Ban on reporting about president’s health puts Cameroonian journalists on edge

Cameroonian journalists accidental they are grappling with a caller authorities directive prohibiting nationalist sermon oregon media sum of President Paul Biya’s health.

The ban, issued by Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji connected October 9, follows media speculation astir the 91-year-old president’s lack from nationalist view. The directive has sparked statement wrong Cameroon’s media, which faces a captious prime of whether to adhere to the prohibition and debar retaliation oregon proceed reporting connected matters of nationalist concern.

VOA’s Cameroon newsman Moki Edwin Kindzeka said that responses among journalists varied. "Some person ignored the prohibition and continued reporting connected President Paul Biya’s agelong absence, [and] sick health," helium said. "Others are scared, immoderate person been soundless connected the issue," helium added, pointing retired that authorities are intimately monitoring media sum and expanding the unit connected journalists who indispensable navigate a restrictive landscape.

Another freelance newsman for VOA’s French to Africa Service, writer Emmanuel Jules Ntap, said media organizations are being cautious.

"Journalists are scared, and media organizations are being careful. No 1 is talking astir the wellness of the president," helium said, capturing what immoderate media advocates are characterizing arsenic self-censorship.

"The property is speaking astir his agelong lack from the state but not his health," helium added.

The prohibition has drawn beardown reactions from planetary property state organizations.

Reporters Without Borders condemned it arsenic an "act of intimidation and censorship."

The Committee to Protect Journalists echoed these concerns.

"Using nationalist information arsenic the crushed to censor is simply a favourite authorities tool. If you look astatine the magnitude of sum that the latest prohibition connected reporting astir Biya’s wellness has received, it’s by acold the planetary media and journalists extracurricular the state who are reporting connected it," Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal told VOA, adding that the regularisation is portion of a broader inclination successful Cameroon.

The directive adds to an ongoing signifier of property suppression, Quintal said. She added that section journalists look unit to self-censor, which is simply a communal contented successful Cameroon, particularly up of adjacent year’s elections.

Cameroon’s past of media repression is well-documented. Over the years, journalists person faced threats, imprisonment, and adjacent decease for covering politically delicate topics specified arsenic corruption oregon conflict.

There are astatine slightest 5 journalists presently imprisoned connected charges linked to their reporting, including those who person covered the country’s struggle successful the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, according to CPJ. These journalists are often detained nether anti-state charges and, successful immoderate cases, tried successful subject courts.

One specified writer who knows excessively good what Cameroonian situation is similar and is present exiled successful Europe is Cameroonian writer Mimi Mefo Newuh, laminitis of the autarkic quality outlet Mimi Mefo Info.

"By linking this prohibition to nationalist information simply means that violators, anyone who dares talks astir the wellness of the president of the Republic volition beryllium charged," she said. "Using the 2014 anti-terrorism authorities successful Cameroon and you cognize what has happened to adjacent journalists similar myself."

VOA reached retired to the National Communication Council and the premier minister’s bureau for remark and email inquiries went unanswered.

The risks associated with reporting connected arguable topics person driven galore Cameroonian journalists to self-censor. In 2018, Samuel Wazizi, a writer who covered the Anglophone crisis, died successful authorities custody, allegedly owed to torture. The 2023 execution of Martinez Zogo, known for exposing corruption, further highlighted the dangers faced by journalists.

Angela Quintal pointed retired that planetary journalists person been covering the prohibition much extensively than section media, underscoring the limitations imposed connected Cameroonian reporters.

"By issuing the ban, the authorities lone fueled the speculation and made it a communicative of planetary interest," she said. "The Cameroonian authorities media are silent, portion a fewer backstage media outlets, journalists, person been brave capable to inquire the question that is each Cameroonian's close to know, wherever is the president and what are the circumstances of his health?"

Mefo said that the concern reflects a recurring taxable successful Cameroon. "This is not the archetypal clip it’s happened successful Cameroon," she said. "The crushed wherefore this 1 is peculiar and wherefore it's besides making quality is the information that it’s not conscionable astir the wellness of the president, it is besides astir his whereabout wherever helium is, and whether he’s really acceptable to proceed being president of the country."

Mefo highlighted the challenges faced by journalists covering Biya’s wellness amid the ban.

"The media, including societal media platforms, were stopped from reporting astir the wellness of the president. Even mean Cameroonians were warned against doing that," she said.

Many programs that would typically sermon this taxable person shifted to different subjects, and citizens are cautious astir posting thing online for fearfulness of reprisal. "Most of their programs were talking astir thing else, whereas the main taxable astatine the infinitesimal is astir President Paul Biya," she said.

The prohibition connected covering Biya’s wellness is lone 1 facet of a wider crackdown connected property state successful Cameroon. The authorities has utilized laws against transgression defamation, mendacious news, and anti-state charges to soundlessness dissenting voices. In caller years, journalists person been jailed, attacked, and forced into exile. The National Communication Council, the country’s media regulatory body, often imposes restrictions and penalties connected quality outlets that knock the authorities oregon code delicate issues.

"Cameroon is among the worst jailers of journalists successful sub-Saharan Africa," Quintal said. She added that reporting connected issues specified arsenic the Boko Haram insurgency, the Anglophone crisis, and corruption is particularly unsafe for journalists.

Despite these challenges, advocates accidental journalists proceed to find ways to study connected pressing issues. Mefo described however her squad has adopted information measures to support reporters covering the president’s health. "We had to prosecute successful further information measures aft the ban, similar changing the names completely, due to the fact that usually my reporters usage pseudonyms to write," she said.

This communicative originated successful VOA’s Africa Division. French to Africa’s Abdourahmane Dia contributed to the report.