The 23-year-old TikToker was released on bail after spending a week in detention. First arrested on July 24 in Douala where he lives, he was transported to Yaoundé to the Secretariat of State for Defense. Lawyers and actors from national and international civil society mobilized to denounce the fate reserved for him.
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On social media, Junior Ngombe calls on Cameroonian youth in videos to register en masse on the electoral lists for 2025. He denounces the stranglehold of the RDPC, the majority party, on the system and advocates for alternation.
Shortly after his release from the Yaoundé military court, on the phone, Junior Ngombe, relieved, assures that he has not been subjected to any physical torture. Released on bail, he is not, for the moment, charged with inciting rebellion or spreading false news but he must remain at the disposal of the military justice system because the investigation is continuing.
Among the lawyers who volunteered to assist him, former president of the bar Akere Muna, Mr. Serge Emmanuel Chendjou and Mr. Hippolyte Meli. All of them contest the jurisdiction of the Yaoundé Military Court to prosecute a civilian for comments made online.
He has not been charged because the investigating judge has not yet been notified. We also do not know whether the proceedings have been closed or whether the charges have been dropped. This means that a sword of Damocles still hangs over his head and that at any time, justice could revive these proceedings.
Master Hyppolite Meli, one of Junior Ngombe’s lawyers
They also denounce the arrest of Junior Ngombe by men in civilian clothes without a warrant on the evening of Wednesday, July 24 in Douala. And his subsequent transfer to Yaoundé. In the video that apparently made the authorities react, Junior Ngombe repeated that in 2025 “Either we win or we ruin everything” “And addressing the ruling party, the RDPC: “ We don’t want to negotiate anything with you anymore.. We know you’re going to rig the elections “.
Human Rights Watch recalls that the use of military justice for civilians violates international law. The NGO says it is concerned by ” Widespread crackdown on dissent in Cameroon ahead of 2025 presidential election “.
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