By Doh James Sonkey
The President of the National Communication Council, NCC Joseph Chengbongkeng Kalabubse and the President of the Cameroon National Human Rights Commission, James Mouangue Kobila have in saparate outings dangled warnng on media houses for publishing or broadcasting inaccurate, inappropriatem hateful and prejudicial information.
In a press release published last April 20, 2023, the President of the National Communication Council noted that the upsurge of sociopolitical events in Cameroon have pushed some media organs to “make a name through recidivist publications or broadcasting of insinuating information, biased commentaries, or inappropriate opinions which therefore favour a practice that defies all professional requirements of investigation, prior cross checking, objectivity and responsibilities.”
The NCC boss said “such practice is rather geared at promoting a pernicious social climate than to a professional information service, the professional activity of gathering and processing information in no way justifies communication conveying hatred, stigmatization or rushed accusations, the media’s social responsibility does not involve judging but rather reporting, while observing a required professional distance on verified and proven social events, the media has to play at all times a crucial role in nation building through its threefold mission of information, education and social cohesion.”
Joseph Chebongkeng concluded by reminding “media professionals and participants of their various talk shows on the gravity of the ramifications that may ensue from publishing or broadcasting inaccurate, inappropriate and prejudicial information to social cohesion, national peace and to the dignity and honour of persons.”
He threatens media actors of his “firm resolve to enforce, where necessary the full range of sanctions provided for by the law in force.”
On his part, the president of the Cameroon National Human Rights Commission, James Mouangue Kobila says the nation was appalled to learn the hateful and tribalistic remarks of Prof Claude Abe as guest on Vision 4 Television on the programme Club dElites broadcast live last April 16, 2023.
The press release points out that Prof Claude Abe suggested the following to the gullibility of the public during this television programme, “how can you understand that today, a certain number of individuals meet on Saturday or Sunday and say “henceforth we are going to buy such and such a side of Cameroon” and they do in the name of the vulnerability of some and others
According to the press release these absurd ill considered and inflammatory statements in which Mr Claude Abe calls on everyone to go back home are not only inane as it is inconceivable to ask a Cameroonian who legally resides, has established his or her residence or who is passing through a particular location in the country to go back home, they are above all a sad example of stigmatization of a community and hate speech.
It was more shocked by the reaction of Dieudonne Essomba in a social media post titled Tribal Discourse in which he incites hatred and promote tribal or ethnic violence when he states that “the ethnopolisation of an economic segment i.e. its controlled by one community can give rise to violent hostility from others especially when such control takes on the character of a ghetto where the beneficiary community prevents by various means the entrance of other communities.”
The Commission is alarmed by the multiplication of verbal abuses which are a frontal attack of human rights and undermine harmonious living together in Cameroon.