Twenty days have passed without news of Yérima Djoubaïrou Tchéboa, 52, a Cameroonian political activist and government critic who was snatched off the streets of N’Gaoundéré, in Cameroon’s northern Adamawa region, and is presumed to be forcibly disappeared by the authorities.
According to a witness interviewed by Human Rights Watch, on December 24, 2024, at least two men picked up Djoubaïrou in the Bali neighborhood, along with two other men, and took away all three in a truck without license plates. The other two men were released shortly after, while Djoubaïrou remains missing.
Djoubaïrou’s relatives said they have searched for him in police and gendarmerie stations across N’Gaoundéré and filed reports with several police and gendarmerie units. Authorities have not provided any information on Djoubaïrou’s whereabouts, nor have they indicated if his case is being investigated.
Djoubaïrou’s sister said she went to the judicial police on December 24 and learned through one of the men who had originally been taken with Djoubaïrou that a police commissioner was in the truck that drove off with them.
Djoubaïrou, is known for his political activism on social media where he has criticized authorities and called for new leadership for the country. Two days before he was abducted, he published a message on Facebook accusing a ruling party leader of planning electoral fraud.
Cameroonian authorities have for years cracked down on opposition and free speech, jailing political activists and dissidents. Freedom of expression and association are being restricted in the run up to elections later this year.
In June 2024, gendarmes in N’Gaoundéré, arbitrarily rearrested artist Aboubacar Siddiki, known as Babadjo, for allegedly insulting a governor. A month later members of the intelligence services in Douala, Littoral region, arrested Junior Ngombe, a social media activist, for his videos advocating for democratic change, and security forces forcibly disappeared and tortured Ramon Cotta, a social media activist known for his TikTok videos criticizing authorities. In December 2024, the territorial administration minister suspended the activities of the Central Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, a prominent human rights group, in an arbitrary decision that lacked any lawful basis.
Djoubaïrou appears to be the victim of an enforced disappearance, unacknowledged detention or refusal to disclose the whereabouts or fate of a detainee, which violates multiple fundamental rights and is a serious crime under international law, albeit sadly a common one in Cameroon. If Djoubaïrou is in state custody, authorities should immediately disclose his whereabouts and release him.