Comment by UN Human Rights spokesperson Seif Magango after second journalist killed in Cameroon
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Mourners place candles in a room of Radio Amplitude FM where a portrait of journalist Martinez Zogo has been placed to pay tribute to him, in the Elig Essono district in Yaounde on January 23, 2023. - A popular Cameroon radio journalist who had been missing following what a media rights group called an abduction has been found dead, his employer and police said on January 22, 2023. Martinez Zogo was managing director of Yaounde-based private radio station Amplitude FM and the star host of a popular daily programme, Embouteillage (Gridlock). On the air, the 51-year-old regularly tackled cases of corruption, not hesitating to question important personalities by name. (Photo by Daniel Beloumou Olomo / AFP)
Geneva/Nairobi, 7 February 2023
We are deeply concerned about the safety of journalists in Cameroon following the killing of a second journalist in the country in two weeks.
Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe, a radio presenter and Orthodox priest, was found dead on 2 February near his home in the Mimboman district of the capital Yaoundé, apparently shot dead by unknown assailants. His killing came 11 days after Arsene Salomon Mbami Zogo, popularly known as Martinez Zogo, a prominent journalist and manager of privately-owned Amplitude FM, was found dead five days after he had been abducted outside a gendarmerie station in Yaoundé.
Both Ola Bebe and Martinez Zogo were outspoken voices against corruption, using their platforms on radio to denounce cases of alleged misappropriation of public funds. Ola Bebe was at the forefront in calling for justice and accountability for the murder of Zogo, his close associate.
In January, at least three other Cameroonian journalists reported that they had received credible threats from unidentified people.
The Cameroonian authorities must take all necessary measures to create an enabling environment for journalists to work without fear of reprisal, and to uphold the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed in international human rights law, and also set out in Cameroon’s Constitution. A free, independent, and diverse media environment is vital in ensuring citizens are informed and can hold public institutions to account.
We note that President Biya has ordered investigations into Martinez Zogo’s killing, and certain arrests have been made. We call on the authorities to ensure that Ola Bebe’s killing is also independently, effectively, and impartially investigated and that those found to be responsible for these killings, at all levels, are held to account.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
In Nairobi
Seif Magango – +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
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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.
