MINAT boss bans media debates on Biya’s health!.

The letter, a copy of which The Guardian Post has seen, is dated Wednesday October 9. It is stamped “very urgent” and titled: “Banning of certain debates in the media”.

The MINAT boss insisted in the letter that “the Head of State is the first institution of the Republic. As such, debates about his health condition are a matter of national security.” He added that “any debate in the media on the health of the President of the Republic is therefore formally prohibited. Offenders will face the full force of the law”.

He added that, press releases from the Minister of Communication, Rene Emmanuel Sadi and the Minister, Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic, Samuel Mvondo Ayolo, on the whereabouts of the Head of State, put to rest all arguments.

Atanga Nji sounded firm that “no further comment or debate should be sanctioned by anyone in the private media during the week or at weekends.” 

He is firm that: “As of today, I am asking each Governor to set up monitoring units within their relevant departments to monitor and record all broadcasts and debates in the private media and to identify the authors of biased comments, including those who make them via social networks”.

             Attempts to disrupt peace 

Going by Atanga Nji, authors of information relating to Biya’s health and his whereabouts are in a desperate move to disturb the peace of Cameroonians. 

 He recalled that: “For some time now, unscrupulous people have been flooding the media and social networks with misleading news about the state of health of the President of the Republic. The unhealthy aim of these rumours is to disrupt the peace of mind of Cameroonians and sow confusion and doubt in people's minds, with a view to plunging the country into uncertainty”.

He said Ministers Sadi and Ayolo, in their outings, had denied and condemned “these abuses and formally denying the fanciful rumours circulating about the state of the President of the Republic”.

No room for complacency

In addition to banning debates on President Biya’s health, Atanga Nji, in the Wednesday October 9 letter, instructed governors “to take appropriate measures to ensure strict compliance with these directives without the slightest complacency”.

Context of ban

Minister Atanga Nji’s order comes amid an atmosphere of varied narratives about the health of the Head of State and his whereabouts, since he was last seen leaving Beijing, China, on September 8, 2024.  This was after he took part in the 4th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, FOCAC.

The Minister, Director of the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of Republic, Mvondo Ayolo Samuel, had in a release on October 8, said President Biya is in Geneva, Switzerland. He had also said despite being far away from Cameroon, Biya is following up developments in the country, running affairs and is in good health. Minister Ayolo, like Rene Sadi, had also assured that the Head of State will be back to the country in the coming days. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3256 of Friday October 11, 2024