Cameroon: Sports Reporter Eyong Macdella Bessong Physically Assaulted Over A Discussion About Her Digital Press Pass For A Football Match

Location: Cameroon, Buea  
Date: May 27, 2022

Photo Credit: CPJ

Sports reporter of a private Pan-African sports website kick442.com, Eyong Macdella Bessong was physically assaulted by policemen, when she was entering the Molyko Omnisport Stadium to cover a football match on May 18. She was barred and dragged away from the main pitch before the game started because she could not indicate the hard copy of her press accreditation and only had a digital copy on her mobile phone. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the brutal attack on the journalist and demands that Cameroonian authorities take action against the police officers who were responsible for the assault. 

Njonje Mbua, the Molyko Omnisport Stadium’s director, refused to recognize the digital press accreditation of Eyong’s and insisted the journalist either buy a ticket or return home to bring her hard press pass to enter the main pitch in Buea. The journalist told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that the stadium director manhandled her and grabbed her torso, touching her breast, so she bit his hand, prompting him to order a group of six policemen to drag her out of the stadium. 

Eyong said she could not recognize the two uniformed police officers who attempted to remove her from the area. When the group of football players asked what was happening and recognized Eyong as a journalist, she explained her situation and showed her press pass on the phone. One of the police officers falsely believed that she took his picture and forced her to delete it, while she was showing her press pass to the footballers. The police officer pulled her hair, slapped her at least three times on her face and threw her on the floor, and kicked her. He also called her “prostitute”, according to her explanations to CPJ. 

Eyong’s editor also spoke about the incidents and explained what was going on in the stadium when the journalist arrived. He said the journalist, who was running late and was aiming to photograph the start of the football match, did not recognize the stadium’s director and that he was the stadium’s official. She thought she was an unwanted individual in advance as a woman in the country.  

Thereafter also the stadium director attacked her and literally sexually harassed her. He grabbed her and touched her breasts, and began dragging her away, resulting in her self-defense biting his hand to free herself, told the editor of the sports website, Angu Lesley to CPJ. 

Following the incident, the journalist had medical treatment at a clinic. According to her official medical report, Eyong had “generalized body pains, bilaterally swollen eyes, sprain on upper arm and bruise on right lateral leg following the physical assault.” 

The stadium director will be questioned about the events that took place in Buea on May 31, editor Lesley revealed to the CPJ. He said he is hoping the unidentified policeman who assaulted the journalist will be found at that time. 

Mbua, the stadium director, also alleged that when the police called Eyong to check her accreditation she refused to indicate her press pass and insulted them and that was when they intervened with her. He also claimed the tension rose when he did not allow journalists to play football on May 3, World Press Freedom Day. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is utterly dismayed by the deliberate misogynist attack and sexual harassment against Eyong. The physical attacks against journalists in Cameroon are extremely disquieting and unacceptable. The authorities must find the perpetrators immediately and impose necessary sanctions on them. The security officials must ensure journalists’ safety, attacking them instead.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

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