Cameroon army confirms death in detention of journalist accused of terrorism

Announced by associations on Wednesday, the death of Cameroonian journalist Samuel Wazizi was confirmed on Friday June 5 by the army, which refuted acts of torture.

Several Cameroonian journalists' unions have however said the opposite. But for the army, Samuel Wazizi, accused of "intelligence with the terrorists", "died of sepsis (severe sepsis)" on August 17, 2019 at the military hospital of Yaoundé, less than two weeks after his arrest. 

The army also claims that his family had been informed of his death, which the journalist's lawyer refutes. "We are in close contact with his family who says that he was not contacted: we were already representing him at the time of his death, we were the people to be warned," Edward Ewule, who said he learned about it, told AFP. confirmation of the death of his client on reading the army press release on national radio. "I am devastated, I am the last civilian to have seen him alive ten months ago," he added.

"Logistician of various terrorist groups"

According to the army, Samuel Wazizi "claimed to be a host on a local television channel" but "was actually a logistician from various terrorist groups" English-speaking separatists.

For almost three years, the English-speaking regions of north-west and south-west of Cameroon have been shaken by violent clashes between the army and separatist groups.

The fighting, but also the atrocities and murders committed against civilians by the two camps, left more than 3,000 dead and forced more than 700,000 people to flee their homes.

"Gray areas"

While Cameroonian unions of journalists, but also the international NGO Reporters Without Borders, have denounced the death of Samuel Wazizi, the army retorts that it is a "new episode of demonization" of the Cameroonian armed forces.

#Cameroun: as RSF feared, journalist Samuel Wazizi, detained incommunicado by soldiers since August 2019, died in detention. It is the worst abuse against a Cameroonian journalist in 10 years. #JusticeForWazizi https://t.co/GisxIgwZAA pic.twitter.com/q0Bj2IPCMS

"Only an independent commission of inquiry can shed light on this affair," said Jude Viban, president of the Cameroonian Association of English-speaking journalists. Referring to "gray areas", he wonders in particular "why the government did not inform the justice of the death of [his] colleague".

His lawyer is also requesting an independent investigation, along the lines of that which led to the arrest of seven soldiers after the broadcast in 2015 of a video showing the summary execution of two women and their children in northern Cameroon.

134th out of 180 in the world press freedom ranking

Cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees are regularly reported by human rights organizations, which are also concerned about the high number of arrests in the English-speaking West.

This crisis, as well as the attacks of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the Far North, have tarnished the image of Cameroon, a country led for 37 years by President Paul Biya, long seen as a haven of stability in Central Africa .

On Thursday, the UN and the NGO Human Rights Watch denounced an increase in violence against aid workers who operate in these two regions, and accused in particular armed groups of increasing kidnappings against aid workers. Cameroonian forces are also accused of obstructing the flow of aid there.

Confirmation of the death of Samuel Wazizi also helps to revive the debate around press freedom in Cameroon. The country ranks 134th out of 180 in the world press freedom ranking established in 2020 by Reporters Without Borders.

With AFP

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