THE CAMEROUN GOVERNMENT AND THE PROPAGATION OF FALSE INFORMATION

What baffles me is the fact that laws in Cameroun are only made to punish the weak and the poor and not the rich and the powerful. The Cameroun Penal Code in its Section 113 reads
Propagation of False information
Whoever sends out or propagates false information liable to injure public authorities or national unity shall be punished with imprisonment for from 3 months to 3 years and with a fine of from 100,000frs to 2,000,000frs.

in French it reads
Propagation de fausses nouvelles.
Est puni d’un emprisonnement de 3 mois à 3 ans et d’une amende de 100,000frs à 2,000,000frs, celui qui émet ou propage des nouvelles mensongères, lorsque ces nouvelles sont susceptibles de nuire aux autorités publiques ou à la cohésion national.

It’s not the first time that the government of Cameroun has told blatant lies or propagated false information and to them, it is a norm when trying to protect this farce called National Unity.

In the not too distant past, when a video of the Cameroun Army executing women and children in the extreme North went viral, the then minister of Communication came out pointing an accusing finger to Mali. It did not take 24hours for the Malian government to debunk that press outing as false information. With national and international pressure mounting, the soldiers were finally arrested. Was Issa Tchiroma dragged to court for propagating false information? No, he was promoted to head the Ministry of Vocational and Professional Training.

When another video emerged of the Cameroun Army caught red-handed burning down houses in Azi-Lebialem. What did the minister say again? He denied that it wasn’t the Cameroun Army. (https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-africa-44561929?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.auin&__twitter_impression=true)

So many other cases abound viz

– A family of 10 killed at Tiben,
– The beheading of Sam Soyer in Belo
– A girl raped in Bamenda,
– 30 youths killed in Menka in May 25,2018,
– Charles Wesco, the American missionary,
– Many other Men of God shot dead by the Cameroun Army intentionally or accidentally etc
In all of these, the Cameroun Army which is the first accused is described as being very professional.

Now is the case of Ngarbuh where 35 people including pregnant women, children as young as 4 months old are killed and burnt in their homes by the Cameroun Army with the help of the Fulani. Major newspapers in Cameroun initially debunked the Ngarbuh Massacre. The newspaper headlines of Monday, February 17, 2020 read

– “Le Succès de L’armée qui fache-ZERO MASSACRE” -Journal La Veuve
– “GROSS MANIPULATION POUR DESTABILISER L’ARMÉE CAMEROUNAIS” – L’orphelin
– “HALTE A LA DÉSINFORMATION” – Le Pelican
“ZERO MASSACRE DES POPULATION DANS LE DONGA MANTUM” -Quotidien l’Epervier
Etc

The Cameroun Minister of defense, the spokesperson for the Cameroun Army and later followed by the Cameroun Minister of Communication followed suit and denied the involvement of their army, then later on downplayed the number of persons killed in that attack which they claimed was an accident. The number of children alone killed on February 14, 2020 at Ngarbuh not counting the two pregnant women and their husbands surpasses the 5 people that the Cameroun government claim died in that attack. These are the names of those kids who aren’t “terrorists”;
1) Sika Yesminatou 12yrs old
2) Sika Amsa 9yrs old
3) Sika Alina 7yrs old
4) Sika Yamsi 6yrs old
5) Sika Suliatou 5yrs old
6) Shey Diana 15yrs old
7) Shey Midian 13yrs old
8)Shey Jude 9yrs old
9) Shey Trcey 5yrs old
10) Shey Cynthian 6yrs old
11) Mary Angel 4yrs old
12) Berinyuy 5months old

Major Media Houses around the globe gave a contrary report to the false report given by the Cameroun government and her affiliate newspapers.

CNN
Vaticannnews
Camerbe

– When will Section 113 of the Cameroun Penal Code be applied to these government officials who propagate false information?
– Does the same law reward these people since they are propagating false information to cover up the farce called National Unity?

All of these questions leave the weak and poor to ponder and wonder if the laws made in Cameroun are discriminatory in nature.

SEN PENN