Journalists detained for covering dead baby court hearing

Two journalists from The Post and Eden newspapers were recently detained at the Meme High Court for daring to follow court proceedings of the case pitting The Hope Parma Hospital and a German couple.

The couple lost a 24-week-old baby at the health facility under controversial circumstances and decided to seize the court claiming FCFA 100 million from the hospital.

Eden's Jude Njinjuh and the Kumba Bureau Chief of The Post were placed under custody for over an hour following instructions from the presiding Judge handling the case.

The two reporters who stood outside the court room taking notes on proceedings were queried by one of the Court Registrars for following proceedings without authorisation from the State Prosecutor.

While the case was in progress, a Court Clerk who alerted the court on the presence of journalists confiscated the property of the reporters. Thereafter, she informed the Magistrate of their presence and returned with information that the Judge had asked for the duo to be kept in custody.

Immediately, the bodyguard of the State Prosecutor was called in to handcuff the reporters. The security official stepped into the Registrar's office and collected the identity cards of the reporters, asking them to wait till further information.

The Registrar in whose office the journalists were detained kept arguing that the reporters were responsible for a publication in a local pamphlet, Cameroon Report,' wherein the judgment of a case stillto be heard had already been published.

The report in Cameroon Report talked of the court having passed the judgment of the case and asking Dr. Jerry Etabong Esua of the Hope Parma Clinic Hospital to pay a fine of FCFA 100 million plus a bail of FCFA 10 million.

When the journalists attempted to clarify the court staff about the confusion, he said the issue was already at the level of the court and only the judge could decide their fate.

Emerging from the court room, Justice Vivian Mengalle handling the dead baby case demanded to know from the reporters if they were responsible for the publication. When she learnt that the detained journalists were reporting for The Post and Eden, she ordered for their release.

Adeline Kimbiwe, the mother of the dead baby,recounted her own side of the story for over two hours.

Kimbiwe’s husband is expected to appear in court for his own submissions and cross-examination.