Will Cameroon’s reelected president keep his promise to protect press freedom? Ten recommendations for Paul Biya

"I will strengthen measures to protect freedom of expression and journalists," promised Paul Biya during his campaign.Yet the task is huge, given the extensive restrictions on the right to information and the measures used to persecute reporters in Cameroon. RSF has documentedthe chilling effect of the 42-year Biya regime, which has yet to produce any official plan for turning the page on press freedom.

RSF has devised ten specific recommendations for ensuring that press freedom is more than just a promise in Cameroon, which ranks 131st out of 180 countries and territories in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.

1. Provide a free and safe environment for journalists by guaranteeing their protection

Journalists are routinely exposed to verbal and physical violence, threats, arrests, arbitrary detention, abduction and murder. The president must commit to protecting journalists against such attacks by putting in place appropriate security measures, especially ahead of protests and in conflict zones, and by training law enforcement to better respect press freedom.

2. Abolish prison sentences for press offences

Defamation, insulting and disrespecting authorities, publishing false news and endangering state security are all press-related offences that are currently regarded as crimes and are punishable by prison sentences. It is time to abolish this practice and ensure that no journalists are deprived of their freedom because they did their job with integrity.

3. Stop using draconian laws to prosecute journalists

Since taking effect, the 2014 anti-terrorism law has been repeatedly used to prosecute journalists critical of authorities before military courts, especially those covering the so-called Anglophone Crisis, an armed conflict in Cameroon's English-speaking western regions. The president must ensure that no more journalists will be prosecuted under the anti-terrorism law.

4. Amend the legislation governing the National Communication Council (CNC) in order to make it a truly independent body

Currently, all members of the National Communication Council (CNC), Cameroon's media regulator, are appointed by presidential decree, which complicates the body's claims to independence. In order to make the CNC a truly independent body, journalists must be included in this appointment process. They could be granted equal representation.

5. Guarantee the impartiality of Cameroon's public radio and TV broadcaster, CRTV

CRTVcurrently operates as a state media outlet serving the government's communication needs. Its director general is appointed by presidential decree, and it is not transparent about its sources of funding. To guarantee that the CRTVis independent and serves the public interest, its operations must be overhauled. A Public Broadcasting Council could be created to supervise these changes.

6. Ensure that all journalists have fair and impartial access to public information

Journalists' access to information is not guaranteed in Cameroon. RSF recommends that the government adopt a law on access to public information, legally requiring civil servants to respond to journalists' information requests and make their documents more accessible.

7. Provide state and privately-owned media outlets with transparent and impartial state support

Cameroonian journalists, especially those working for privately-owned media outlets, work in extremely insecure conditions, which undermines their independence. To ensure the viability and independence of both state and privately-owned media outlets, RSF recommends that the government increase the financial help it provides to the press before redistributing it in a transparent and equitable manner.

8. Free Amadou Vamoulké

Former CRTVdirector general Amadou Vamoulkéhas been arbitrarily detainedfor the past nine years and sentencedto two prison terms - of 20 and 12 years - on trumped-up charges of "embezzlement of public funds" for the benefit of the CRTVduring the 11 years he ran the media. The 75-year-old journalist, whose integrity is recognised by his peers, suffersfrom at least six medical conditions requiring serious medical care. Releasing him and allowing him to be reunited with his loved ones would send a strong signal to the press.

9. End impunity for violence against journalists

The level of impunity for perpetrators of acts of violence against journalists - including murder - remains high in Cameroon. The investigation into the killingof Anye Nde Nsoh, a journalist who was shot dead on 7 May 2023 in the northwestern city of Bamenda, has stalled, and no perpetrators have been convicted. Similarly, no perpetrators have been convicted and no investigation findings have been made public in the death of Samuel Wazizi, a journalist with Chillen Music Television (CMTV)who was arrested on 2 August 2019 in Buea, the capital of the English-speaking Southwest Region, and died in custodyin unclear circumstances. The president must order impartial investigations into all crimes committed against journalists so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

10. Ensure that the investigation into Martinez Zogo's murder is conducted in an impartial manner

The investigation initiated after journalist Martinez Zogo's vengeful murder in January 2023 - which RSF regards as a state crime- must be completed in a transparent and impartial manner, without interference, even though the case implicatesseveral members of the Cameroonian intelligence services.