Following rumors of his death, the Cameroonian authorities have prohibited the media from discussing President Paul Biya’s health.
Regional governors were informed by Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji that these stories “disturb the tranquility of Cameroonians.”
He insisted, threatening that “offenders will face the rigor of the law” and stating that “any debate in the media about the president’s condition is therefore strictly prohibited.”
The 91-year-old pioneer – in office for over forty years – has not been found openly since 8 September, when he went to a China-Africa discussion in Beijing.
In response to rumors about Biya’s health, a number of officials have stated that he is in good health and is staying on his own in Geneva, Switzerland.
Nji urged governors to establish units to ensure that private media and social media adhered to the order, stating that the president’s health was a matter of national security.
The 91-year-old African president who continues to defy death rumors Numerous journalists in the nation have stated that they consider the ban to be an infringement on press freedom.
An anonymous Cameroonian journalist told the BBC, “I find it an infringement on our rights by saying that mention should not be made of the president’s [health] situation.” He went on to say, “it’s going to really affect the way we report because we’ll certainly not want to run into trouble with the government,” and that was the conclusion.
In a nation where journalists are frequently the targets of officials and insurgent groups, restrictions on the media have also raised concerns about journalists’ safety.
Before, Anglophone separatists have abducted writers while the public authority has captured and kept individuals from the media.
“I will continue to report despite the fact that I fear they could track me down because there is no way that my report will not talk about the president’s whereabouts or what could be happening to him,” I said. I’ll keep doing what I do,” another journalist stated.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a global organization dedicated to press freedom, issued a statement on Thursday in which it pleaded with the Cameroonian government to “end its threats to sanction private media journalists who report on the condition and whereabouts of President Paul Biya.”
The president’s health is important to the public because he has been in office for 41 years and may run for re-election next year. The head of CPJ’s Africa Program, Angela Quintal, stated, “Any misguided attempt to censor reporting about his health for reasons of national security simply fuels rampant speculation.”
She suggested, “The Cameroonian government should simply put the rumors to rest by arranging the head of state to appear in public.”
Cameroonians are eagerly anticipating President Biya’s upcoming return to the nation, as promised by the authorities, despite ongoing speculation regarding his health.
