Eyeglasses-gate that blinds Cameroon’s press freedom.

In the first place, as the Minister clarified later, his glasses were not stolen, so he could not have made any complaint to the police. When he read the bizarre story, there are reports that in a brief handwritten message, released on Tuesday, September 22, he affirmed his commitment to the journalism profession and asserted that his respect for the media cannot be reduced to a pair of glasses.

In the same vein, the communications unit of his Ministry also officially denied that the minister personally ordered the arrest of the four journalists or initiated legal proceedings against them.

According to the explanation, the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding in which the minister entrusted his glasses to a member of his staff, who obviously forgot where he kept it. It was was eventually found intact in the minister's personal vehicle the next day. Ironically, the accused remained incarcerated.

Instead, suspicion of stealing the glasses was dumped and as the detainees told colleagues later, a new accusation was slammed on them as "unauthorised intrusion" into a closed-door meeting at the Yaounde Conference Centre.

That was during the closing ceremony of the Islamic Development Bank, intended to mobilise approximately 253.1 billion FCFA in financing commitments and expressions of interest. It targets sectors such as modernisation of basic infrastructure like roads and transport, energy and renewable energy, agriculture and rural development, small business financing. Journalists were invited to report on the development issues and so, it could not have been a “close door” event.

As narrated later by one of the reporters, they were asked by the police; “Are you the ones who go to the Conference Centre to extort money from the Minister?"  

He added that, "we were supposed to be taken to the Prosecutor's Office on Monday, but we were approached by the Minister's aides, who told us that he had nothing to do with the affair; and that in fact, his glasses had been found". 

They then gained their freedom, triggering vitriolic condemnation from national and international media organs and trade unions such as the National Union of Information and Communication Professionals, which denounced the detention as abusive and arbitrary.

In a statement, the Union reiterated its grave concerns regarding the health of the four journalists, who were “arbitrarily detained in cells that failed to meet hygiene standards or the norms prescribed by international law”.

Additionally, Thierry Eba, President of the Union, who issued the press release, threatened that “in accordance with international law,” they will “work alongside human rights advocates and organisations dedicated to protecting press professionals, with the aim of putting an end to these flagrant abuses by the authorities responsible for maintaining public order and peace”.

The sad saga, as some national and foreign media wrote, is that press freedom in Cameroon is in danger.

Cameroun Web, an online media organ, wrote: "This affair casts a harsh light on the daily vulnerability of journalists in Cameroon. By throwing reporters in jail based on such a grotesque suspicion and without a warrant, the police are not just looking for glasses: they are blinding the freedom to inform. They are sending a terrifying signal to the entire profession: that any pretext, however trivial, can be used to muzzle, humiliate, and imprison a journalist". 

In Gabon, Benin, Burkina Faso etc, they are having a field day with the stories like "A bizarre affair that is as outlandish as it is hilarious," exclaimed Faso.net.

"Ruffled and angry, and rightly so, the profession is up in arms over this disgrace brought upon the trade,” Aujourd’hui, of Gabon, wrote. 

This 'Glasses-gate' in Cameroon, which has taken the internet by storm, nonetheless, serves as an indicator, the Burkinabe website asserted and added: "journalists rub shoulders with those in power but risk being singled out for attack at any moment (…). 'Glasses-gate' highlights the fact that Cameroonian journalists need thick skins to withstand the whims of the powerful". 

In its index this year, Reporters Without Borders, ranked Cameroon 133rd globally for press freedom, down from 131st and noted that despite having one of the richest media landscapes in Africa, Cameroon remains “one of the most dangerous countries on the continent for journalists”. 

In this so-called Glasses-gate, the minister at the centre has, like Pontius Pilate, washed his hands clean.

The Guardian Post sees the detention without the minister's complaint as a serious violation of human rights and press freedom, leaving many questions unanswered, which the judiciary should provide answers through an investigation.

Who complained about stolen glasses to the police? Even if the glasses were stolen, why were the suspects, presumed innocent until proven beyond reasonable doubt, not released on bail?

When the glasses were found the next day, why were the suspects kept in detention for three more days?

Isn’t it, to borrow from Albert Mokong, a case of “Prisoners Without a Crime,” which deserves compensation for the detainees by those who kept them in deplorable conditions for five agonising days?

Like Mukong, who was compensated, such an investigation should make those who use their office ultra vires to detain journalists to personally pay reparation to deter others who perceive journalists as their punching bags for just doing their legal assignment.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3919 of Thursday September 24, 2026