Africa-Press. The government of Cameroon has broken its silence regarding the issue of an alleged presidential decree submitted to the headquarters of the Cameroonian Radio and Television Corporation, confirming an “attempt to disseminate a fake document” appointing a deputy to the president. Opinions varied between those who viewed it as an “attempt at institutional coup” and others who considered it a “theatrical performance” to divert attention.
According to an official statement from the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi, a person approached the headquarters in Yaoundé last June to deposit a sealed envelope containing an alleged presidential decree announcing the appointment of a deputy to the president, bearing the presidential seals and a signature attributed to the head of state Paul Biya.
The statement clarified that “internal verification procedures at the corporation allowed for the detection of the forgery before any broadcast,” and that the fake decree was not published on any of the public institution’s channels. It added that the suspect was arrested and placed at the disposal of the relevant authorities, with an investigation opened to determine the circumstances of the attempt.
The statement emphasized that the arrested individual “does not belong to the staff of the presidency and has no authorization to act on its behalf.” While authorities confirmed the attempt to introduce a fake decree concerning the creation of the position of deputy to the president, they did not refer to any cabinet reshuffle that had been speculated upon recently, urging citizens to “rely on information issued through official channels while awaiting the conclusions of the judicial investigation.”
Arrest and Investigation
According to a report from a local source, the suspect passed through the gates of the corporation’s headquarters carrying a sealed envelope that contained two texts: the first was an announcement of the appointment of a deputy to the president, and the second was an announcement of a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle. The source noted that the documents were “of high quality”: official presidential seals, a signature attributed to Biya, and a presentation that did not initially distinguish them from genuine decrees, with the aim of reading them in the evening news on national radio.
The source mentioned that a journalist at the corporation received the envelope and suspected its contents, prompting him to inform his superiors. The general director had to contact some of the president’s associates who were in Geneva at the time to verify, and the denial came that Biya had signed anything. The source added that the arrested individual “is a graduate of a mining school and belongs to one of the guilds,” although his motives or the presence of other accomplices remain unclear.
Diverse Interpretations
The local source framed the issue as revolving between the possibilities of “political manipulation” and “attempted coup,” noting that the position of deputy president, established by the constitutional revision last April, has become “the position of automatic succession,” and that appointing someone to it, even through forgery, would imply the designation of a potential heir.
Conversely, the source quoted academic and politician Jean Bahibek as saying that “the incident at the corporation is likely a theatrical performance aimed at diverting public attention,” adding that “if it were real, the country would be in a state of panic with increased security and a curfew imposed,” reminding that “Cameroon has one of the best intelligence services.”
According to the same source, the incident falls within a specific political context, as Biya announced a cabinet reshuffle on December 31, 2025, that has not been implemented six months later, amid ongoing discussions regarding succession.
