Afrique Media: Crowd prevent the closure of the Douala office

The installation of seals on the premises of the television Afrique Media in Douala, scheduled on August 7, 2015, did not take place.

Stakeholders and other supporters of the TV channel demanded the presence of administrative, judicial and members of the National Communication Council, promoters of the sanction by the three commissioners of Douala.

The authority executed their mission on Monday, August 10, 2015 afternoon, the three Commissioners of Police of the city of Douala, (Central No. 2, 10th and 11th police districts) dispatched by the National Communication Council (CNC), who arrived with many elements could not affix seals on the building. They faced the resistance of a crowd made up of Afrique Media stakeholders like commercial bike-riders, managers of the channel supporters and residents of Ndogbong neighbourhood.

Nearly two hundred people prevented the policemen from entering the compound of the TV channel to perform their task. They closed the gate with chains when they entered the Headquarters of Africa Media.

“They came without NCC members, without the administrative authority, without judicial authority. The people closed the gates with chains, blocking the inside. They had to negotiate to come out,” said Jules Njawé, an adviser to the CEO of Africa Media, Justin Blaise Tagouh.

He argued that the Afrique Media supporters opposed the commissioners that the complaint of the channel against the NCC is still pending in the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court.

According to sources, the police finally abandoned the task after intervention by the authorities who urged them to respect the legal proceedings. Afrique Media Cameroon's head office in Yaoundé was sealed on August 6, 2015. However, there was no resistance.