back today has triggered a wave of activities, with ministers paying out of pocket to mobilize Cameroonians to wait for the dying President.

Two weeks ago, a similar situation occurred with CPDM militants waiting at the airport but after a long and boring wait, the hungry and cash-strapped militants were asked to go home without further explanation. Many had to cover more than ten kilometers on foot and on empty stomachs and they never got what they had been promised.

The president’s failing health was the reason for the cancelation of the project to receive him and his entourage.

Are those waiting militants sure that the 91-year-old Biya has fully recovered and will sit on that airplane? There is every indication that Biya will not be in Cameroon for the next couple of months. He is a colony of diseases and his age makes it hard for him to fly long distances. Any form of sedation to get him to fly might send him into eternal rest.

Cameroonians must be vigilant. Though a flight has just taken off from Geneva to Cameroon, nobody has confirmed that Biya is on that flight.

Cameroonian authorities have proven that they are unreliable. Cameroonians should insist on seeing pictures of Mr. Biya being received at the airport by the Prime Minister and other senior officials of the government. Only pictures and videos should convince Cameroonians that Biya is still alive.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Concern is growing in Cameroon about 92-year-old President Paul Biya, who has not been seen in public for more than 40 days.

Biya has not yet returned to Cameroon more than a week after state officials said he would be back from Geneva, following rumors of his death. Several groups say Biya’s long absence suggests he is not healthy enough to be president.

Biya was last seen in public on September 8, while leaving Beijing, where he attended the Africa-China forum in the company of world leaders, a few of his collaborators and his wife, Chantal Biya.

Civilians say they suspect Biya is not in good health and is receiving treatment wherever he is.

Opposition and civil society groups say Biya should be in the country to lead the nation amid multiple challenges, including a prolonged separatist crisis that has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the country’s western regions.

Government troops are fighting Boko Haram terrorists on the northern border with Chad and Nigeria, and rebels are fleeing to eastern Cameroon from armed conflicts in the neighboring Central African Republic.

Tamfu Richard, a human rights lawyer and a member of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, or CPNR, said he has delivered a petition to National Assembly Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril to inform Cameroon’s constitutional council of what he says is a vacancy created by Biya’s absence.

“I am simply requesting the president [speaker] of the National Assembly to exercise a constitutional right, which is to refer the vacancy [Biya’s long absence] to the constitutional council,” Richard said. “According to the [Cameroon] constitution, the seat of institutions is in Yaounde, and if the president of the republic is out of Cameroon, not on an official visit or for justifiable reasons, it could be that the president of the republic has absconded from his place of work.”

VOA could not independently verify if Richard’s petition has been received by the speaker of the national assembly, but copies of the document have been widely circulated on social media.

On October 9, government officials said social and mainstream media reports that Biya was dead were unfounded. They said Biya was alive and in excellent health and was to return to Cameroon soon.

When reports aired calling for Biya’s whereabouts to be made public and saying civilians want to see their president, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji banned the media from discussing Biya’s health. Nji ordered authorities to monitor all media to make sure violators are charged for illegally discussing top security issues.

Ndi Eugene Ndi, president of the Yaounde chapter of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, or CAMASEJ, says most media ignore the ban.

“The press should be free to talk about the president’s health,” Ndi said. “The citizens have to know where the president is through the media.”

Biya has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades. Opposition parties say he rules with an iron fist and wants to keep power until he dies. Biya has always claimed he won all elections after he constitutionally took power from Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s first president, in 1982. Ahidjo resigned after complaining of his failing health.

Source: VOA

Cameroon has been plunged into darkness and speculations are rife. So many people are speculating that something ominous might be happening.

“There are some people who suspect that Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh is working with the military to stage a coup d’état. There is tension in Yaoundé and even the ministers are trembling. Something unorthodox is certainly playing out,” a source which elected unanimity said.

In Yaoundé, a source close to the Presidency said that the power failure could be because regime insiders might be looking for ways to smuggle Mr. Biya’s remains into the country.

Other people have suggested that a coup d’état could be playing out as rumor about Mr. Biya’s death spreads like wild fire.

“How could an entire country be in total darkness? What are the people in Yaoundé cooking up? I have seen videos of Nigerians calling on the military to take over power and I think Cameroon is also ripe for a coup,” a source in Yaoundé said.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has been trying to get in touch with ENEO, the country’s power utility, but all the contact numbers provided by the company are not working.

ENEO, Cameroon’s power utility released a statement some few hours ago that there are some technical issues. But many people are still suspicious as nothing official in Cameroon earns the people’s confidence these days.

It should be recalled that the failed 1984 coup d’état was planned using SONEL which was the country’s power utility at the time to import arms into the country. If the coup had succeeded, Issa Adom would have been proclaimed the president of Cameroon.

This is a developing story.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

After Marcel Niat Njifenji, the Senate President and Paul Biya, the country’s president, it seems Cavaye Djibril, the House Speaker is also heading to Europe for treatment.

The National Assembly Speaker has been drinking and smoking for decades, and his recklessness has caught with him, delivering health issues which are now threatening to send him to his ancestors.

It seems all senior government officials of the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime are down with terrible illnesses.

Even Atangana Clément, the Constitutional Council President, is also very ill. Cavaye Djibril is supposed to inform Atangana Clément of a vacancy as Biya has been out of the country for more than 40 days and none of them is healthy to do their job.

Cameroon is the only country in the world where all its leaders are very old and sick but none is willing to leave power.

Currently, the country’s president, Paul Biya, is in Geneva receiving treatment for multiple illnesses and Niat, the Senate President, is in France following a long and unknown health problem.

The country’s economy is as ill as its leaders and many young Cameroonians are looking outwards for opportunities as their economy goes through serious issues.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Three individuals were recently arrested in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in possession of human remains, according to Cameroun Tribune. Aged between 25 and 30, the suspects, originally from Maroua, were apprehended following an investigation by authorities.

The investigation led to Pouss, a village in the Far North region, where nearly 30 graves had been desecrated. The seized skeleton, valued at an estimated six million CFA francs, was intended for a foreign buyer and was meant to be used in the production of a hard drug called “caillou.”

This arrest comes amid a troubling surge in human bone trafficking. On October 11, the National Gendarmerie arrested two suspects in Douala as they attempted to sell human bones. The suspects admitted that the bones were intended for sale at a price of five million CFA francs.

Cameroonian law severely punishes human bone trafficking. Article 274, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code stipulates a prison sentence of three months to five years and a fine ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 CFA francs for anyone convicted of grave or corpse desecration. However, this legislation appears insufficient to deter traffickers, who lure many young people with promises of quick profits.

Source: Sbbc

Cameroon’s public wage bill rose by CFA33.7 billion year-on-year, reaching CFA332.6 billion by the end of March 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry attributes this increase to several factors. One is the acceleration of back-pay settlements, which reached CFA42.4 billion in 2024, up from CFA32.2 billion in 2023. Another factor is a 5% salary increase in February 2024, along with a rise in family allowances from CFA2,800 to CFA4,500 per child.

The wage bill’s continued growth, largely driven by extensive public sector hiring, has raised concerns among officials who aim to maintain fiscal stability. Since 2021, the government has been working to limit public sector recruitment. For example, automatic recruitment of graduates from teacher training schools has been discontinued.

These measures, along with efforts to clean up payroll records, are part of Cameroon’s plan to meet the public wage sustainability ratio by 2025. If successful, it would be the first time in 16 years. The target, set at 35% within the CEMAC region, reflects the ratio of state wage expenses to annual tax and customs revenues.

Source: Business in Cameroon