BY TAC
Reporting upcoming elections especially the October 12 and November 30, 2025 Presidential and Regional elections respectively, will no longer be a hard nut to crack for media practitioners in Kumba, Meme Division, South West Region of Cameroon. Journalists under the canopy of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ, Kumba chapter are now well equiped in elections reporting and safety rules for reporters.
This was during a two-day seminar that took place at the Kumba City Council auditorium from Wednesday, 3 and Thursday, 4, September, 2025, fully sponsored by the Kumba City Council.
Kick – starting the seminar, the Divisional Delegate for Communication in Meme Division, personal representative of the Minister of Communication, Ebane Slesor Kome, while hailing the Kumba CAMASEJ chapter headed by Nziah Bweh for the initiative being the first of its kind in Kumba, stressed on the need to respect the ethics and canons of the profession as journalists get set to cover upcoming elections in Cameroon.
The CAMASEJ Kumba Chapter president, Nziah Bweh on his part, while congratulating the main sponsor of the workshop, the Kumba City Council, encouraged members and participants of the two-day workshop to take the training serious so that journalists in Kumba be rated the best before, during and after the elections interms of reporting.
The interractive seminar was facilitated by refined journalists in the Cameroon media landscape.
Sah Terence Animbom, (Journalist, Communication Consultant, Country Director Medias et Democratie, Founder, CEO Community Solutions, Media CPS, US Gov Exchange Alumnus, and Journalism Trainer), while drilling participants on the difference between Journalism and Communication in elections reporting, engaged participants on understanding elections reporting, role of Journalists in elections, techniques for researching candidates and issues, importance of fact- checking, tools and resources for verification and the importance of elections reporting. The Journalism trainer, Sah Terence Animbom concluded his exposer by advising Journalists that in elections reporting, they should understand that “a Journalist isn’t a judge, drawing the line between the right and wrong, but a referee between the devil and the angel”.
Veteran journalist, Njomo Kevin focused on exprience sharing on elections coverage, reporting styles and formats.
Also, veteran journalist, Charlie Ndi Chia, drilled participants on understanding the risks in elections reporting with specific focus on safety protocols and best practices, personal safety tips for journalists, crowd management and conflict avoidance strategies, emergency response and digital security for journalists. Charlie Ndi Chia noted that journalists, while reporting shouldn’t be like a cricket making much noise but can’t find his way.
Innocent Yuh, Editor- in- chief of Kumba-based Kingdom Radio FM, and Award Winning Humanitarian Reporter, elucidated on best practices for interviewing candidates and voters, crafting effecting questions and protecting personal information. He told journalists, “don’t be that dead journalist whose story will never be read” because he or she didn’t respect safety rules while reporting elections.
The 2nd Deputy Mayor for Kumba, Vivian Chibili, a journalist by training, drilled participants on recognising stress and coping strategies for journalists.
During the workshop, inputs came in from Veteran journalist, Prince Ndoki Esoka Mukete, who advised that journalists must advocate for each other, not condemn colleagues to win favours while reporting. The National President of CAMASEJ, Jude Viban hailed the Kumba Chapter for stridee despite the challenges. He used the opportunity to announce the holding of a CAMASEJ Annual General Meeting this year in Limbe come November.
The Kumba City Mayor, Gregory Mewanu and the South West Regional Chair of the SDF party HRM John Kona Makia, each took turns during the official ceremony to wrap up the two-day seminar to encourage the journalists for resilience while carrying on their herculean tasks.
The seminar ended with participants receiving certificates of participation.