Charges against him should be dropped and his right to freedom of expression and opinion should be respected underscores Human Right Watch.

On July 24, 23-year-old hairdresser and social networking activist Junior Ngombe was arrested outside his shop in Douala. According to his lawyers, Junior Ngombe was taken to a gendarmerie station in Douala before being transferred the next day to the Secretariat of State for Defence, a gendarmerie-run detention centre in the capital, Yaoundé.

Junior Ngombe’s lawyers said their client had been charged with ‘inciting rebellion’ and ‘spreading false news’. They believe the arrest is linked to several videos on TikTok in which Junior Ngombe encouraged people to register to vote in the 2025 presidential elections.

Reactions from politicians included those of Honourable Cabral Libii, Barrister Akere Muna and Maurice Kamto; calling for his release. In a press release issued last Friday 26th July, the leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM) called on President Paul Biya to order the immediate release of the young activist. “There is an urgent need to stop this creeping drift,” he concluded.