Mounted police stop international price award for the press

The mounted police prevented the ceremony, scheduled December 8 at Foyer des marins in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, for the award of the Bibi Ngota price against impunity in Africa 2014.

A squad of gendarmes arrived at the scene, "uniformed and armed for combat", noted the writer Patrice Nganang, known for his diatribes against the regime of President Paul Biya.

Residing in the United States, he came to Cameroon for the international awards of Bibi Ngota, named after the Cameroonian journalist imprisoned in 2010 in turbid conditions.

The award which was in its 3rd edition was dedicated to the work of journalists who participated in the fight against impunity in Africa.

Patrice Nganang and the other organizers of the event were arrested and taken to the grouping of the Douala gendarmerie services. "All documents of the ceremony were confiscated: speech, trophies, diplomas of excellence, etc", noted the writer who is a member of the Tribunal article 53 association which organized the Bibi Ngota price. Coordinator of the association, Gérard Kuissu, was arrested, along with two other members.

Shortly after these arrests, the news toured the city. Several journalists and politicians converged on the premises of the mounted police. The four arrested persons were heard and then released, but gendarmes kept the trophies.

The award ceremony had been prohibited by the sub-prefect of Douala 1 under the reasons of serious risks of disturbance of public order and non-compliance with article 11 of the law on associations. Reasons that Patrice Nganang said he did not understand because in 2012 and 2013, the same ceremony was held without a problem.

This year's winners are Cameroonian journalists Sebastian Chi Elvido and Edith Wirdze, as well as Steven Ozias Kiemtore from Burkina Faso.