The Protection of Freedom of Speech and Press in Cameroon: A Legal Appraisal

Freedom of speech and press is a pertinent issue in most countries around the world but is a very critical situation in Cameroon. With the evolution of things in Cameroon, freedom of speech and press remains a very fundamental issue in that society, as such the citizens are skeptical whenever it comes to issues about freedom of speech and press. That as is attributed to the fact that they know the consequences of freedom after speech which makes them doubt if the state of Cameroon adheres to the protection of same. However, the Cameroonian government has put in place measures through legal and policy framework to protect its citizens. This paper therefore seeks to assess the protection put in place by the government of Cameroon for its citizens. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology with thematic content analyses of primary and secondary data. The ensuing result reveals that there is inadequate protection of freedom of speech and press in Cameroon which is a violation of the constitutional right of its citizens. As a result, we recommend that the government set up supervisory body tasks to ensure that the rights of its citizens are guaranteed even after expressing their views regarding any subject matter.