The National Communication Council (CNC) took a firm stance during its 49th ordinary session, held in Yaoundé on March 5, 2026, by sanctioning seven journalists and several media outlets. These disciplinary measures, ranging from suspensions to warnings, target content deemed non-compliant with journalistic ethics and deontology. These decisions have reignited the debate on press freedom in Cameroon.
Several complaints were examined by the CNC, chaired by Joseph Chebongkeng Kalabubse. The daily newspaper Le Jour is particularly affected: its publication director, Haman Mana, received a warning, while its editor-in-chief, Jules Romuald Nkonlak, and journalist Adolarc Lamissa were suspended for one month. Nkonlak is sanctioned for an article analyzing the results of the presidential election, while Lamissa is sanctioned following a complaint by Galax Etoga, Secretary of State to the Minister of Defense, in charge of the National Gendarmerie, who accused him of publishing "unfounded and misleading" information likely to discredit the National Gendarmerie.
The most severe sanction affects Emmanuel Yimga and his newspaper L'Ouragan Indépendant, suspended for six months. The CNC justifies this decision by the fact that the publication director did not respond to the summonses from the authority. Philippe Boney, host of the program Club d'Élites on Vision 4, received a one-month suspension for comments deemed offensive towards Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and for questioning the integrity of the presidential election. Richard Bondol, host of the program Génération Libre, is also sanctioned for breaches of journalistic ethics. The Equinoxe TV channel received a warning after broadcasting a statement attributed to Issa Tchiroma Bakary calling on people to stay home after the proclamation of the presidential election results.
These sanctions have sparked mixed reactions. Haman Mana, publication director of the daily newspaper Le Jour, reacted by stating that this decision undermined his professional honor, considering the verdict as "a kind of tribute from vice to virtue". The National Union of Journalists of Cameroon (SNJC) has denounced these sanctions, calling them a "repetitive repression of the media" and calling for self-regulation of the profession.
The CNC, the media regulatory body in Cameroon, is responsible for ensuring compliance with laws regarding social communication, ethics and professional conduct. Its decisions come in a context where press freedom in Cameroon is regularly questioned by organizations defending the rights of journalists.
