October 12 poll: Political debate programmes should be increased, not proscribed.

The October 12 presidential election has been described by many critical observers as pregnant with risks and challenges. 

Various concerned citizens of mettle and organisations have held seminars and lectured many on "election reporting".

It is not because reporters were not groomed sufficiently on the topic while in the faculties but to refresh their skills so they can inform the electorate on the issues at play, the lies politicians tell on campaign trails, and even in the words of legendary Mao Tse Tung, “promises to build bridges where there are no rivers".

Early in September, the National Communication Council, NCC, drilled media managers to ensure responsible coverage of the October 12 presidential election.

Surprisingly, it has banned debates on political programmes. So, what was the need drilling them if they shall not have the liberty, which is the pivot of journalism, to hold debates?

It is not, however, the first time the NCC is dabbling into the issue of curbing press freedom, which is democracy as defined by UNESCO.

On the eve of the last Senatorial election, the NCC, under the leadership of its former boss, Peter Esoka, ordered the ban on political programmes, insisting that political debates could cause conflict ahead of the elections.

He had added that Cameroon needed to promote peace, democracy, human rights, and avoid hate speech and journalists may incite the population with one-sided reporting, if some programmes were not frozen.

"Propaganda is when you go into elaborately praising one political party and what it has done and all kinds of shouting on what it is doing. That is propaganda. Now, there must be a limitation. Let them [journalists] as much as possible be able to keep to these principles," said Essoka.

The ban was however defied. One of the affected commentators told reporters later that he could not accept that someone should restrain freedom of speech in a country that claims it wants to be fully democratic. 

He said the pillar on which any true democracy should stand is freedom of expression and that Cameroonians needed to listen to and question all candidates for the Senatorial election on their political plans and asked the balance sheet of outgoing senators.

The recent suspension of political programmes, ahead of the October 12 poll, is once again raising dust whether the NCC has powers to curtail press freedom, which is guaranteed by Liberty Laws, the Constitution and Universal Declaration of human rights of which Cameroon is a signatory.

In 2017, some Vision 4 Television journalists were suspended for two months. They snubbed the suspension and dragged the NCC to court.

After the trial, the Ngouomou Court of First Instance slammed then NCC boss, Peter Essoka a six- month jail term suspended for three years, for "defamation through the media... and abuse of office."

He was also ordered to pay 15 million FCFA in damages to the L'Anecdote Media Group, 785,000 FCFA in compensation to the Vision 4 channel, and 2 million FCFA in legal costs.

It raised the question of the role of the NCC as a "regulatory body" taking into consideration judicial provisions that make irresponsible journalism, if it results in libel, a criminal offence.

By its own text, the NCC is a "regulatory and consultative body," which promotes "equality in access to the media, especially during election periods; freedom and responsibility of the media; independence of the public and private services of communication; transparency, pluralism and balance in the programmes of the communication companies."

It is a mission statement worthy of kudos. But what has been in cancerous contention is its role as a "court" issuing sanctions and suspension of entire media houses, even for a flip by a reporter.

Such sanctions offer a double jeopardy because even with the caustic penalty, an aggrieved party can still sue in a court of justice. 

What has even been questionable is that during an election, instead of encouraging political programmes, and even organising television debates for contestants to challenge each other on the feasibility of their manifestoes, the few existing programmes are being proscribed.

There are over 300 political parties in Cameroon because, to quote the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, the Head of State wants to "enrich the political scene".

We can only do that with an equally enlarged media landscape from where reporters can filter contributions that promote peace, unity and justice.

Any attempt to limit political debates in a country with draconian laws that sanction gutter journalists can only be to inadvertently ferment a toxic praxis rooted against one of the main pivots of democracy - freedom of the press. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3576 of Friday September 26, 2025