Government Statement On Wazizi’s Death Raises Dust

By Tarhyang Enowbikah Tabe And Kum KK Bandolo

The Government of Cameroon has declared that Journalist Samuel Ebuwe Ajiekia a.k.a Samuel Wazizi is dead.

The declaration was made public by the Chief of Communication in the Ministry of Defense, Cyrille Serge Atonfack, through a communiqué dated June 5, 2020.

According to the communiqué, the journalist died due to infections in a military hospital in Yaounde since August 17, 2019.

The communiqué further revealed that he has been in constant communication with his family since he was arrested on August 2 and also states that when he died, his family was informed about his demise and where his corpse had been deposited pending burial.

The same document also wondered why the family of the late journalists decided to abandon the corpse at the morgue till date.

The government representative further says Wazizi was arrested for having connections with terrorists and complicity in terrorism acts, adding that after investigation, they discovered that he was a logistician for several terrorism groups.

On August 7, according to the document, Wazizi was sent to the 21 Motorized Infantry Brigade and latter transferred to the Central Criminal Investigation Service of the National Gendarmerie on August 13, 2019.

We are also told by the communiqué that upon arrival in Yaounde, he was feverish and was sent to the military hospital for treatment.

Cyrille Serge Atonfack, in his communiqué declared that Wazizzi died on August 17, 2019 as a result of severe Sepsis and not from any form of torture or physical abuse.

These declarations from the government, it should be noted comes after a Douala-based TV station had announced, authoritatively, that Samuel Wazizi had died sometime in August 2019.

The announcement from the TV station is reported to have been an eye opener to journalist who have since his arrest, been clamoring for his release or at least an appearance in court.

Unable to have access to their client, the lawyers filed a habeas corpus lawsuit on August 13, 2020 urging the government to produce their client for a formal court hearing to answer to the charges levied against him.

While the lawyers were pressing the court to produce their client, the journalists associations to which Samuel Wazizi was a registered member, joined their voices to that of the lawyers on November 5, 2019.

The silence from the government and repeated adjournment of the case pitting Samuel Wazizi against the Republic of Cameroon became unnatural and many concerned groups treated the silence with contempt.

By the start of the year 2020, the absence or disappearance of Samuel Wazizi from the face of the earth was more real than apparent and the noise-level from journalists associations was reverberating across the lands and oceans to far-away boarders.

The smile-looking and composed portrait of Samuel Wazizi could be seen on all newspaper pages, social media groups and public posters.

The situation finally went off hand on Wednesday June 3, 2020 when the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalist, CAMASEJ, and other journalists' associations stormed the Southwest governor's office asking explanations on the whereabouts of their colleague following the announcement of his death by a TV Station based in Douala on Teusday June 2, 2020.

The Southwest governor, Bernard Okala Bilai, is reported to have distanced himself and his Region from the Samuel Wazizi case.

Governor Bernard Okala Bilia is on record to have told the pressmen in the conclave that Yaounde should give an account of the journalist's sudden disappearance.

He further told journalists that by the time Samuel Wazizi was being taken to Yaounde, he was in good health.

Speaking after an audience with South West Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai, the National Vice President of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, CAMASEJ stated that, “We want to say that it will not end here and won’t end today. We are bent in making sure that justice for Wazizi must prevail.
 If they don’t want to tell us what happened here In the South West, definitely Yaounde is going to tell us”

As the journalists were considering their next action, that is to take Yaounde by storm, then came the communiqué from the government through the Chief of Communication in the Ministry of Defense, Cyrille Serge Atonfack, on June 5, 2020.

Matters Arising

The communiqué from the Ministry of defense ever since it was released on June 5, has been attacked and challenged by many sources with a lot of unanswered questions raised both online and offline.

Contact With Family?

The first reaction came from the family through his brother, Henry Abogho, who denied the government’s claim that they were both in constant communication with Wazizi and were aware of his situation and the death.

After being briefed by a journalist on government position regarding Wazizi’s death, his brother is reported to have said, “Since Wazizi left Muea police no calls no news. I would have told you because I know you as a journalist and friend to Wazizi. I am the one following up the case for my family and my number is everywhere, why did they not call me, they are lying.”

According to Henry, “The last time I saw my brother was at Muea police station. When they took him to the 21st motorized infantry battalion, I went there several times but they chased me away saying people are not detained there”.

Any Form Of Torture?

RFI spoke with Emmanuel Nkea, one of Wazizi’s lawyers, on Friday after the military statement was released.  

He says that they had received new evidence on Friday from a close friend of the deceased journalist that he had been tortured.

“This person has confirmed to us that…some people had called her phone and said to her that they wanted her to send some money to Wazizi, intimating to her that Wazizi had been so badly beaten, to a point that his waist was broken,” says Nkea.

The lawyer says that they are protecting her identity for now, but when Wazizi had originally been arrested in 2019, he had given him a list of close contacts that included this person.

The people calling the contact said “he needed medical assistance, so she sent FCFA 20,000 to a particular number with the name of the person. We have all these details,” says Nkea.

“We strongly feel that this isn’t a case that can be looked at lightly. In fact, if the government knew that this man was dead and that we were in court, they should have told us that he is dead. We should be informed,” he added.

Treatment of Sepsis

According to research, Sepsis could actually result from over infected wounds (sustained from torture) or improper nursing care or no access treatment for existing/underlying health conditions. 

In short, a mix of torture, neglect, poor detention conditions and refusal of access to proper care can all culminate in severe sepsis or even a septic shock which is often the cause of death.

Sepsis, according to experts, causes poor organ function or blood flow. The presence of low blood pressure, high blood lactate, or low urine output may suggest poor blood flow. Septic shock is low blood pressure due to sepsis that does not improve after fluid replacement.

Health experts say because of problems with vital organs, people with severe sepsis are likely to be very ill with up to 4 in every 10 people with the condition liable to die.

Dr Gilbert Ebanja, a Cameroonian medical doctor says, Sepsis is treatable if it is identified and treated quickly, if not it will move from Sepsis to severe Sepsis.

He added that if a person’s blood is infected with germs, it takes 48 hours to turn to Sepsis.

With regards to the claim of government that Wazizi suffered a severe Sepsis that took away his life, the Defence Counsel for Wazizi has insisted that an independent autopsy be carried out to ascertain the real cause of his death.

Enter CPJ

On the matter, Angela Quintal, Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, in an online interview with HI TV Cameroon, said she was sad and shocked by the outcome.

According to her, on several occasions she had asked questions to top government officials on the whereabouts of Wazizi.

She adds that her organization later heard that he has died in detention and turned to advocacy groups and diplomatic missions, yet there was absolute silence.

With the outing of the Government declaring him dead, she said it is a sad date and that this is not the end as they will find justice for Wazizi.

According to Angela Quintal, Cameroon is the second worst country in Sub Saharan Africa where journalists are at risk.

Tough Job For Commission Of Inquiry

Speaking on State Television on June 5, the French Ambassador to Cameroon, Christophe Ghilhou, said President Paul Biya will order an investigation into the death of journalist Samuel Wazizi.

The French Ambassador who was granted an audience by President Biya at the Unity palace on June 5, 2020, says among other things, they discussed the fight against coronavirus, the Anglophone crisis, Wazizi’s dead and they also exchanged notes on bilateral relations.

The Defence Counsel of the deceased, Barrister Ewule Edward Lyonga, has equally call for an independent investigation into the matter.

According to the legal luminary, an independent investigation will give an opportunity for free minds to uncover the circumstances that lead to the death of Wazizi.

“A commission made up of journalists, Civil Society Actors, Religious leaders, and other free minded personalities, will uncover the circumstances that lead to the death of Samuel Wazizi,” Barrister Ewule posited.

The legal mind went ahead to intimate that there can be justice for Wazizi amidst the pressure mounted on government within and out of the country.

It's expected that the Head-of-state's commission of inquiry will unfold the mystery and answer some of these questions raised.