Cameroonian authorities who labeled the discussion a threat to national security warned against conversing on the president’s health after rumors of his death began spread, as seen in the East African.
Authorities have been trying to put out the fire all week with statements relaying that the president is alive and well.
The country’s Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji, issued that “any debate in the media about the president’s condition is therefore strictly prohibited. Offenders will face the full force of the law.”
He directed all governors in the country to establish divisions to monitor broadcasts on private media outlets and social networks.
Since then, the fact that he has not made any public appearance spurred rumors that the president may have passed away on foreign grounds.
However, the administration said on Tuesday that the president is alive and in good health.
The Minister of Communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, stated; “The government of the republic, unequivocally affirms that these rumors are pure fantasy and imagination on the part of their authors and hereby wishes to formally debunk such rumors. ”
He noted that the Cameroonian president is in Europe on leave.
“However, he remains as usual, and wherever he may be, attentive to the development of national life,” the communications minister added.
As reported by Reuters, the prohibition was met with criticism given that it was labeled as censorship.
“The president is elected by Cameroonians and it’s just normal that they worry about his whereabouts,” said Hycenth Chia, a Yaounde-based journalist and talk show host on privately owned television Canal2 International.
“We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo,” he told Reuters.
Press freedom advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists also weighed in on the matter, stating, with the head of the CPJ’s Africa Program stating, “trying to hide behind national security on such a major issue of national importance is outrageous.”
One of the major reasons why the rumor began spreading has to do with the president’s absence at a conference in France last weekend, which he was scheduled to attend.
