Cameroon: Human Rights Watch Calls for immediate release of social media activist, Junior Ngombe
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Human Rights Watch, an International Human Rights Organization in their statement has urge Cameroon governement authorities to Free Junior Ngombe, Drop Charges and Respect Freedom of Expression. This call is coming after Junior was arrested on 24 July 2024 by three men in plain clothes claiming to work for the intelligence services, Human Rights Watch said in their statement. Junior Ngombe is 23 year old, a hairdresser and social media activist. He was arrested outside his shop in Douala, a city in Cameroon’s Littoral region.
The International NGO in their statement expresses concerns over calling for political change in Cameroon. As stated by the organization, his lawyers reported that Ngombe was taken to a gendarmerie post in Douala before being transferred the following day to the State Defense Secretariat (Secrétariat d’État à la défense), a gendarmerie-run detention facility in the capital, Yaoundé. Human Rights Watch has previously documented widespread use of torture at the facility.
The organization equally reported that Ngombe’s lawyers revealed that their client has been charged with “incitement to rebellion” and “propagation of false information.” They believe his arrest is linked to several TikTok videos in which Ngombe encouraged people to register to vote for the 2025 presidential elections, advocated for democratic change, and questioned authorities’ intolerance of criticism.
For many years, the Cameroon government has carried out a pervasive crackdown on opposition and dissent, jailing dozens of political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and other government critics. In recent months, as presidential elections approach, it has increasingly restricted freedoms of expression and association.
While recounting a number of issues and challenges the political system faces in Cameroon especially the opposition political parties, Human Rights Watch stated that “In March, the territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, banned two opposition coalitions, describing them as “clandestine movements.” In June, gendarmes in N’Gaoundéré, Adamawa region, arbitrarily arrested Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, a prominent artist and member of the opposition political party, National Union for Democracy and Progress (Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progrès). His arrest came moments after his release from three-month imprisonment for “insulting” a governor“.
Among other issues affecting the democratic culture in Cameroon, the international NGO equally expressed concerns over restrictions by the governement authorities in line with the upcoming elections in 2025. In July, Cameroon’s National Assembly passed a law to postpone the scheduled February 2025 parliamentary elections and extend the current parliamentarians’ term in office until March 2026. Opposition parties argue the postponement will make it harder for them to succeed in the 2025 presidential elections. Also in July, the head of the Mfoundi administrative division, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, issued a decree threatening to ban from the division “anyone who dangerously insults the [state] institutions or the person who embodies them.”
Human Rights Watch at the end of their statement urged the Cameroonian authorities to listen to peaceful demands for reform instead of stifling freedom of expression and that they should immediately release Ngombe and drop the charges against him.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
