The journalist, popularly known as “Halla Ya Matta” or “Samuel Wazizi”, works for Buea-based independent TV station, Chillen Muzik and Television (CMTV). His lawyer, Barrister Ewule Lyonga Edward says he was arrested on August 2 and was initially held at the Muea police station.

A statement posted on CMTV’s Facebook page on August 6 says Wazizi was picked up at 11:00 a.m. August 2 by elements of the Muea Police Station who “claimed that he was being invited by their boss to get information about a certain ‘pidgin news.’”

According to the CMTV statement, the police said Wazizi was detained in connection “to the Anglophone armed conflict of which investigation is still going,” and the police refused to allow his colleagues to see him in detention, read a statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ.

Eight months after the journalist’s arrest, a statement from the organisation run by Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor aka Agbor Balla said “CHRDA expresses with great dissatisfaction the treatment given to journalists in particular and the way freedom of expression/opinion is suppressed in Cameroon. We reiterate and remind the Cameroon government of its obligation to uphold and respect national and international norms protecting freedom of expression and the rights of journalists.

“The arrest and detention of Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe accompanied by undue litigation processes is in violation of the national and international standards protecting journalist’s rights; it also illustrates injustice in the country and silence of the international community in promoting the protection of freedom of expression in Cameroon.”

CHRDA says it is concerned about the living and health conditions of Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe and as such asked that he should be granted access to his lawyers, family and loved ones immediately.

“The Government authorities should also release all journalist and human rights defenders illegally arrested and detained in detention centers around the country,” CHRDA said. “Both parties to the conflict in the English Speaking Regions of the country should exercise restraint and cease from violating human rights and the rule of law.”

Excerpts of the CHRDA Statement

“Freedom of expression is worsening in Cameroon as many journalists are illegally arrested and tag with acts of terrorism. In the English-Speaking Regions of the country, such illegal arrest and detention have been normalized while journalists and human rights defenders/activists continue to pay the price.  These acts of human rights violation are increasing at a time when the international community needs to join stakeholders at the national level to promote and protect the rights of journalists and human rights defenders in Cameroon’s English-Speaking Regions

“Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe popularly known as “Samuel Wazizi” is a journalist with Buea based Chillen Music and Television (CMTV) in Cameroon, He was accused of having links with separatist fighters, later arrested and detained in August 2019. He has been incarcerated incommunicado since his arrest in August 2019, his whereabouts is unknown to his lawyers including family members and friends. His marred litigation process has also been going on at the Fako High Court of Law in Buea without his physical appearance (trial in absentia).

“Circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention remain unclear in the eyes of the law. It is worthy to note he was first arrested by the Muea police authorities, with complaints from the authorities in the said police station, they said that they were going to transfer Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe to the judicial police division in Buea southwest Region. Nevertheless, the journalist was later seized from the Muea Police authorities and detained by Commander of the 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion.”

CPJ Condemnation

“Authorities must stop trying to force journalists like Samuel Wazizi to toe the government line about the separatist conflict in Cameroon by harassing and intimidating them through illegal detentions and flagrant violations of the rule of law,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ Africa program coordinator.

“The fact that Wazizi is being detained by the military, which has no jurisdiction to investigate terrorism-related charges, also raises serious questions about due process and the journalist’s safety. He must be released immediately with no condition.”

Wazizi was denied bail because police said his case related to potential charges under the anti-terrorism law, Ewule told CPJ. He was informed on August 6 that Wazizi would be handed over to the judicial police, the competent authority to investigate, but instead his client was transferred the next day to the military’s 21st Motorized Infantry Battalion in Buea, Ewule said. Wazizi has since been held without access to a lawyer or family, Ewule told CPJ.

In the Habeas Corpus application, which was reviewed by CPJ, Ewule said Wazizi had denied all the allegations and “believed he was being detained in connection with his critical views he expressed during the pidgin English news program on CMTV which is strictly connected to the practice of his profession as a journalist, and this I strongly believe as a fact.”