The Guardian Post unveils Silver Jubilee activities.

It was the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Kristian Ngah Christian, who faced the journalists at the presser.

Organized at ultra-modern the headquarters of The Guardian Post, the press conference assembled journalists from local and international media organs.

It came weeks to the celebration of the media organ’s 25^th anniversary to be celebrated on November 14 in Yaounde.

How it all started…

Speaking at last Friday’s press conference before fielding questions from journalists, The Guardian Post Publisher, Kristian Ngah Christian, recounted the history behind the creation of the media organ.

The widely traveled newspaper publisher disclosed at the presser that the first ed1ition of The Guardian Post hit the newsstands in the morning of Thursday, August 30, 2001. 

Ngah who sits atop the Cameroon English Language Newspaper Publishers Association, CENPA, said: “Today, as we stand on the threshold of our grand Silver Jubilee celebration, scheduled for November 14, 2026, I called this press conference to formally announce our quarter-century journey, to reflect on humble beginning, struggles and strides; and to unveil our bold vision for the future”.

Speaking at the presser, Ngah disclosed to journalists that The Guardian Post was born with a meagre shoe-string budget of 150,000 FCFA, out of pain and frustration. 

Ngah who is Vice President of the Federation of Newspaper Publishers of Cameroon, FEDIPRESSE, recalled that as a young passionate reporter in 2001, he was denied recruitment at the State-run bilingual daily, Cameroon Tribune “because a heavyweight in the corridors of power conspired and personally blocked my employment, in favour of a candidate from his Region of origin”.

He said the frustration, heartbreak and narrow escape of being hit by a speeding brewery truck, served as a wake-up call to begin something of his own. 

“That is how I gathered the little resources I had to launch The Guardian Post, on August 30, 2001, which also happened to be my birthday,” he recounted.

Ngah said what began as a desperate struggle to put food on the table has today matured into an institution that is also putting food on the tables of more than 50 Cameroonians directly, and hundreds indirectly. 

He recalled that: “When The Guardian Post debuted in the slippery, harsh, cash-strapped, and unpredictable print media landscape in Cameroon, many predicted its demise. Yet, through hard work, sacrifice, unyielding faith in God, and an absolute commitment to journalism integrity, we have refused to give up”.

Ngah noted that the journey of The Guardian Post has been anything but a bed of roses. 

He said the media organ has faced severe difficulties including sabotage, financial stress, online phishing, fake front-page fabrications, and threats from individuals who felt challenged by the newspaper’s daring and middle-of-the-road editorial policy.

Targeted to be killed

In his preliminary statement delivered during last Friday’s press conference, Ngah was blunt that in its 25-year of existence, Ngah The Guardian Post will never forget the controversial back-to-back sanctions, imposed by the National Communication Council, NCC, in 2013. 

He recounted that: “We were slammed with an initial two-month suspension without being given the legal right to defend ourselves. Barely two weeks after returning to the stands, a second three-month suspension was served us; we dare say unjustly. Yes, unjustly because like in the first suspension, we were never summoned for hearing”. 

He said in what has been documented as the most scandalous NCC sanction, The Guardian Post was served a three-month suspension, based on a complaint that was filed by a group of Yaounde-based English-speaking journalists.

He disclosed at the press conference that the journalists had judged that the newspaper’s Publisher/Editor-In-Chief, had in an interview after the two-month suspension, made injurious statements against two Anglophone members of the NCC.

“Note should be taken that according to the text creating NCC, only the person or institution who finds fault in a media report or his lawyer, can seize the media watchdog institution,” he quickly noted, regretting that dozens of employees and their families saw their livelihoods threatened. 

“Yet, throughout those dark months, we maintained our humane corporate culture and paid our staff in full without fail,” he continued.

He said despite the trials, The Guardian Post emerged stronger; returning to the stands as Cameroon’s very first English-language daily newspaper. 

“It is this determination that has also enabled us to shatter national and international glass ceilings, establishing records that place us at the forefront of the media sector in Central Africa,” he added.

He recalled that from an irregular weekly, The Guardian Post expanded to a bi-weekly, a tri-weekly, a five-day daily in 2016, and eventually a six-day publication with the launch of The Guardian Post Sunday in 2022. 

“Today, we hold the distinction of being the only newspaper publishing seven days a week (Mondays to Sundays) in the CEMAC and ECCAS Subregions, supported by The Guardian Post Sports and The Guardian Post Magazine,” he boasted.

“In 2018, we transitioned from renting at the Tam-Tam neighbourhood to acquiring a piece of land and constructing our own ultramodern head office, in Efoulan Lac, where we have operated since 2019,” he continued.

What makes The Guardian Post unique!

In his scripted address last Friday, Kristian Ngah, described The Guardian Post as “God’s own newspaper”.

He said besides being the only newspaper in the subregion that publishes seven times a week, The Guardian Post runs its own printing press. 

“We now run a 24-hour 7/7 Printing Press. We have also moved from a black-and-white printing to full-colour front and back pages and run a functional website, where even our electronic copies are sold,” he told reporters.

In 25 years of fearless reporting, Ngah said The Guardian Post has never been dragged to court for libel or defamation. 

He said the media organ’s time-tested credibility accounts for the over 10,000 subscribers of its electronic versions, while 80% of the 3,000 printed copies of the newspaper are also purchased by institutional and individual subscribers.

“From a one-man show, we now employ over 50 professionals within and outside Cameroon, maintaining an unbroken 25-year record of paying salaries consistently; on or before every 25^th of the month,” Ngah mentioned, before noting that as The Guardian Post celebrates 25 years of serving as the voice of the voiceless, holding authority to account, and advancing Cameroon's democracy, the media organ is launching a weeklong Silver Jubilee programme, running from November 9 to November 14, 2026. 

Flurry of anniversary activities

Ngah disclosed at the press conference that the weeklong activities to mark the 25^th anniversary of The Guardian Post will feature a thematic workshop and masterclasses for young print journalists to nurture the next generation of reporters.

Other activities, he said, will include an Open Door and Community Outreach Day to engage directly with its readers, civil society, and local communities.

He said a Sports Walk to promote wellness and fraternity among media professionals will be organised while a Grand Jubilee celebration will take place November 14, 2026, at the Concord International Hotel in Yaounde.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3944 of Monday October 19, 2026