Although Cameroon has one of the richest media landscapes in Africa, it is one of the continent’s most dangerous countries for journalists, who operate in a hostile and precarious environment. Renowned journalist Martinez Zogo was kidnapped and murdered in early 2023.
Media landscape
Despite the large number of media outlets – more than 600 newspapers, approximately 200 radio stations and more than 60 TV channels – producing independent and critical reporting is still very challenging in Cameroon. The leading newspapers are the privately owned dailies Le Messager, Le Jour and La Nouvelle Expression, the privately owned weekly La Voix du Centre and the state-owned daily Cameroon Tribune. There are many privately owned radio and TV stations: Equinoxe (radio and TV), Balafon (radio and TV), Canal 2 International (TV), Radio Tiemeni Siantou, and Royal FM, are the best known ones. The state-owned radio and TV broadcaster CRTV continues to serve as the mouthpiece of a government headed by President Paul Biya for more than 40 years.
Political context
It is impossible for a media outlet to adopt a critical and independent editorial policy without being exposed to significant threats and harassment if its reporting endangers the interests of the government and its representatives. The president dominates all areas of the state. This climate fuels self-censorship and results in most media outlets falling in line with the views of the authorities. All of the heads of the state-owned media and all of the members of the National Communication Council (CNC), the media regulator, are appointed by presidential decree. In October 2024, as rumors circulated about the president’s health, a ministerial communiqué addressed to regional governors formally banned any media discussion on the subject, one year ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 2025.
Legal framework
Cameroon’s laws, including the 1990 press freedom law, are routinely circumvented in order to repress journalists. There is no sign of press offences being decriminalised and neither access to information nor the confidentiality of journalists’ sources are guaranteed in practice. It is common for media professionals to be brought before special courts, as was the case with the former CRTV director general, Amadou Vamoulké, sentenced to 32 years in prison for the “misappropriation of public funds” after two rulings based on unfounded accusations and 178 successive postponements — a sad world record.
Economic context
Cameroonian journalists, particularly journalists from privately owned media, work in extremely precarious conditions, which undermines their independence. Some state aid is provided to the media but the amount is regarded as insufficient, and it is available only to those outlets that toe the government line. Government allies can also create media outlets from scratch to economically weaken other media outlets that have become too troublesome. Corruption and favouritism are widespread.
Sociocultural context
There are more and more media based on ethnic or religious criteria, which contributes to a polarisation of public debate and encourages exclusion or stigmatisation. Cultural constraints often result in censorship and self-censorship, especially in areas with strong cultural traditions. It is particularly difficult for journalists to cover the Anglophone crisis, an armed conflict in the west of the country between the military and separatist fighters that has raged since 2017. Reporting that is critical of the conflict can lead to accusations of “secession and complicity with an armed group.”
Safety
Cameroonian journalists, especially those who are critical or outspoken, are constantly at risk of verbal or physical attacks, arbitrary arrests and detentions, SLAPP proceedings, kidnappings, assasination and more. The murder of Anye Nde Nsoh, bureau chief of the weekly The Advocate, in May 2023 highlighted the level of danger for journalists in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. The mutilated body of Martinez Zogo, Director General of the private station Amplitude FM, was found five days after his abduction in January 2023. One of the alleged masterminds of his assassination, the former head of operations of the General Directorate of External Research, was arrested at the same time as several other accomplices. But the investigation is far from over. Many well-known journalists are under surveillance. The level of impunity for perpetrators of acts of violence against journalists remains high in the country.
