The Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji on Friday announced the closure of national borders ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.

“National borders shall be closed 48 hours to polling day. They will be reopened the following day after voting,” said Atanga Nji in a statement.

He said the circulation of goods and persons within the territory by road, railway, and air is banned on polling day until 6:00 p.m. local time.

Over 8,000,000 registered voters are expected to vote during Sunday’s presidential election, according to Cameroon’s electoral body Elections Cameroon.

Incumbent President Paul Biya, leader of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, is seeking to extend his 43 years in office by winning a new seven-year mandate.

Source: Xinhuanet

The Bafaw paramount leader and CPDM stalwart, Nfon Mukete IV Ekoko, has done the right thing by apologizing to Cameroonians for statements he made during a rally where he told CDC workers to vote for President Paul Biya or be called “thieves.”

He made the statement following the government’s disbursement of salary arrears owed to CDC workers from 2018 to 2022. His remarks drew widespread flak as they were considered by critics and human rights activists as an   attempt to coerce workers into voting for the ruling CPDM.

The Bafaw paramount chief who believes in democracy promptly issued a statement on October 9, 2025 in his palace in Kumba, Southwest region wherein he said that:

“First and foremost, I recognize and fully respect the constitutional right of every Cameroonian citizen to vote according to their conscience, free from coercion or intimidation. Any words I may have expressed that appeared to suggest otherwise were unfortunate and do not reflect the spirit of unity, dignity, and democratic values that I have always sought to uphold.”

The statement added that “My intention was never to threaten or divide, but to encourage civic participation. However, I understand that the phrasing and tone of my remarks were inappropriate, and for that, I offer my sincere apologies.”

“I take this opportunity to reaffirm my commitment to respecting the free will of all voters.”

It should be underscored that Nfon Mukete did the right thing by apologizing as many other politicians would not have apologized. Apologizing is not cultural in Cameroon and the chief should be appreciated for his humility.

This is the type of chief the Southwest region in particular and Cameroon in general need. Acknowledging your mistakes does not in anyway diminish you. To err is human and to forgive is divine. Southwesterners in particular and Cameroonians in general should therefore forgive a chief who is humble.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

As the presidential election set for 12 October approaches and the possibility of re-election for nonagenarian President Paul Biya is high, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is publishing its alarming assessment of the press freedom situation in Cameroon, outlining the major obstacles to journalism in ten key points.

“Five journalists killed, one arbitrarily detained for nine years and sentenced to 32 years in prison, a national media regulator subservient to the government, press offences still punishable by throwing journalists behind bars… The 42 years in power of President Paul Biya – who is 92 and running for an eighth term – have been dark for the press. RSF looks at ten major attacks on journalism during his time in office that illustrate the gravity of the press freedom situation in the country – one of the most dangerous in Africa for the profession – and the magnitude of the task awaiting the next president. We call on the future president to make press freedom a priority issue, giving Cameroonians real access to their right to information.

1. Murder of Martinez Zogo (2023)

The Amplitude FM host was kidnapped, tortured and murdered, his mutilated body found on 22 January 2023 on the outskirts of Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital, five days after his abduction. After revealing that several members of the Cameroonian intelligence services were involved in this heinous crime, RSF exposed the gruesome details of this state affair. Two-and-a-half years after the opening of the trial against secret services members and a businessman close to the government, the substantive hearings finally began on 2 September 2025. To reconstruct the circumstances of the murder, the Yaoundé military court must now hear all 44 prosecution witnesses. The next hearings are scheduled for 13 and 14 October.

2. Samuel Wazizi’s death in custody (2019)

Arrested on 2 August 2019, in Buea, capital of the English-speaking Southwest Region of Cameroon, Chillen Music Television (CMTV) journalist Samuel Wazizi died a few days later under unclear circumstances. The journalist was arrested after he criticised the management of Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis. Photos taken in Yaoundé on 13 August 2019 show he had numerous injuries, giving valid reason to believe he had been tortured. His death was concealed for nearly ten months by the authorities, “as a result of severe sepsis,”  they claimed. No investigation report has been made public into the circumstances of his death. His case sadly illustrates the opacity of the procedures and the absence of independent justice.

3. Amadou Vamoulké case (since 2016)

The former director of Cameroon’s national radio and TV broadcaster, CRTV, Amadou Vamoulké, has been arbitrarily detained for nine years. He was sentenced in 2024 to 20 years in prison after 178 successive postponements – a world record – and to 12 years in prison in December 2022 — a total of 32 years. Both cases were based on wrongful accusations that lack tangible evidence of “embezzlement of public funds” for the benefit of the media outlet he ran for 11 years. His first conviction came after nearly seven years of pretrial detention, even though the law only provides for a maximum of 12 months, renewable once, for such crimes. The 75-year-old journalist, recognised for his integrity by his peers, suffers from at least six medical conditions requiring advanced care. As far back as 2020, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared itself “deeply concerned” by the “gravity of the journalist’s condition.”

4. Presidential censorship

Any media discussion on President Biya’s health is prohibited in the name of “national security.” A ministerial circular dated 9 October 2024 ordered each regional governor to establish “monitoring units responsible for monitoring and recording all broadcasts and debates in private media and identifying the authors of biased comments”. At the same time, the presidency issued a reassuring statement on the health of Paul Biya, the world’s oldest elected leader, who had not made any public appearances since the beginning of September 2024.

 5. A punitive media regulatory body under orders

The National Communication Council (NCC) is issuing a series of suspensions and warnings. The latest example dates back to 23 July, when the satirical newspaper Le Popoli and its editor, Paul Louis Nyemb Ntoogue, were banned from circulation and operation for six months after publishing a caricature depicting a minister. The NCC’s lack of independence is an open secret: its nine members are appointed by decree of the President of the Republic.

6. Harsh laws used against the press

Press offences are criminal in nature and punishable by prison sentences. But beyond this major problem, in recent years, various laws have been widely circumvented to explicitly repress journalism. The 2014 anti-terrorism law has been repeatedly used to prosecute journalists critical of authorities before military courts: in 2017, the Yaoundé military court sentenced Radio France Internationale (RFI) correspondent Ahmed Abba to ten years in prison and a heavy fine after his coverage of attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram; in 2018, Thomas Awah Junior, the northwest correspondent for the private radio station Afrik 2 Radio, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on multiple charges; and in September 2024, independent journalist Kingsley Fumunyuy Njoka was sentenced to ten years in prison for “secession and complicity with armed gangs” due to publications dating from 2020 that took a critical stance on the “Anglophone crisis” in the northwest of the country.

7. Impunity in northern Cameroon

Journalist Anye Nde Nsoh was shot dead in Bamenda, a northwestern city, in May 2023. He was only 26 years old. His murder reveals the extent to which journalists in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions operate in a state of complete insecurity, caught between armed separatist groups and the Cameroonian armed forces. As in many other cases, the investigation remains at a standstill, fueling a climate of fear in a region where the press is increasingly absent. Kidnapping is also among the risks facing the region’s journalists.

8. Open conflict between the authorities and Equinoxe TV

Founded in 2006, Equinoxe TV is one of the most popular private channels in Cameroon — and most critical of the authorities. This positioning has brought the media various problems, including the suspension of its director and one of its flagship programs on several occasions and accusations and threats against the channel by members of the government. This harassment is part of a context of widespread media repression in the country.

9. Increased pressure ahead of the 2025 presidential election

Ahead of the election scheduled for 12 October, the authorities have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to hinder journalists’ work. The NCC has asked media outlets to suspend political debate programs as of 27 September, replacing them with campaign news programs. Media professionals are subject to a dual accreditation process and are required to present a press card, even though these are almost never issued. Journalists have been repeatedly prevented from covering public events, particularly those organised by the opposition.

10. Serious drop in the World Press Freedom Index

Cameroon ranks 131st out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index. Ranked 83rd in 2005, the country has fallen 48 places in twenty years. For the past ten years, Cameroon has stagnated around 130th place, reflecting both the authorities’ lack of effort to improve the situation and the hostile climate encountered by media professionals. Cameroon continues to be one of the most dangerous countries on the continent for the practice of journalism.

Thai Immigration police arrested a 40-year-old a Cameroonian man wanted by Interpol for international drug trafficking after he evaded authorities for more than a year while living illegally in the capital.

Acting on intelligence that a Cameroonian national was overstaying his visa and potentially involved in drug trafficking, Pol. Lt. Gen. Panthana Nuchanart, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, launched an investigation into a suspect using the alias “Emmanuel.”

Immigration records revealed Emmanuel entered Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa that had expired. Further checks confirmed he was wanted on an Interpol warrant for smuggling 19 kilograms of narcotics via courier to South Korea. He had been living in Bangkok since 2016.

Officers located Emmanuel on Phetchaburi Road near his hotel and arrested him without incident. Speaking fluent Thai, he acknowledged being the person named in the warrant and admitted his visa had expired.

Despite denying drug involvement, a search of his hotel room uncovered drug paraphernalia, one 9mm pistol, two modified blank guns, a modified .38 caliber magazine, and nearly 80 rounds of ammunition in various calibers. Officers also seized over 2 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 1 gram of MDMA, and one methamphetamine pill.

Emmanuel claimed the weapons were pawned by a Thai friend and that the drugs belonged to acquaintances who used his room to consume narcotics. However, a hospital urine test returned positive for methamphetamine. He then admitted to using crystal meth but said he hadn’t consumed it for one day.

He faces charges of overstaying his visa, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, illegal possession of Category 1 narcotics, and drug consumption.

Source: Khaosod English

Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on Tuesday inaugurated the headquarters building of the Ministry of Public Works, built by Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese engineering and construction company.

At the inauguration ceremony in the capital, Yaoundé, Ngute thanked Sinohydro “for professional and good quality work.”

The Cameroonian government is committed to equipping public institutions with modern infrastructure to enhance performance and efficiency, the prime minister said.

According to the Ministry of Public Works, the high-rise complex comprises four interconnected blocks, offering “a modern and functional working environment.”

Source: Xinhuanet

The military tribunal in Yaoundé has been calling numerous witnesses to the stand in the high-profile murder trial of journalist Martinez Zogo, who was killed in January 2023 by an alleged hit squad from the state’s counter-espionage service, the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE).

The Government Commissioner, Lieutenant Colonel Cerlin Belinga, presented a list of 47 witnesses, including two dozen gendarmes, police officers, and civilians. Key security officials expected to testify include Colonel Otoulou, head of the Central Gendarmerie Legion, and Lieutenant Colonel Ayissi Arnaud, commander of the sensitive Yaoundé gendarmerie unit.

Key Witness Testimony Heard

Eight witnesses have already testified. They include one of the forensic doctors who performed an autopsy on the journalist’s body and the commander of the Mfou company, which had jurisdiction over the area where Zogo’s body was found.

Hearings on September 22 and 23 involved five other witnesses, including the former chief of the Central Post gendarmerie station in Yaoundé. This official had been contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Justin Danwe, a senior DGRE officer and key suspect, who allegedly requested that Zogo be severely punished.

A critical witness was Sandra Mekuete, a 19-year-old woman and the only known eyewitness to the kidnapping, which occurred on January 17, 2023, around 9:45 p.m. She recounted seeing the scene from her mother’s bar, located opposite the Nkol-Nkondi gendarmerie post.

She recounted the scene: “A car hit the gendarmerie gate. A man got out of the vehicle, but the car backed up and threw him onto the road.” As another car pulled up, four men jumped out and seized the victim. “He screamed: ‘Help, save me, they want to murder me!'” Mekuete testified that the men then applied “something on his neck that struck him and he became weak” before they forced him into the car and drove off. She estimated the entire incident lasted about five minutes, noting the kidnappers, all in black except one wearing blue sweatpants, drove a black Toyota Prado.

Conflicting Accounts on the Stand

However, three gendarmes who were on duty that night offered conflicting statements. Warrant Officer Elinge Yunishe Mbusa, chief of the Nkol-Nkondi gendarmerie post at the time, along with Master Sergeants James Fredie Minlo and Nyeb Abonke Judih, affirmed that Zogo’s Toyota Yaris had struck their post’s gate before being rammed from behind by another vehicle. They testified they did not hear the victim’s cries for help.

Investigators recovered several documents from Zogo’s Toyota Yaris, including one file bearing his name and another addressed “To the Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic, in charge of the Supreme State Audit.” Two phones were also discovered, including a smartphone the victim reportedly managed to hide under the pedals.

Witness interrogations can last several hours, involving examinations by the civil party, cross-examination by the defense, and questions from the government commissioner. For example, Second Lieutenant Legrand Ngamby was questioned on September 22 from noon until 5 p.m.

The trial was adjourned to October 13-14, 2025. It remains possible that not all witnesses on the list will be called to testify. 

Source: Sbbc