The Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) has strongly condemned what it terms the arbitrary arrest and continued detention of a student journalist by police in the country for more than 24 hours.
Ms. Souga Tsogo Gabrielle Winnie Erna, 17, a first-year journalism student at the University of Yaounde II’s Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC) on internship with The Post newspaper, was taken away while on a professional assignment on August 4, CAMASEJ said in a stamen on Tuesday.
She was enroute to cover open pre-electoral hearings on appeals brought before the Constitutional Council by candidates and political parties whose bids for the October 12 presidential election in the country were rejected by Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) when the police picked her up at the entrance into the Yaounde Conference Centre that hosts the Council.
“Despite clearly identifying herself as a student journalist on official duty, Souga was bundled into a police vehicle and taken to the Yaounde First District Police Station,” the journalism association said in the statement. At the police station, the student journalist’s phone was seized and “she was interrogated without the presence of legal counsel, and ultimately detained in a despicably airtight and smelly cell, unfit for any human being – much less a young trainee journalist,” CAMASEJ said.
Efforts to secure her release were ignored by police authorities who told CAMASEJ officials, The Post staff Souga’s family later in the night they were executing “high instructions,” and would hold her until the process is completed, without stating when, the statement said.
“Souga spent the night in detention; an act that is not only unlawful but also deeply troubling, especially as the country enters a critical electoral period when press freedom and access to information must be upheld,” CAMASEJ said describing the incident as a blatant attack on press freedom.
The journalism association has called on Cameroonian authorities to allow journalists – whether students or professionals –to carry out their duties without fear of intimidation, harassment, or unlawful arrest.
“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Gabrielle Souga and call on the government and security services to respect national and international laws protecting freedom of the press and the rights of journalists, especially during an election period where transparency and accountability are paramount,” CAMASEJ stated in the statement.
It further called on all media professionals, civil society actors, and rights organizations to stand in solidarity with Souga and to collectively resist any actions aimed at silencing the press in the country.
At press time, CAMASEJ announced the student journalist’s release had been authorized.
